Pre-Teens' views about life online

2025

Planning safety workshops?

Messages from 11-12yr olds

  • Over 1/3 of pre-teens feel more confident behind a screen
  • Almost 1 in 5 say 'I express myself better on a screen'
  • Girls are more than 2x as likely to feel ‘people judge me online’
  • Almost 1/4 of girls ‘worry about 'how I look compared to others online’ and feel ‘my online self is better than my real self.’
  • 1/4 of girls and one in five  boys use social media to escape their ‘issues’.
  • Fewer than 5% of pre-teens feel depressed or anxious after time on social media
  • Almost 1/3 try to limit their time online but can’t.


Unsearched content:

  • Bulking up the body (31%) was more often seen than content encouraging people to be too thin: 18%
  • 16% saw content that talked about suicide


Positive uses

  • 73% go online for homework,
  • 2/3 believe they can be creative online.


  • Cyberbullying is low at 11%.   Fewer than two thirds of those who were cyberbullied told someone, but of those, about 20% did not get a good outcome.


Cyberaggression is common, i.e.  insults about how a person looks, rumours, racism and homophobia. pre-teens see misogyny, insults about religion or family origin, but  sexual harassment is uncommon.

Here are the views and ideas from 11-12year olds in the Cybersurvey and also in observed workshops on safety.


These insights show us their

  • Online experiences,
  • The role of gender
  • Ideas about right age to get smartphones
  • What they love online
  • What is shocking or unwanted
  • How parents and teachers can  improve online safety education
  • How safety workshops might be received by children with very different experiences, abilities and worries.


A guide to planning safety workshops.


What approaches do you use when teaching children about safety on our streets or online?


How might these messages resonate with children at different stages of development and with such a range of abilities, early childhood adversities?


This brief guide offers ideas to consider when you're planning any form of safety workshop whether it is about knife crime, or online safety.


Safeguarding - is the DSL alerted in case children disclose issues of concern?


Content - is it appropriate for age  and abilities in this group?


Triggers and trauma - are you aware of who among those in the audience might be badly affected by your content? How do you plan to cater for their needs?


Explore all opportunities for developing resilience and problem solving options for moments when things go wrong.


Include real life scenarios for children to game plan.


Ensure children leave the workshop with usable advice and helplines.


Send home materials for parents and carers so that they can support the child.


Will the school follow up when you're gone?