Working to improve the social, emotional, mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in Cornwall
For professionals

 Friends and Family

  • If you want to know about activities families typically engage in together online

  • If you are worried about a peer group's activities online affecting them in real life

  • If you’re concerned about children and young people making friends with strangers online

  • If you have any concerns about children or young people and online shopping

This category is quite large, so let’s narrow it down.

Is your concern about:

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Interacting with the digital world with family members

Watching films/TV with a family member

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Supervised video calls with remote family members

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Being aware of / being told there is adult content online

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Additional context: It is appropriate to tell younger children that there is adult content online that we do not want them to see because they may find it upsetting, as this will help explain why parental controls are being used. Children who mention this are not necessarily being exposed to adult content.

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Interest / involvement in family social media eg looking at news feed or asking to see pictures

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Repeated conflict about rules

Interacting with peers through digital media

Behaviours from other categories you may wish to explore:

 

Group messaging and opting to leave or mute a group chat

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Not applicable Potentially Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Additional context: This is Potentially Harmful for 6-8-year-olds as this age group should not normally be accessing group chats unsupervised, but they may see or be shown messages in family group chats.

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Showing someone distressing videos they don’t want to see

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Harmful Harmful Harmful Harmful Harmful

 

Additional context: Children and young people we spoke to said some of their peers regularly share upsetting content. This ranged from animal abuse (which may be shared to raise awareness) to scary or violent content. Children who are sharing this content may need help to understand why it is not acceptable. If they continue to do it, sanctions may be required.

Related behaviours from other categories:

Related resources:

 

Meeting online friends unsupervised

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Harmful Harmful Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful

 

Additional context: As young people get older, they may choose to meet up with friends they have met online. This is not necessarily harmful if they have taken precautions such as having a video call first, meeting in a public place, and taking a friend or parent.

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Meeting online friends after video calls and taking appropriate precautions

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Harmful Harmful Harmful Potentially Harmful Not Harmful

 

Additional context: As young people get older, they may choose to meet up with friends they have met online. This is not necessarily harmful if they have taken precautions such as having a video call first, meeting in a public place, and taking a friend or parent.

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Meeting online friends as part of a group

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Harmful Harmful Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful

 

Additional context: As young people get older, they may choose to meet up with friends they have met online. This is not necessarily harmful if they have taken precautions such as having a video call first, meeting in a public place, and taking a friend or parent.

Related behaviours from other categories:

Related resources:

 

Meeting online friends with adult supervision (parent or carer)

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Additional context: If children make friends online and they live nearby, parents may decide to set up a playdate, but this should be organised in the same way as any playdate. For example, parents of both children should talk about the plans beforehand, arrange to meet in a public place and tell someone where they are going.

Related behaviours from other categories:

  
Related resources:

 

Sharing things seen online with friends in person

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Ganging up on or isolating others online

Contact with strangers online

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Harmful Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful

 

Additional context: Some multi-player games rely on players being able to talk to one another. This is not necessarily harmful, but parents/carers should be aware of the rules around contact, help the child or young person set boundaries and be open to talking about things if a young person is upset by something that is said to them online. They can help by supporting the young person to report or block people, rather than insisting they stop playing altogether.

Related behaviours from other categories:

Related resources:

 

 

 

Managing online behaviour

Behaviours from other categories you may wish to explore:

Talking about how they feel if they see something upsetting

Secretive use of online device

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Not applicable Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Not Harmful

 

Additional context: Secretive use could include a young person panicking if someone else comes near their device. This could be a sign that they are being harmed online. However, as young people get older, they are likely to expect higher levels of privacy. This should be respected, and young people should be offered the opportunity to talk openly about issues as they arise.

Related behaviours from other categories:

Related resources:

 

Mimicking online behaviour

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Not Harmful

 

Additional context: Children may play-act things they see online. This is not concerning unless the content is inappropriate. Young people may mimic influencers. Again, this is only a problem if the content they are mimicking is inappropriate or dangerous.

Related behaviours from other categories:

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Excessively sharing personal information online

Watching adult content

Online spending / shopping with own money

Online spending / shopping with parents/carer’s money without their knowledge

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Harmful Harmful Harmful Harmful Harmful

 

Additional context: Parents may have left their card details saved on a device. This can lead to children and young people paying for in-app purchases without being aware this is taking real money. Parents should be careful not to save card details on shared devices.

Related behaviours from other categories:

 

Asking for help to block or report something

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful Not Harmful

 

Related behaviours from other categories:

Related resources:

 

Not reporting upsetting or harmful content

0-5 years 6-8 years 9-12 years 13-15 years 16-18 years
Harmful Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful Potentially Harmful

 

Additional context: Children and young people may be cynical about the effectiveness of reporting content. However, it is an important process. It may be useful to explain that a single report may not result in content being removed, but the more people report something the more likely it is to be removed.

Related behaviours from other categories:

Related resources: