Due to the popularity of online gaming platform Roblox with children and young people under the age of 16, our online safety experts have released this Safeguarding Update about a collection of games trending within the platform. The games depict themes of isolation, cutting, and suicide with some including chatrooms where users engage in unmoderated discussions around hopelessness, depression, self-harm, and suicide.
The encouragement of self-harm will be criminalised in an update to the Online Safety Bill, the government has said.
Content that encourages someone to physically harm will be targeted in a new offence, making it illegal.
The government said the changes had been influenced by the case of Molly Russell - the 14-year-old who ended her life in November 2017.
The children’s commissioner for England has said she fears there could be a repeat of the Molly Russell tragedy, after research showed almost half of children have seen harmful content online, including material promoting self-harm and suicide.
PAPYRUS has launched Sinking Feeling – a new animation created in collaboration with the BAFTA Award-winning animation studio, Blue Zoo.
Sinking Feeling tackles the heart-breaking reality that many children and young people are suffering in silence without the vital help and support they need, according to PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide.
ITV has condemned death threats sent to Love Island contestant Chloe Burrows, calling them "wholly unacceptable".
On Wednesday night's show, Burrows chose to recouple with Aaron Francis, leaving Shannon Singh single.
The move resulted in Shannon departing the dating programme, causing people to send threats to Burrows online, with some encouraging her to kill herself.
Children searching for content relating to depression and self-harm can be exposed to more of it by the recommendation engines built in to social networks.
Sophie Parkinson was just 13 when she took her own life. She had depression and suicidal thoughts.
Her mother, Ruth Moss, believes Sophie eventually took her own life because of the videos she had watched online.
Comments
make a comment