Professionals Guidance Digital Romance
Digital Romance was led by researchers Dr Ester McGeeney (Brook) and Dr Elly Hanson (NCA-CEOP), the research took place between January and May 2017 and used a mixed methods approach involving an online survey, in person focus groups and one-to-one interviews.

The project was motivated by the desire to evolve online safety education by providing an in-depth insight into young people’s views and experiences. The project was influenced by US research conducted by the PEW Research Centre (Lenhart, Smith & Anderson, 2015) that explored the digital romantic practices of young Americans. Arguably, up until now, much of the focus of online safety work has been narrow – exploring the risks of online communication such as the unsafe sharing of personal details, the loss of control of material (especially images), and the facilitation of abusive and bullying behaviours. At times this approach has been at the expense of acknowledging the positive role of digital technology in young people’s lives and the complicated ways in which young people experience and negotiate risk.

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The use of live streaming platforms by online sex offenders is increasing and there is an urgent need to educate children about the risks associated with this new threat, warn child protection experts.

During a recent week of intensification to tackle child sexual exploitation and abuse, police and NCA operations across the UK safeguarded 245 children and arrested 192 people, 18 of whom were in a position of trust. 30% of those cases involved some of the highest harm offences including live streaming, blackmail and grooming.

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This three-episode animated series and accompanying resource pack aims to help eight-to-ten year olds learn how to stay safe from sexual abuse, exploitation and other risks they might encounter online such as sharing content.

You will need to be registered on the Thinkyouknow site to access the resource.

Some people try to use social media and apps to groom children and young people. It's important you understand how this works so you can protect them.

This is a CEOP resource. Read more.

So much of a teenager’s social life happens online and many feel really comfortable using the internet to meet people. The opportunity to meet and flirt with people outside their immediate social circle can be hugely exciting to a young person, particularly at a time where they are exploring their understanding of sex and relationships. It’s also not as awkward to flirt with people online as it is in school corridors!

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Today is Day 1 of a Thinkyouknow Parents and Carers three month campaign, and we are excited to introduce our first new resource entitled “The world changes. Children don’t”.

This short film that tells the age-old story of Romeo and Juliet... with a modern twist. It shows how the lives of these young lovers might play out online today, including the Lark ‘tweeting’ and Romeo ‘friending’ Juliet.