Half of all 16-18-year-olds know a cyber-bullying victim – but less than a third think about the consequences of what they post themselves, a new report reveals
A study reveals that terrorism, bullying and animal cruelty top list of teens concerns – with more than a third saying bullying worried them
Findings come from a Q1 report released by the UK’s most comprehensive and dynamic market intelligence specialist, Kids Insights
Kids Insights surveys 20,000 young people each year, with data available in a report released every 12 weeks
Half of all UK 16-18-year-olds know a victim of cyber-bullying – but less than a third think about the consequences of what they’re posting online, new data from the UK’s most comprehensive and dynamic market intelligence specialist, Kids Insights, has revealed.
The research, carried out among 5,000 children, including 1,000 16-18 year olds, found that girls are more likely to report that they know someone who has been bullied on the internet.
And it found that bullying – along with terrorism and animal cruelty – was among the biggest concerns for UK teenagers.
The data, which forms part of Kids Insights’ Q1 report, shows that among 13-18-year-olds, 43% said they were worried about a potential terrorist attack, with 37% identifying bullying and 31% flagging up animal cruelty.
Brexit was found to be worrying less than one-fifth of the 5,000 teenagers asked.
Kids Insights’ lead future analyst Nick Richardson said: “The findings present a fascinating picture of what is concerning young people in this country. Cyber-bullying and the threats posed online are clearly something they are aware of – but interestingly very few young people think about the consequences of what they’re posting before they Tweet or post to Instagram.
“It’s also demonstrating what a fascinating time it is for brands in terms of how they are using social media channels.
“Our data is showing that more and more under 13s are using social media – but with GDPR having come into force in May, brands must now take a zero personal data approach to children and can no longer communicate with under 13s on these channels.”
Despite the legal age for children to sign up to many social media channels standing at 13, the study found that by that age, more than half of the young people asked were already using Facebook and Instagram.
Sharing selfie pictures remains the most popular type of post for children across the age groups, with half of the 12-year-olds sharing them online.
Worryingly, more than a quarter (26%) of children aged 4-12 (below the required age for social media account) are using social media to share selfies.
Using its groundbreaking “AQuA” (All Questions Answered) technology and real-time online platform, Manchester-based Kids Insights surveys 400 different kids, tweens and teens every single week (more than 20,000 every year).
By collecting data continuously (more than 150,000 data points are added every single week), Kids Insights are able to uncover entrenched, emerging and flash trends – as well as better understanding the behaviours and consumption – of children. The results are presented every 12 weeks in a series of reports.
You can download a free, sample version of Kids Insights’ Q1 report here: www.kidsinsights.co.uk/Q12018.
