A charity has warned of the “digital destruction of childhoods” in Scotland as almost two thirds of kids are spending “too much time online”.
Children First shared the harrowing figures as it called on the Scottish Government to introduce robust new measures to keep young people safe on social media. Of the 1,032 children and young people aged between 11 and 25 surveyed by Young Scot for Children First, 84% felt that being online prevented them from having enough time for other activities they want to do.
A further 46% said being online stopped them from having time to relax without a screen while 43% revealed social media stopped them from resting or sleeping. Thirty-six per cent told how screens stopped them being active or playing outside and 35% said it stopped them spending time with family.
The charity penned a scathing letter to the newly re-appointed First Minister and opposition parties to urge them to “act swiftly to tackle online harm” in the first 100 days of the new parliament as they labelled the crisis as “the childhood emergency of our time”.
View 4 ImagesMary Glasgow, Children First chief executive
Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children First, told the Record: “We cannot rely on tech to do the right thing on their own. Governments must make children’s online safety the first condition of doing business in the UK and Scotland.
“They must apply the same level of regulation that they would apply to any other industry that is destroying children’s lives and those that break the rules must face tough action. Children have a right to grow up safe and government must protect them.”
The figures have been reported amid the Record’s renowned youth violence campaign, Our Kids … Our Future. Our Kids … Our Future was launched three years ago after we reported on a sickening series of attacks on teens which were being filmed and uploaded to social media for “likes and popularity”.
As part of the campaign, we have demanded tech giants to introduce new safety features to ensure videos of beatings on children and young people do not go viral.
View 4 ImagesThe Record’s Our Kids … Our Future campaign
Mary continued: “Tech companies must also take immediate action to address the destruction their products are wreaking on childhood. They need to show their products are safe for children from the start, limit harmful content, stop risky features like contact with strangers and urgently develop platforms that are not addictive.
“Increasingly digital devices are being placed in children’s hands before they are ready – not just children and teenagers but also babies and toddlers. So at best, a social media ban can only ever be a small part of the answer – we need to go further and faster if we are to protect Scotland’s children and protect childhood.”
Poppy, who was one of over 60 children and young people from across Scotland who shared their voices and views to inform Children First’s strategic priorities, said: “Having a phone has ruined my time as a child. I still go outside but not as much. Whenever I ask friends to do stuff they are either busy or on their phones too much – a friend once had 16 hours [on their phone]. When you get off your phone you realise there are so many things you can do.”
It comes as a damning fresh report revealed that children as young as 13 in Scotland are being exposed to abuse being normanlised by misogynistic content online. Online abuse and harassment are “constant, corrosive and deeply embedded” for young people across the country, according to a Barnardo’s-commissioned poll of 4,000 young people in the UK.
In Scotland, 28% of girls said they’d been called degrading names online while 72% of boys said they believed they are expected to “act tough and not show emotion”. At the same time, young boys felt unable to challenge their peers with 18% saying that their friends would not back them if they called out sexist comments.
View 4 ImagesExperts warned toxic masculinity is an issue affecting young men in Scotland in the wake of Netflix’s Adolescence.
Experts previously warned the Record that toxic masculinity was on the rise among young men in Scotland in the wake of harrowing Netflix drama Adolescence. Support workers said the worrying themes of misogyny and violence in the four-part drama are playing out in real-life as disaffected teenage boys with nowhere to go become sucked into the dark world of social media.
Olly, 18, said: “As a young man, I see online misogyny every day. It sets the tone for how boys treat girls and how boys treat each other. There is pressure to laugh it off or stay silent, even when it crosses a line. Young men set the standard. Challenge it, shut it down, and back those who speak up. That is how we change what is accepted.”
Michele Janes, Director of Barnardo’s Scotland, said: “Misogyny isn’t always loud or visible to many of us, but these findings show how constant, corrosive and deeply embedded it is in the lives of young people today both online and off. It shapes how boys and girls think about themselves, their worth and their relationships with others.
“Young people are telling us that the result can be harmful on all sides, from humiliation and sexualised abuse to feelings of shame and isolation. This is not inevitable – it is learned, and it can be challenged. That’s why we’re raising the alarm and we want young people’s experiences to be at the heart of conversations about how to tackle misogynistic content online.”
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The Record approached the Scottish Government for comment.
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