Norfolk charity says teenagers must be taught how to get trusted information online
A survey found that nearly a fifth of teenagers say the internet is their main source of information on sexual health issues and healthy relationships
Last updated 12th Apr 2024
A Norfolk charity is telling us it's vital young people are taught about where to look for trusted information when they're online.
It's after a national survey found that nearly a fifth of teenagers say the internet is their main source of information on sexual health issues and healthy relationships.
"Somebody's going to be a victim"
Clive Evans is CEO of the Sue Lambert Trust in Norwich: "You can get this information and messages from anywhere.
"The impact is that people will have a misunderstood understanding of relationship and somebody's going to be a victim in all that.
"It is about having those conversations with young people around what is a good site to go to, regarding information.
"If somebody wants help, it's best to ask. It's far better than watching things online."
"If nothing is done consent will be missing from so many relationships"
He continued: "Parents and friends need to make sure that the information they're sharing is accurate, is from a reputable source and that people can have confidence in it.
"It's the mis-information and influence from other sectors of society on certain elements that's dangerous.
"I'm very wary about going on the internet for this type of advice".
"If nothing is done, consent will be missing from so many relationships and that can damage people both physically and mentally - which can have a long and severe impact on people's lives."
The findings in more detail:
A poll of 1,001 students aged 16 and 17 in England suggests that 30% of young people turned to social media as their main source of information about sexual orientation and gender identity, ahead of school (25%).
The survey, carried out by Censuswide on behalf of the charity in February, found that 22% of young people said the internet was their main source of information on pornography, while 15% said they turned to pornography itself as their main source of information on the topic.
Around a fifth said social media and websites were their main source of information about unhealthy relationships (21%), healthy relationships (18%) and sexual health (18%).
The Sex Education Forum poll suggests nearly half of students learned nothing at all or not enough at school on power imbalances in relationships (49%), porn (49%) and how to access local sexual health services (46%).
More than two in five reported learning nothing at all or not enough at school on attitudes and behaviour of boys and men towards girls and women (44%) and on gender identity (44%).
The charity's report on relationships and sex education (RSE) said: "It is clear that schools feel under-confident about delivering on some areas of the curriculum that are statutory, but are particularly taboo and politicised.
"The problem is that these gaps leave young people vulnerable to misinformation as they seek out knowledge from online sources like social media, or have no access to advice at all."
"We want to ensure all children are safe online"
A Government spokesperson said: "As part of the current review of the RSHE curriculum, we are looking at where certain topics can be strengthened, in an age-appropriate and factual way.
"We want to ensure all children are safe online and so, through our world-leading Online Safety Act, social media firms are being required to protect children from being exposed to harmful material online, and the Education Secretary recently took robust action by prohibiting the use of mobile phones in schools."