Calls for social media action to tackle cyberbullying in South Yorkshire

A survey's found half of young people have received nasty or threatening messages on social media and 80% want companies to do more to tackle it

Published 5th Sep 2017

It's claimed social media companies need to do more to stop South Yorkshire children being bullied online.

New stats show 80% of young people think sites like Facebook and Instagram could be doing more to tackle it - with half of those asked saying they've received threatening or nasty messages.

Many of those surveyed said their personal information had been shared publicly, they had been excluded from conversations or groups online or received persistent messages from someone after asking them to stop.

Tiana's 16 and from Sheffield - she was targetted on social media by bullies:

"I was getting anonymous comments - people were making fun of me, calling me names. It made me feel like I was all alone and no-one really believed my side of the story."

"On every social media website there should be a page where they report the person and they take it seriously and they sort out the problem by getting them removed completely from social media."

It comes ahead of an inquiry in Parliament of the mental health impacts of cyber bullying.

Charity YoungMinds were involved in the survey - Chief Exec Sarah Brennan says it's a big issue:

"Young people must feel safe online, and more needs to be done to prevent and respond to cyber bullying when it happens.

"But we're also excited to see how this inquiry can work with social media companies to find innovative ways to promote mental health among young people, empowering them to understand how to respond to what they see online and cope with the pressures that social media brings."