North Yorkshire parents urged to talk to children about consent and healthy relationships
It's as a new survey suggests many teenagers are turning to social media for information
There's concern over the number of young people in North Yorkshire getting "dangerous" messages about sexual health and relationships on the internet.
Nearly a fifth of teenagers say the internet is their main source for information about sexual health and healthy relationships.
The Sex Education Forum Charity says young people are turning to online sources to learn about relationships and sex which is leaving them vulnerable to potentially "dangerous" and "untrustworthy" information.
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%).
"Most people are here to support you and make sure you are safe"
Alison Chorlton is the lead nurse for sexual health and HIV services in York and North Yorkshire and has this advice for parents: "From an early you can start a discussion around good friendships for example, so what's a good friend, what does a good friend feel like, what characteristics are nice and that then feeds into conversations about what a good relationship is like, what a healthy relationship is like."
"I think having a conversation in a car, when you've got a child sat next to you who can't run away from that conversation. Dropping it into a normal chat around things, how are things at school, how are relationships".
"Knowing if they are in a relationship and then you can start those conversations about the need for infection testing, contraception, protecting them against infections and things."
She also has this advice for young people who may have questions: "I think people fear the response of the other person but actually most people are here to support you and to make sure you are safe. So having those open conversations often makes that problem much less a problem."
You can find out more about the service in York and North Yorkshire here