In the News

Cyberbullying on social media is linked to depression in teenagers, according to new research that analyzed multiple studies of the online phenomenon.

Future generations of young people risk becoming "hostages to handheld devices" and disengaged from physical activity, a sports charity says. The Youth Sports Trust report suggests that nearly a quarter of children see playing computer games with friends as a form of physical activity.

A teacher was allowed to work in six schools over three decades despite ­facing three separate allegations of misconduct and “grooming” girls.

A new campaign has been launched by Internet Matters to promote the use of parental controls online.

The number of children at risk of abuse in the UK has increased by 80% since 2002, according to a new report. In 2014/15 cyberbullying was raised in 4,000 ChildLine counselling sessions, while "sexting" was mentioned in more than 1,000.

TalkTalk has launched its 2015 Digital Heroes campaign in a bid to reward "people who harness technology to make life better". This year there are ten categories, with an accolade for Internet Safety running for the first time.

New internet safety guidance has been sent to schools in the wake of the death of Ronan Hughes. The 17-year-old from Coalisland, County Tyrone, took his own life earlier this month after it is believed he was was tricked into posting pictures online.

Child protection officers are investigating an average of one case involving "sexting" every day, the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has said. It said sending nude or explicit images of themselves on social media had become "normal" among teenagers.

To celebrate the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, we invited the public to vote on 500 clauses submitted by 3,000 young people across the world to create a new Magna Carta for the digital age. Over 30,000 votes have been cast. This top 10 is the result of that vote, as recorded on 15 June 2015, Magna Carta Day. It presents a snapshot of the public's hopes for the future of the Web in 2015.

A top schools inspector is facing jail for downloading dozens of child-abuse videos and grooming a teenage boy online, it can be revealed. After the 48-year-old pleaded guilty in court last week, education watchdog Ofsted contacted dozens of horrified headteachers to admit that a paedophile had visited their schools.

Twitter is taking steps to combat its ongoing trolling and harassment problem by introducing shared blocklists, the company announced in a blog post on Wednesday evening.

The NSPCC is planning to launch a new digital service for its counselling service Childline as the charity looks to remain “digitally relevant” among an uptick of young people accessing its services via the web.

There is no point in schools blocking pornography as nearly all of them can access inappropriate content on their mobile phones or tablets anyway, an e-safety expert has warned.

Thousands of young people have taken part in a UK debate about what should be included in a "Magna Carta" for the digital age. Their most popular priority was safety on the net, followed by protecting freedom of speech and privacy. The public can now vote online for the clauses they suggested, in a project organised by the British Library.

Why do people do it, and what effect can it have?

Smart phones and tablets are everywhere these days, including schools. In fact, one in three children between the five and 15 has their own tablet.

Students cannot successfully multi-task in using mobile phones while they are studying, US research suggests. Researchers found that students sending and receiving messages while studying scored lower test results and were less effective at tasks such as note taking.

The app used on mobile phones is fast becoming the latest craze among local teenagers. However fears are growing that it has also created another means for bullying and abusive comments. - See more at:

A schoolboy from Co Tyrone is believed to have taken his own life after being tricked into posting pictures on social media, prompting police to issue a warning about online safety.

Will Gardner, CEO of Childnet and Director of the UK Safer Internet Centre, discusses why youth voice can play such a powerful role in delivering an effective whole school approach to e-safety