What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Twitter

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Dr Claire Sutherland Online safety consultant, educator and researcher
Guide

This week's free online safety guide focuses on Twitter. It highlights a number of risks such as trolls and bullying, fixation on view count and interaction with strangers.

A free online safety guide on Twitter. 

Twitter is a social media network which allows users to post short messages (‘tweets’) of up to 280 characters. Tweets can consist of text, photos, videos, audio, links, polls and GIFs – often linked by hashtags if they share a common theme or message. Hashtags receiving high levels of interest are said to be ‘trending’. Twitter users can engage with other people’s posts by liking, retweeting (sharing) or tweeting back (commenting on). Since the entrepreneur Elon Musk acquired Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion, the platform has undergone several major changes. 

In the guide, you'll find tips on a number of potential risks such as trolls and bullying, fixation on view count and interaction with strangers.