At National Online Safety, we provide multi-award-winning online safety education for the whole school community. It’s our mission to make the internet a safer place for children. We believe that when children go online to learn, communicate or play, they should be able to do so safely. That’s why we provide schools all over the world with the knowledge they need in order to tackle new and evolving online risks.
Social Pressures
Connecting with the wider world online can expand a young person's social network and introduce them to whole communities of people who share their interests. Just like in offline life, however, membership of any group comes with certain pressures to fit it or to be popular. Our five-minute video explains some of the common social pressures that children can encounter in the digital world.
What are social pressures online?
Children and young people are interacting with the online world more than ever. Online platforms and groups can provide a wonderful sense of belonging for children and young people.
They can find peers with similar interests and circumstances which can sometimes be difficult to find in real-life.
Furthermore, online relationships can actually make children and young people more relationship-oriented, thoughtful, and empathic.
But interacting with the online world can also bring with it a number of ‘pressures’. Social media in particular is often scrutinised as having a negative impact on children’s mental health.
For more information on the associated risks and online safety tips for parents and carers, watch our explainer video, available to those with a National Online Safety membership.
