Almost one third of local teens regularly upset by social media

11th February 2025

Ahead of Safer Internet Day, No Limits conducted a survey of over 100 young people in Southampton, through our school drop-ins, Advice Centre and social media followers, to gather information about their internet use.

28% of young people who responded to the survey said that in the last week they had seen something on social media that made them feel uncomfortable or upset. 10% said that they don’t feel safe online at all, with 6% saying they only sometimes feel safe online. Additionally, 29% of young people have public social media accounts, meaning their photos and posts can be seen by anyone using the social media platform. 

While social media does bring benefits to young people – helping to reduce social isolation and spark creativity – we are concerned about the role social media may play in the increasing number of young people needing to access mental health support. In 2024, 5,131 young people sought help for their emotional wellbeing from our services, a 51% increase on pre-pandemic levels. 

Hayley Young, No Limits’ Health & Wellbeing Service Manager, says “The number of young people regularly seeing distressing content online is worryingly high. We want to empower young people to look after themselves and make their online use healthier, helping them to make the most of the many benefits the internet adds to their lives. As well as our online information, our Advice Centre in Southampton is open six days a week for anyone under 26 to come and get free, non-judgmental advice and support around their internet use or anything they’re seeing online. No Limits youth workers are also in schools and colleges across Southampton every other week, with a drop-in stand where you can talk to them about anything that’s on your mind.” 

This week, No Limits is promoting advice to help young people and parents and carers with online safety. Advice for young people includes: 

• Acknowledging clickbait and fact-checking news on social media – Understanding that social media accounts and news outlets may write news in a certain way to push an agenda or increase the number of clicks. Using fact-checking tools like Full Fact (fullfact.org) or BBC Verify (bbc.co.uk/news/verify) can help you to see the true picture. 

• Controlling your social media feed – Unfollowing, muting or blocking accounts that spread negative news and harmful content. 

• Not responding to hate comments – Internet trolls and cyberbullies want to get a reaction from you, so it is better to ignore the comments or posts, block, mute and report the accounts. 

• Talking to someone – If distressing news or content you see online is affecting the way you’re feeling, it is important to talk to someone about this and get support when you need it. 

Our full resource for young people can be found here: nolimitshelp.org.uk/resource/online-safety 

Advice for parents and carers includes:

• Conversations – Talk to your child about which websites and social media they use and if they are affected by anything they’re seeing. Pick a suitable time and place and make conversations like this regular.

• Safeguarding – Making sure your child knows how to report on different platforms and that if they receive nude photos from someone, this can be reported to the police as well as the platform. Also remind them that sharing personal information in public spaces or with people they don’t know is a bad idea.

• Wellbeing and cyberbullying – If you’re seeing signs that your child is uncomfortable, anxious or angry around the time that they’re using the internet, this could be a reaction to something they’ve seen or experienced online. Help them to make improvements to their social media, like blocking or muting accounts that share negative content, reducing the amount of time they’re spending on social media by offering alternative activities and reporting accounts to the platform if they are being cyberbullied. 

• Setting a good example – By thinking about what you are sharing online and having suitable privacy features on your accounts, you are setting a good example for healthy internet use for your child. 

Our full advice for parents and carers can be found here: nolimitshelp.org.uk/parents-and-professionals/online-safety