Call for children and young people to share experiences of ‘Growing Up Online’ in major Northern Ireland study

Safer Internet Day 2023 takes place on the 7^th February 2023, with celebrations and learning based around the theme ‘Want to talk about it? Making space for conversations about life online’. The celebration sees thousands of organisations getting involved to promote the safe, responsible and positive use of digital technology for children and young people.

In Northern Ireland, we are celebrating by putting children and young people’s views and experiences at the heart of the day by launching an important new research study.

Entitled ‘Growing Up Online: Children’s online activities, harm and safety in Northern Ireland’, this mixed-methods research is being undertaken by a team from the Centre for Research in Educational Underachievement (CREU) at Stranmillis University College, Belfast, and is funded by the Safeguarding Board for NI (SBNI). It aims to identify and understand children and young people’s online activity; the perceived impact of emerging risks and harms; and current online safety provision, including educational initiatives to safeguard and protect children online.

The project aims to reflect the experiences of children and young people, member agencies of SBNI, and other partner organisations, to produce an evidence report with recommendations for policy and best practice.  The findings of the research will be used to inform the delivery of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Online Safety Strategy Action Plan.

An important element of the project will be the involvement of children and young people as co-participants in the development of the qualitative research methods, through the formation of two Children and Young People’s Advisory Groups in schools.

Speaking about the project, Director of CREU Dr Noel Purdy said, “We are delighted to be carrying out this very timely and valuable research for the Safeguarding Board NI into children’s online lives. We are looking forward to engaging directly with a wide range of children and young people through the online survey but also face to face through a series of focus group interviews over the coming weeks.  Together we hope that our research can help all of our children and young people to enjoy and stay safe online.”

Bernie McNally, Independent Chair of the Safeguarding Board for NI (SBNI) said,“The vision of the Online Safety Strategy for Northern Ireland is that children and young people are informed in order to enjoy their online spaces safely, knowledgably and without fear. For this to happen, we need to understand the real needs and experiences that impact young people’s lives. Through this research we want to give young people from all walks of life the space to express their views, which will be listened to and taken seriously in the development and delivery of online safety policy and practice.”

If you work with children and young people, we invite you to encourage all those aged 8-18 to visit https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/growing-up-online-ni/ and complete the survey before midnight on 28^th February 2023.

To find out more about the project, contact socialmedia@stran.ac.uk.