Image source, Andrew Cowan

That's all from Holyrood Live on Tuesday 6 February 2018.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon led a debate saying 'we owe an immeasurable debt to the suffragettes and the suffragists'.

Image source, bbc

In her first ever debate responding as a minister, Children and Early Years Minister Maree Todd says she is delighted there is no photographic evidence of her growing up, citing her 70's hair cut as a potential issue.

On a more serious note, Ms Todd says: "We all need to talk about these issues."

Acutally its us adults who need to demonstrate good behaviour, says the minister.

She says she is not alone in this chamber in having suffered online abuse.

The minister says the government is committeed to afford children protection from harm wherever that harm is caused

Image source, bbc

Green MSP Ross Greer says the danger is MSPs sound out of touch.

Mr Greer says: "I'm conscious myself that I sound like someone I might have stopped listening too."

He warns again of the negative impact of sharing intimate pictures of young people.

The Green MSP calls for personal and social education to be reviewed to prepare young people with the lifeskills thatt they need.

In 2015/16, Childline reported that almost a quarter of Scottish children who contacted who contacted the helpline about bullying were concerned with online abuse.

The charity said 201 of the 873 counselling sessions it arranged were connected to cyber bullying.

Children as young as seven told Childline counsellors they were being tormented by malicious and hurtful messages.

Across the UK, the charity counselled 4,541 children about online bullying.

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Liam Kerr says he realises now how little he knows about young people's experience of the internet.

Mr Kerr says there needs to be more research into the impact on children of playing games with violence or bad language.

UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt met with social media giants, including Facebook and Twitter, in November to challenge them on cyber-bullying.

In tweets ahead of the discussions, he said some responsibility for rising rates of youth self-harm lies with social platforms.

He says the industry must be "part of the solution" regarding young people's mental health.

Social media companies have said they do prioritise user safety.

Mr Hunt asked the social media companies:

• If they can share statistics on how often cyber-bullying happens on their platforms, and what form it takes.
• If they have information on the number of underage users, and what can be done to prevent them accessing services.
• Whether it is possible to identify unhealthy online behaviour among teenagers.
• And take action to try to provide advice and support.

Image source, Thinkstock

In July, research from anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label suggested social media is making youngsters more anxious.

Forty per cent said they felt bad if nobody, external liked their selfies and 35% said their confidence was directly linked to the number of followers they had.

Instagram was highlighted as having become the vehicle most used for mean comments.

Seven per cent of young social network users said they had been bullied on the Facebook-owned photo app.

That compared to a figure of 6% for Facebook itself, 5% for Snapchat and 2% for Twitter and YouTube.

• Read more about this study
• How I felt when I ditched social media

The number of sexual offences reported to the police in Scotland has reached its highest level since comparable records began in 1971.

But what is behind the rise?

Image source, Getty Images

Researchers have estimated that online offences were responsible for about half of the growth in all sexual crimes recorded by the police between 2013/14 and 2016/17, and now account for 20% of all recorded sexual crimes.

Three-quarters of victims are under the age of 16, with perpetrators also likely to be teenagers - with more than half aged under 20.

Cyber enabled crimes are most likely to be reported by a relative or guardian (38%), followed by the victim themselves (34%).

Image source, bbc

SNP MSP Ash Denham says, as a mother of young teens herself, this is an issue she has given quite some thought to.

Ms Denham says "I can't be the only person in this chamber who is glad Facebook did not exist when I was 17."

She says that sexting has become very, very normal and is more prevalent than we realise.

The SNP MSP says these pictures can be around the school almost within half an hour.

Image source, Getty Images

The number of children reported to prosecutors for sexual offences has risen by 21% in four years, new figures have revealed.

There was also a 34% rise in the number of children being reported as the perpetrators of sexual offences where the victim was another child.

Sexting - sharing intimate images - is one reason for the increase.

Leading prosecutors said the figures show the need for better education of young people.

Read more.

Image source, bbc

Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott says the resilience needed to deal with bullying and pressure was far easier before mobile phones.

Mr Scott says the power of major corporates is real and he says he is not sure we are holding their feet to the fire as much as we should.

He says much of the work that needs to be carried out is as much about helping parents as it is about helping children.

"For parents this is, without doubt pretty, scary stuff."

Jane Wakefield
Technology reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Parents worry about their children being bullied online, but what if it is your child who is doing the bullying?

That was the question posed by a BBC reader, followinga report on how children struggle to cope online.

There is plenty of information about how to deal with cyberbullies, but far less about what to do if you find out that your own child is the source.

The BBC took advice from experts and a mother who found out her daughter had been cyberbullying her school friends.

Read more.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Mary Fee says there are risks on the internet that can affect everyone, particularly young vulnerable people.

Ms Fee says there is too much bullying online with serious consequences.

She says the damaging increase in sexual offences against young people requires everyone to work together, particuarly online companies.

The Labour MSP, after some not surprising difficulty, urges MSPs to read the Equalities and Human Rights Committee's report: "It is not Cool to be Cruel: Prejudice based bullying and harassment of children and young people in schools, external".

Image source, Scottish Parliament

Image source, UK Safer Internet Centre

Safer Internet Day is marked annually on 6 February.

The theme of these year is 'create, connect and share respect: a better internet starts with you'.

Led in the UK by the UK Safer Internet Centre, the day promotes conversations about using technology responsibly, respectfully, critically and creatively.

Globally, Safer Internet Day is celebrated in over a hundred countries, coordinated by the joint Insafe/INHOPE network, with the support of the European Commission, and national Safer Internet Centres across Europe.

Image source, bbc

Tory MSP Finlay Carson cites the case of Logan Paul who posted a video showing the body of an apparent suicide victim in Japan.

YouTube has cut some business ties with Logan Paul, the hugely popular vlogger.

Paul's channels were removed from YouTube's Google Preferred programme, where brands sell ads on the platform's top 5% of content creators..

YouTube also said it had put on hold original projects with the US vlogger.

Paul posted the video with a man's body on 31 December, triggering widespread criticism.

Mr Carson says young people need our support and the online industry must make changes, as must parents who should empower their children.

Image source, Young Scot

Young Scot's 'Digi, Aye?' campaign seeks to improve cyber resilience.

It provides information to young people on various cyber issues, ranging from identity theft to removing content.