Gloucestershire pupils speak out about negative side of social media

The Bishop of Gloucester Rachel Treweek invited school children to share their views on what they see online

Gloucestershire schoolchildren told an audience in the House of Lords that they back stronger online regulations.

Twelve pupils from two schools were speaking ahead of scrutiny of the Online Safety Bill which is due to be heard in the Lords on Thursday.

They were hosted by the Bishop of Gloucester, the Right Revd Rachel Treweek, who is calling for stronger age verifications online.

Year nine student Amy said: "I feel this (the bill) will help a lot."

The Online Safety Bill aims to tackle illegal and harmful content online by imposing new legal requirements on big tech companies.

Pupils from All Saints' Academy in Cheltenham and The Cotswold School, Bourton-on-the-Water shared their views on the negative side of social media.

All Saints' Academy pupil Amy said: "There are a lot of difficulties, because you grow up not knowing any different.

"This is our childhood and this is how we perceive the world at this point.

"I think this opportunity will help regulate a lot of things on social media, help people build confidence and help us not to have a preconceived opinion on how we look, our appearances and how we act."

The children gave their views on how the things they see online affect them

Jedidiah, who is in year 10 at All Saints Academy, said: "Many young people including myself have found this idea that they need to fit a certain category in order to present themselves.

"They feel restricted because say they don't have the new pair of Jordan's or the new rings or watches that their friends have and it is very limiting to be that way.

"I used to be like that, I know what it's like - you feel like you have to have a certain type of body or hairline or something that like."

'Negative thoughts'

Grace, who is in year ten at All Saints Academy said she felt the bill would be helpful as social media can make young people "lose their confidence and self-worth".

"I'd like adults to come and help young people to not be afraid of their identify to express themselves and be free," she added.

Bishop Treweek said viewing harmful content online can have a "long-lasting, negative impact" on how young people view themselves.

"Over the past seven years, I have been speaking publicly about body image anxiety in young people and launched a campaign - liedentity - challenging negative body image," she said.

"We know that, for these young people, having negative thoughts about how they look can impact their entire life, causing deep unhappiness and contributing to poor mental health.

"We know that young people are shaped by their online experiences and interactions, so we want to make these as safe as possible," added Bishop Treweek.

The pupils were speaking out ahead of the Online Safety Bill being heard on Thursday

Speaking to Radio Gloucestershire, the Bishop said: "All of them in the group I had recently said they had easily been able to pretend to be over 18.

"They feel really strongly around algorithms and photoshopping.

"Recently a young girl was saying 'why do other people look like that and I don't' and 'perhaps I'm not really worth very much'."

If the Online Safety Bill goes through it would be supervised by Ofcom, the Office of Communications, which would have the power to fine a company £18m or 10% of its revenue - whichever is higher.

It would also have the power to disrupt a company's business with measures such as blocking access to sites or telling advertisers or credit card companies not engage with the service.