Why a ban will not protect us from the dangers of social media

Why a ban will not protect our children from the dangers of social media

Many of us working in child safeguarding and championing children’s rights find ourselves dismayed by the persistence of such quick-fix, headline-grabbing proposals.

While superficially attractive, a blanket ban in of itself will not have the desired effect. Young social media users will undoubtably find a work around of the ban, much like they have in regions where it has already been attempted. This risks leaving children and young people vulnerable in an unregulated online world. 

Here’s five reasons why we believe a blanket ban is not the best approach;

1. Children have rights in the digital world

Social media can provide opportunities to connect, communicate, learn and access support. Children have rights to information, education, participation and play online as well as offline.

2. It puts responsibility in the wrong place

A ban risks shifting responsibility onto children and families rather than the companies designing and profiting from these platforms. Technology companies must be responsible for creating safer digital environments.

3. Social media can be an important source of support

For some children, particularly those experiencing isolation or difficulty accessing support elsewhere, online spaces can provide valuable connection, information and communities.

4. A ban doesn't remove online risks

Children participate in digital environments beyond social media. Restricting access to platforms does not remove risks such as harmful content, grooming or exploitation – nor does it prepare children to navigate these risks as adults.

5. It could push children towards less safe spaces

Children may find ways around restrictions or move towards less known, less regulated platforms where protections may be weaker, potentially displacing rather than eliminating harm.

ISPCC’s solution

ISPCC has over twenty years experience in protecting children as they navigate the digital world. This has given us a unique perspective and deep insight on the challenges faced by children and young people as they increasingly live their lives online. That is why we demand social media platforms make meaningful changes to create safer digital environment for young people, through the following;

  1. Safety by design – children’s safety and wellbeing built into platforms from the outset.
  2. Robust age assurance – effective, privacy-preserving measures that provide age-appropriate experiences.
  3. Platform accountability – technology companies held responsible for the risks their products create or amplify.
  4. Safer algorithms and content – addressing addictive and manipulative design and children’s exposure to harmful content.
  5. Digital empowerment – giving children the skills to recognise risks, understand how platforms influence them and navigate the online world safely.

How ISPCC has always been working for children's digital rights and protections

Many of us working in child safeguarding and championing children’s rights find ourselves dismayed by the persistence of such quick-fix, headline-grabbing proposals 

Ten years ago, at a conference it co-hosted with Vodafone in Dublin Castle, the ISPCC warned that bullying, abuse, pornography, sextortion, public humiliation and grooming were some of the worrying issues that children and young people were encountering online.  

The conference was held after the Law Reform Commission had published proposals calling for the reform of the criminal law and the establishment of a national statutory oversight system, to promote and support digital safety. 

Then, ISPCC called upon the Government of the time to adopt the proposals suggested by the Law Reform Commission, saying that there was an urgent need to protect children when they are online.  

We have a regulator and an online safety framework in place now, still bedding in, however, and somewhat curtailed by judicial reviews and other legal challenges. But, a decade later, little else has changed, except that more and more children and young people are spending increasing amounts of time online from an earlier age with little meaningful effort made by technology companies to ensure their digital safety while they do so.  

While it is now widely accepted that a whole of society approach is necessary to provide true protection for children, the idea of ‘shared responsibility’ has gained traction with many commentators and public representatives who extol the benefits of a social media ban for under 16s.  

These measures, while superficially appealing, shift responsibility onto parents and children disproportionately, rather than addressing the role of the technology companies whose deliberate and intentional designs underpin much of the harm, for profit Parents are not a homogenous group and not all children have parents and caregivers who are competent and motivated to be involved in their children’s lives, offline nor online, thus compounding their vulnerability with such a proposition.  

The report of the EU Kids Online 2026 comparative study calls for safer, more private and empowering digital environments for children, pointing out the need to ensure that children can benefit from digital technologies while being effectively protected from harm. 

The EU Kids Online study draws on a representative survey of 28,465 children aged 10–16 in 19 European countries, conducted between April 2025 and April 2026 by the EU Kids Online research network and it includes approximately 2,000 children from Ireland 

Across the 19 countries, 48% of children say they feel safe online, compared with 65% who reported always or often feeling safe online in 2020. 

Professor Sonia Livingstone of the London School of Economics and Political Science, a co-author of the report, said: “The 2025 EU Kids Online survey finds a sharp rise in the proportion of children who have been upset online in the past month – from 7% in 2020 to 23%. Since European children gain important social and informational benefits from going online, it is vital that we improve their safety online more effectively.” 

The ISPCC fully agrees, particularly as this is what Irish children want too.  

According to a report from Coimisiún na Meán entitled ‘Online Safety & Children’s Digital Lives’ which focuses on Irish data from the EU Kids Online survey: 

  • 69% of children surveyed agreed it would be better to teach children about staying safe online rather than a social media ban 
  • Most children surveyed (67%) did not think that a social media ban would be effective as children would find a way to get around it 

Separately, a total of 144 organisations, including the ISPCC, and experts working across child rights, digital rights and mental health have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen ahead of her State of the European Union address on September 16, calling for a harmonised European framework to make technology safe for children by design and default. 

The signatories are urging President von der Leyen to pursue a transformative approach that addresses the safety of technology itself, rather than relying primarily on denying children access to digital services wholesale. 

Earlier this year, more than 140 children’s rights organisations across Europe, including the ISPCC, co-signed an evidence-based letter to the European Commission making clear that it is neither fair nor effective to require children to bear the cost of rectifying problems that are fundamentally embedded in the design and business models of online services. 

A blanket ban risks entrenching harm by diverting attention away from where meaningful accountability should lie. Instead, we should be insisting on a strict “safety by design” standard, supported by privacy-preserving and robust age assurance mechanisms. This approach places responsibility on technology companies to create safer environments from the outset. 

Efforts to improve online safety must not come at the expense of children’s rights — including their rights to information, education, participation and play. A crude age-based prohibition would not only fail to eliminate harm but would likely displace it, pushing young people towards less regulated or entirely unregulated spaces where risks may be even greater. 

Furthermore, such bans risk diminishing the urgency to address the systemic issues that drive harm online. These include behavioural profiling, addictive and manipulative design features, recommender systems that amplify harmful content and commercial practices that exploit children’s data and vulnerabilities.  

Many of the risks children face online stem from the design of the product and service. Features that prioritise engagement over wellbeing can expose young users to manipulation, exploitation and grooming — often in ways that are difficult to detect. Children who do not recognise such harms are unlikely to report them. 

It is essential that young people learn to question what they see online, to understand how algorithms shape their experience and to trust their instincts when something feels wrong. However, as the sophistication of these technologies develop and now with AI embedded into them, this is becoming a mammoth challenge to support. The impact of harmful online content inevitably spills into children’s offline lives, affecting their wellbeing. 

At the ISPCC, our priority is to empower young people with the resilience and coping skills they need to thrive in an increasingly complex digital world.  

Our Childline Listening Service operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year, ensuring that any young person who needs to talk will always find someone ready to listen. 

We are also a proud partner in the EU-funded Irish Safer Internet Centre project alongside Irish Internet Hotline, National Parents Council and Webwise, under the coordination of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration.  

We will now await publication of the text of the proposed EU Kids Act to better understand how the Commission proposes to proceed with this social media ban. 

World Suicide Prevention Day: When a child feels there is no way out, we need to be there

World Suicide Prevention Day: When a child feels there is no way out, we need to be there

This World Suicide Prevention Day, Childline by ISPCC is shining a light on what children and young people are telling us about suicide, and why having somewhere safe to talk can matter so much.

Every day, children and young people across Ireland contact Childline about some of the most difficult experiences in their lives.

So far in 2026, Childline has received 877 contacts about suicide – more than three every day.

Behind every one of those contacts is a young person with their own story, worries and reasons for reaching out.

For some, the conversation may be about suicide generally, or concern for a friend or family member. But in 83% of contacts about suicide, the young person is experiencing suicidal thoughts themselves.

Around 70% of all suicide-related contacts are considered high or very high risk.

 

What are children telling us?

There is rarely one simple reason why a young person may experience suicidal thoughts.

Through conversations with Childline and insights from our nLight research project, we see children speaking about feeling unsupported, disbelieved or trapped.

Abuse or neglect at home can be a factor. Bullying, social isolation and difficulties in relationships also feature in conversations.

Young people express feelings such as:

“Nobody cares.”

“Nobody loves me.”

“People would be happier without me.”

We also hear from children who are worried that a friend may attempt suicide, while some young people have told Childline about being encouraged by others online to harm or kill themselves.

These conversations are a powerful reminder of the importance of taking children seriously when they tell us they are struggling.

 

Young people don’t always use the word ‘suicide’

Understanding the language children use online is also increasingly important.

Through ISPCC’s involvement in the nLight research project, we see examples of children using terms such as “unalive” when discussing suicide online.

Young people’s language constantly evolves, particularly in digital spaces. They may use alternative words to talk about difficult subjects, including language that can avoid automated moderation or red-flagging on digital platforms.

For parents, carers, professionals and those designing online services for children, listening to how young people communicate distress can be just as important as listening for particular words.

 

Sometimes a child simply needs someone to listen

The average Childline engagement with a young person contacting us about suicide lasts 45 minutes.

That is 45 minutes in which a young person has someone focused on them, listening without judgement and giving them the space to express what they are thinking and feeling.

The majority of those contacting us about suicide are low or first-time users of Childline. For some, reaching out may be one of the first times they have spoken about what they are experiencing.

Our role is to listen, support and empower children and young people, and to help them identify the support available to them.

Childline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, because we never know when a child might decide that they are ready to talk.

 

Help us be there when a child reaches out

No child should have to face their darkest moments alone.

Your support helps ISPCC ensure Childline can continue to be there whenever a child or young person needs someone to listen – whether that’s in the middle of the afternoon or late at night.

By donating to ISPCC, you can help us continue to listen, support and empower children and young people across Ireland.

Donate today at ISPCC.ie.

 

If you need support

If you are a child or young person and something is worrying you, you can talk to Childline about anything that’s on your mind.

Call Childline free on 1800 66 66 66 or use Live Chat at Childline.ie.

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 112 or 999.

Summer Break, Silent Struggles: Childline reports a rise in suicide contacts

Boys earring wetsuits walking from the beach on a sunny day in autumn. They are on a staycation with their family to lower their carbon footprint and support the local economy.

Summer Break, Silent Struggles: Childline reports a rise in suicide contacts

What will be the most heartbreaking day of the summer? Last year, it was July 20 – the day that Childline received the most contacts from children and young people who were experiencing abuse, neglect and isolation during what is supposed to be the best days of their lives. 

Unfortunately, the summer of 2026 is already shaping up to be a difficult one for many children and young people. The Childline team already has experienced a noticeable spike in contacts related to suicide last week.

The longer days and the break from the routine of school life means that children face an increased risk of isolation, exposure to danger online, abuse and neglect. 

Many of these children dread the summer and count the days to go back to school. There, they can be themselves without fearing the consequences and teachers are available to give them the support that they need.

Take Eabha* who experiences food poverty, social isolation and abuse from her mother who drinks to numb her own pain and takes out her frustrations on her daughter. Eabha will spend the long, lonely summer holidays looking after her young siblings, lying to her friends to explain why she can’t meet them and doing everything she possibly can to ensure that her mother doesn’t lose her temper.

Sam* told a Childline volunteer about how his emotionally abusive family make him feel unloved and unable to express himself for fear of being taunted and bullied. He says that he hates being at home.

For Lily*, a carer for her critically ill parent, school offers a break from the constant pressure she experiences at home. She doesn’t want her friends to pity her so she shares little about what her life is really like.  

Elizabeth Donlon Fox, National Childline Listening Coordinator, says that our dedicated team of staff and volunteers hear similar stories on a daily basis: “When we think of summer, we think of endless, carefree days, but for so many children and young people, it’s a time of isolation, fear and neglect. It is truly shocking what so many young people have to endure and the lasting consequence of this trauma on their lives.”

For so many children, summer is a time of heartbreak, not happiness, but Childline is here to support them 24/7. To support Childline in this crucial work, please donate now.

ISPCC offers support to children and young people at childline.ie and at 1 800 66 66 66. 

  • *Names have been changed

ISPCC offers FREE online mindfulness workshops for children and teens

Join us online on January 16th to explore how mindfulness can make a positive difference to children and young people. ISPCC is offering three free workshops for primary and post primary school students. 

Each of the three sessions are interactive, directed at the relevant developmental stage of the attendees and designed to be engaging and playful in nature. They last 30-40 minutes and will be presented by Victoria Howson who is ISPCC’s Shield Anti-Bullying Programme’s Community Engagement Manager as well as a trainee Educational Psychologist with the HSE.

The first workshop at 9.30am is dedicated to exploring how mindfulness can help teens navigate academic pressure, social dynamics and emotional challenges. Through guided practice, relatable examples and reflective discussions, students will discover concrete strategies for focus, calm and self-awareness that they can seamlessly incorporate into their daily lives. 

The second session at 11am is aimed at pupils in junior infants, senior infants, first and second classes and it will introduce them to mindfulness through simple stories, movement and sensory exploration. They will learn age-appropriate techniques to help deal with overwhelming feelings.  

The third workshop at 11.55am is aimed at those in third to sixth classes and through interactive activities, guided breathing and reflective exercises, attendees learn how mindfulness can support focus, emotional balance and everyday wellbeing.  They will gain concrete strategies that are applicable both at school and at home. 

The aim of these sessions is to introduce children and teens to key tools and thought process that they can utilise to reduce anxiety, navigate emotional challenges and deal with pressure. It is also to encourage participants to make the best of every day they have and to understand that it’s okay to have feelings, even uncomfortable ones, they don’t have to be ignored. 

Teachers will need to provide a screen and speakers for the workshops.  

To learn more about the workshops and to register, go to ISPCC Webinars – ISPCC

ISPCC honoured to announce million-euro funding for project to combat child grooming

The GroSafe team, Fiona Jennings, ISPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs,  is pictured on the left

ISPCC is honoured to announce that GroSafe, the technology-enabled safeguarding platform designed to combat child grooming through education, support and reporting, has received the Prize Award from Research Ireland’s National Challenge Fund in the OurTech pillar.

This acknowledgement of potential of GroSafe to have an incredible impact on the lives of so many children and young is extremely welcome and will enable the GroSafe team to make a true societal impact.

By empowering children and caregivers through this platform, the GroSafe team aims to build societal resistance, reduce exploitation and foster a culture of safe and trusted disclosure. The project is led by TU Dublin’s Dr Christina Thorpe and Dr Matt Bowden and ISPCC’s Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Fiona Jennings, acts as Societal Impact Champion.

The GroSafe project is one of six research teams across four challenge programmes under the National Challenge Fund, to receive part of €8 million in prize phase funding. Funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, the Fund calls on researchers to identify problems related to Ireland’s Digital Transformation and work directly with those most affected to solve them.

Fiona Jennings, ISPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs, said the project is specially focused on “how children and young people are groomed into criminality or for sexual exploitation purposes.“We are extremely grateful that the possibilities offered by GroSafe have been acknowledged by the Prize Award from Research Ireland’s National Challenge Fund.

“The GroSafe team has gone to great lengths to ensure that the voices of stakeholders were heard and that their needs and requirements were understood. In particular, I believe that the engagement with children is the perfect example of true participation in action.

“The ISPCC wants to particularly acknowledge the steadfast vision, dedication and determination of the leadership provided by Dr Christina Thorpe and Dr Matt Bowden. They have ensured that the GroSafe potential for real societal change will be realised.

“As Societal Impact Champion, I am increasingly convinced that the only way to meaningfully tackle child grooming is by working together cohesively and respectively. I also want to acknowledge the incredible input of Research Ireland. I have been hugely impressed by the design of the National Challenge Fund competition and the continuing support and mentoring offered by members of Research Ireland throughout the process.”

ISPCC attends the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence

It was an honour to be invited to attend the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence and discuss the impact of AI on children and young people. ISPCC’s purpose is to protect childhood, and we believe that it is crucial to ensure that AI technologies are designed safely and ethically, with a child-rights approach.

The meeting of Joint Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence was a wonderful opportunity to share the insights of our colleagues in ISPCC who have direct daily engagement with children.

While there are legitimate – and grave – concerns about the future development of AI, it can also be used as force for good. 

ISPCC CEO John Church emphasised that the voice of the child is essential when formulating policy in this area, while Head of Policy and Public Affairs Fiona Jennings stressed ISPCC’s involvement in research projects underpinned by AI technologies – GroSafe and NLight – as well as the Children’s Online Redress Sandbox project which will establish a first-of-its-kind mechanism to advance child online safety through collaboration across sectors, borders and generations utilising a regulatory sandbox methodology.

GroSafe is funded by Research Ireland and aims to develop a technology-enabled solution to build societal resilience against child grooming.

NLight, funded by Safe Online, is a deployable text analysis tool that allows for better data and sentiment analysis of our Childline webchat service.

 She also discussed the Children’s Online Redress Sandbox project which will establish a first-of-its-kind mechanism to advance child online safety through collaboration across sectors, borders and generations.

At ISPCC, we believe that children and young people need to be educated on how to use AI technologies responsibly and productively. Legislators must champion a robust regulatory system that supports safe and ethical design of AI technologies. A cross-government coordinated approach with a national policy focus is needed, situated in the Department of An Taoiseach. The proposed AI office and AI observatory could offer this opportunity.

Every child has the right to lead a better, happier, safer childhood. It is our hope that working with our partners in the Irish Safer Internet Centre and on novel solution-focused projects, we can ensure that the rights of children and young people are protected as AI technologies evolve.

The other organisations represented at the meeting included the Ombudsman Youth Advisory Panel, National Youth Council, Children’s Rights Alliance, National Parents Council, BeLong To, CyberSafeKids, Irish Traveller Movement, spunout and Webwise.

ISPCC announces global project to prevent online child sexual exploitation and abuse

cyberbullying

The project, spearheaded by Greek non-profit child welfare organisation The Smile of the Child, will be co-created by children and young people to ensure their voices are heard

ISPCC is honoured to announce its participation in a worldwide project designed to transform how we prevent and respond to online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Safe Online, a global fund dedicated to eradicating online child sexual exploitation and abuse, is funding the project called “Sandboxing and Standardizing Child Online Redress”.

The COR Sandbox project will establish a first-of-its-kind mechanism to advance child online safety through collaboration across sectors, borders and generations.

The project is led by The Smile of the Child, Greece’s premier child welfare organisation and

ISPCC is a partner alongside The Young and Resilient Research Centre at Western Sydney University, Child Helpline International and the Centre for Digital Policy at University College Dublin.

Sandboxes bring together industry, regulators and customers in a safe space to test innovative products and services without incurring regulatory sanctions and they are mainly used in the finance sector to test new services. The EU is increasingly encouraging the use of sandboxes in the field of high technology and artificial intelligence.

Through the participation of youth, platforms, regulators and online safety experts, this first regulatory sandbox for child digital wellbeing will provide for consistent, systemic care and redress for children from online harm, based on their rights under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

Getting reporting and redress right means that we can keep track of harms and be able to identify systemic risk. Co-designing the reporting and redress process with young people as equitable participants can help us understand what they expect from the reporting process and what remedies are fair for them putting Article 12 of the UNCRC into action.

The project also benefits from the guidance of renowned digital safety experts, including Project Lead and Scientific Coordinator Ioanna Noula, PhD, an international expert on tech policy and children’s rights; pioneering online safety and youth rights advocate Anne Collier; youth rights and participation expert Amanda Third, PhD, of the Young and Resilient Research Centre; international innovation management consultant Nicky Hickman; IT innovation and startup founder Jez Goldstone; and leading child online wellbeing scholar Tijana Milosevic, PhD.

ISPCC Head of Policy and Public Affairs Fiona Jennings said: “This project is a wonderful example of what we can achieve when we collaborate and listen to children and young people. Having robust online reporting mechanisms in place is a key policy objective for ISPCC and this project will go a long way towards making the online world safer for children and young people to participate in.”

Project lead Ioanna Noula said: “ISPCC’s contribution to a project, which seeks to build coherence around the issue of online redress, will be a catalyst for real and substantial change in the area of online reporting. Helplines play a key role in flagging illegal and/or harmful content. As the experts in listening and responding to children, ISPCC can provide insight from an Irish context to help spearheading the implementation of the Digital Services Act and the wellbeing of children online.”

Help is finally here for the parents of children suffering from anxiety

ISPCC offers free Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Programmes to support parents as well as children and young people experiencing mental health difficulties

March 18, 2025

A parent whose child is suffering from anxiety can feel utterly helpless. They are desperate to help them but simply don’t know what to do.  For a parent whose child is on the CAMHS waiting list, the waiting time can feel interminable. If you live in Cork or Kerry, one of the areas in the country with the longest waiting times, it can feel catastrophic. But there is something a parent can do to help their child – and themselves.

ISPCC provides three separate but complimentary Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing programmes, two of which are available to parents/carers of either anxious children or teens while the third is aimed at teenagers experiencing low to moderate levels of anxiety.

ISPCC offers these programmes to all, it isn’t necessary to be on a CAMHS waiting list to avail of them.

The online programmes, which are all free, are based on the principles of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or CBT, and are created by SilverCloud, a leading digital mental health provider.

For Susan Nicholson, who completed the Supporting an Anxious Child programme after her GP recommended that her daughter Lauren attend CAMHS, the ISPCC programmes were invaluable.

“I wanted to do something that would help our family to support Lauren. The programme encouraged to me to look at the positives, rather than focusing on the effects of her anxiety. Going through the programme, you could see what other parents were going through and you’re able to relate to their challenges. To know that other people are going through is very helpful. As a parent, you’re supposed to know all the answers, and it’s scary.

“Starting the programme was such an easy process. I liked the fact that it was anonymous, nobody knew me and I didn’t have to go to a meeting in person. It was such a personal experience – in a good way. I didn’t feel like I was just another number.

 

Supporting an Anxious Child and Supporting an Anxious Teen are programmes that will help users to understand anxiety and better support their child or young person. Space from Anxiety is aimed at 15–18-year-olds, and it is designed to empower young people who experience low to moderate anxiety. An adult can refer themselves or their child to the programmes.

The programmes includes interactive tools, activities, mood monitors and journals to encourage users to apply CBT to their own lives. Users have 12 weeks in which to complete the programme under the guidance of a volunteer, known as a supporter, and can avail of an unsupported version of the programme for one year after this time. 

“Chloe [my supporter] was very empathetic,” says Susan. “When you’re in this situation, it’s great when you know someone else cares. I felt as if she cared about Lauren.”

Dee Higgins, an ISPCC volunteer who works on its Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing programmes, believes that the programmes are empowering for users of all ages. “It gives parents and young people a chance to deal with their anxieties before it becomes a huge issue,” she said, adding that “if parents can understand what their child is going through, that’s a huge step.” 

To find out more, go to https://www.ispcc.ie/guided-digital-programmes/

  • ISPCC delivery of these programmes is supported by the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention, as part of ‘Connecting for Life, Ireland’s National Strategy to Reduce Suicide’

Revealed: How one-third of young people* may be addicted to social media

New research shows that one in three young respondents neglects work, family or school several times a week or more because of social media use

This Safer Internet Day (11.02.25), experts from Ireland and Europe will discuss research revealing concerns over the exposure of young people to harmful content online, powerful algorithms and the need for effective digital media literacy

Dublin, February 11th, 2024:  Today, February 11th marks the 22nd anniversary of Safer Internet Day, a landmark global event in the online safety calendar and celebrated in over 180 countries.

New research from the first ever EU-wide survey on loneliness** indicates that one-third of young respondents exhibit patterns of social-media addiction. They have neglected work, family or school several times a week or more because of their social-media habits. The detrimental impact of this will be discussed today among experts from Ireland and Europe as part of Safer Internet Day.

In the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre study, intensive users are defined as respondents who report that they spend more than two hours a day on social media sites or instant messaging tools. Spending this length of time on social media is associated with a substantial increase in the prevalence of loneliness among young people.  However, researchers also point out that how social media is used matters more than how often it is used.

The Irish Safer Internet Centre knows through engagement with children and young people that they are concerned about navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape, and they freely discuss that they feel they spend too much time online. However, more research is crucial to truly understand the challenges they face. Consequently, the Irish Safer Internet Centre will be devoting additional resources to embarking on continuous research in this area in the coming year.

The theme for Safer Internet Day 2025 is “Prepare / Protect / Thrive: Navigating Algorithms and Influencers.” This theme encourages parents, schools, educators, young people and all stakeholders to consider how algorithms and influencers shape young people’s lives.

The key issues that will be discussed during Safer Internet Day 2025 include harmful online content, safety by design, regulation and children’s rights, among many others.

Safer Internet Day 2025 kicks off today with an event in Microsoft’s Dream Space. It will feature keynote addresses from Professor Debbie Ging (DCU), 5Rights Foundation and the European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency, which is part of the Joint Research Centre at the European Commission. In addition, the event will include contributions from the Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett; Webwise Youth Advisory Panel; the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission; ISPCC; Media Literacy Ireland; Microsoft, Hotline.ie; and National Parents Council.

Minister for Education Helen McEntee TD said: “As Minister for Education and Youth, it is a key priority of mine to work to safeguard and support the wellbeing of our pupils, students and school communities across Ireland. I am very pleased therefore to join Webwise and the Irish Safer Internet Centre, as well as experts from across Ireland and Europe, in marking Safer Internet Day today and highlighting the key themes of prepare, protect and thrive.

“While technology brings many exciting benefits and opportunities, it can also expose pupils and students to negative impacts. It is imperative that we use every lever available to us to help ensure they can stay safe and have the very best opportunity to thrive.

“I look forward to prioritising this area and to working collaboratively with our pupils, students, parents, teachers, school communities and wider education stakeholders over the months and years ahead to make sure our pupils and students are digitally literate, can safely harness the best of what technology presents and can get a mental break from technology too, to empower them to make friends and enjoy their time at school.”

Jane McGarrigle, National Co-ordinator, Webwise, said: “Technology is everywhere and it isn’t something that should be feared. We believe in encouraging children to engage with new technologies, however we are also cognisant of the importance of preparing them for the dangers they may encounter online. We want to empower them with the coping skills and resilience they need to thrive in the digital world. We also want to assure them that there is always support available if they need it and if they feel that their use of technology has become problematic.”

Online Safety Commissioner Niamh Hodnett said: “Coimisiún na Meán is focused on shaping a media landscape that safeguards the rights, wellbeing and development of children, and their safe engagement online. We are delighted to be supporting Webwise and their Safer Internet Day campaign this which this year is Prepare / Protect / Thrive: Navigating Algorithms and Influencers. Following the launch of our Online Safety Code in October of last year, Coimisiún na Meán’s Online Safety Framework is now in place, and we are continuing to prioritise a safer internet for children and young people.”

Safer Internet Day in Ireland is coordinated by the Irish Safer Internet Centre, a partnership between Hotline, ISPCC, National Parents Council and Webwise, providing a range of complementary online safety services, including an education and awareness centre, child and parent helplines and a hotline. The Centre is coordinated by the Department of Justice and co-funded by the European Union.

*In the EU study, young people are categorised as aged between 16 and 30 years

**The EU-wide study on loneliness (EU-LS) was conducted by the Joint Research Centre as part of a European Parliament pilot project in partnership with the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion. To learn more about the paper on Loneliness and Social Media Use in the European Union, click here

[ENDS]