Young people are vulnerable online

Those we take for granted as “digital natives” are not all having a good experience online.

A new Prince’s Trust report, Slipping through the Net, carried out by the LSE and supported by Samsung, raises serious concerns about young people’s vulnerability online and is causing them to fall further behind in life.

Many young people across the East of England lack the rudimentary skills they need to navigate the online world with confidence.

The research highlights that around 40% of young people struggle in dealing with the negative behaviour of others online. 35% of them say that no one or almost no one could be trusted online.

While an emphasis is often put on developing young people’s technical abilities online, our report calls for increased training around soft er skills to help the next generation use the internet effectively and ensure their wellbeing online. At The Prince’s Trust we work with young people who often lack traditional literacy skills, experience difficulties navigating the web, leaving them frustrated and leading to them seeking offline solutions, further narrowing their access to the jobs market. We hope government, businesses and other youth organisations will join us in developing new solutions to ensure that young people, whatever their background, can not only navigate the Internet safely and without fear but also make the most of the online world to advance in life. John O’Reilly

Director The Prince’s Trust

Central England