Internet, Photographs and Mobile Phones

Different ways of communicating with friends are important to young people and are now a way of life from an early age. When a young person comes to live with you, you should find out their background and whether the internet, photographs and mobile phones contributed towards any abuse so that you can plan their use safely for all young people but particularly those where it has been an issue. You should ask the young person's social worker for advice and information.

Your knowledge of different media will vary but it is important that supported lodgings providers develop their understanding of different electronic devices, the internet and social media, and that you learn how to safeguard young people when using the internet and mobile devices. You should also be aware of and alert to the signs of grooming behaviour. Grooming is when someone builds an emotional connection with a young person to gain their trust for the purposes of sexual abuse or exploitation.

If you are concerned that a young person is being bullied over the internet or phone, you should talk to them about it, record what is happening in the daily record and speak to the young person's social worker as soon as possible.

The Placement Plan should identify any risks or issues associated with the use of a computer, mobile phone or gaming equipment particularly in relation to bullying, sexual exploitation, radicalisation or other risk-taking behaviours and where appropriate assess the risk and how safely to manage the young person's use. The use of social media/electronic communication as a way of maintaining contact with family and friends should be outlined in the young person's Care Plan (see also Contact Between the Young Person, their Family and Others Procedure)

You should discuss their use of the internet with the young person and their social worker and any concerns made clear. These arrangements must be outlined in the young person's Placement Plan and must be reviewed regularly.

Some useful guidelines are:

• Appropriate internet security should be used on devices to avoid access to inappropriate material;
• You should set clear ground rules on the use of the internet;
• You should show an interest in the internet and encourage young people to be open about any concerns or problems;
• Discourage a young person from arranging a face-to-face meeting with someone they "meet" on the internet and discuss the dangers with them;
• Encourage the young person to talk to you about messages they receive which make them uncomfortable. If the young person receives a message or sees something online that you are concerned about keep a copy and make a note in the daily record;
• Remember that people online may not be who they say they are.

You should try to equip the young person with the skills to decide who to trust, even when they have not met the person face-to-face and talk to the young person about what makes a real friend.

You should be aware and understand the risks that using the internet may pose for young people, such as bullying, sexual exploitation and radicalisation. The supported lodgings Service should have well-developed strategies to support you in keeping young people safe and to support and provide you with appropriate learning around internet safety. 

You should be aware of and alert to indicators of grooming behaviour and possible sexual exploitation.

Social networking sites are websites where you can create a profile all about yourself and contact other people. You can also upload photos, music and videos to share with other people, and on some sites, chat to other people on forums. Popular social networking websites include Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) but there are others.

Social networking sites are often used by perpetrators as an easy way to access young people for sexual abuse.

Radical and extremist groups may use social networking to attract young people into narrow ideologies that are intolerant of diversity: this is similar to the grooming process and exploits the same vulnerabilities. The groups concerned include those linked to extreme Islamist, or Far Right/Neo Nazi ideologies, extremist Animal Rights groups and others who justify political, religious, sexist or racist violence. 

Young people may be drawn to adopt a radical ideology through a failure to appreciate the bias in extremist material; in addition by repeated viewing of extreme content they may come to view it as normal.

‘Internet Abuse’ relates to four main areas of abuse to young people:

• Abusive images of children/young people (although these are not confined to the internet);
• A young person being groomed for the purpose of Sexual Abuse;
• Exposure to pornographic or other offensive material via the internet; and
• The use of the internet, and in particular social media, to engage young people in extremist ideologies.

It should be noted that creating or sharing explicit images of a child (under 18 years) is illegal, even if the person doing it is a child/young person. A young person is breaking the law if they:

• Take an explicit photo or video of themselves or a friend;
• Share an explicit image or video of a child/young person, even if it's shared between children/young people of the same age;
• Possess, download or store an explicit image or video of a child/young person, even if the child/young person gave their permission for it to be created.

However, if a young person is found creating or sharing images, the police can choose to record that a crime has been committed but that taking formal action is not in the public interest.

With effect from 29 June 2021, section 69 Domestic Abuse Act 2021 expanded so-called 'revenge porn' to include threats to disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress.

If it is OK to take pictures or videos always ask the young person's permission first and make sure they are clear on who will see them and why.

Young people over the age of 16 with capacity (see Mental Capacity Act) can give their own consent to having their photograph taken and uploaded onto a website for promotion purposes but if there are safeguarding issues then this would be need to be discussed with the young person and the young person’s social worker as to how this should be managed.

Mobile phones and some apps offer text messaging, taking pictures, sending and receiving them, sending and receiving video clips and sound tracks, as well as access to the internet which means a young person can download pictures and videos.

With a camera phone a young person can also send pictures of themselves, friends and where they live, which can have security implications for some young people.

It may be useful to encourage young people to share details of how they communicate with others and an agreement reached between the young person, social worker and supported lodgings provider about how safely to do this, including issues such as:

• Age appropriate use of the phones;
• Safety – take advice from the social worker about the young person’s phone;
• Where there are concerns about the use of the phone, you should report them to the young person's social worker and discuss appropriate sanctions;
• Where it is considered and evidence is available to suggest that the young person's mobile phone is placing them at risk, the phone can be removed as an immediate measure. If this situation occurs, reporting to your Social Worker and discussions about who should inform the young person's social worker should be done at the earliest opportunity and action to remedy this situation taken. This should be recorded within the contract;
• Contact with birth families can often be the source of distress and upset. If the use of a mobile phone affects contact negatively with family this should be reported and consideration given to what measures can be taken by the young person's social worker to address this;
• How is the credit for the phone managed? It is the responsibly of the young person to maintain credit for their personal phone with your support. Appropriate support to encourage ordinary ‘teenage behaviour’ in relation to current mobile phone communication should be considered carefully. It is imperative that young people are not discriminated against simply because they are in the care system and they should still be given the same opportunities as their peer groups whilst being mindful of the safeguarding issues.

Mobile phone network providers operate a barring and filtering mechanism to prevent those under 18 years accessing 18 rated content. The service can be provided for both contract and pay as you go phones.