What online support should I direct my students to?
Being able to seek support independently of their parents or teachers, and create networks of like-minded peers, can be very positive for young people.
Recognising this, many of the leading internet providers, social networking sites and mobile network providers are working with support organisations and charities so that their members have access to information and guidance from experts.
For example, charities including Samaritans and beat (a UK charity for people with eating disorders) have joined Bebo, Facebook, MySpace and YouTube so that members can learn about and access their services directly in the digital environment.
Furthermore, some social networking providers have a dedicated space on their site on which support groups can promote their services.
- Bebo has created BeWell, a central source of information, support and advice on health, wellbeing and other issues.
- MySpace offers the Impact channel, which provides a focal point on the site for a range of social causes, including helplines.
- YouTube and the charity BeatBullying have also teamed up to run the UK's first anti-bullying channel online
- The eating disorder charity Beat can also be found on YouTube
While the use of bona fide information and support websites should be encouraged, you should also be aware that your students might come across harmful sites, especially if they search on an unfiltered search engine . For example, there are many pro-suicide and pro-eating disorder sites on the Web, which would be inappropriate for your students.
Search providers are also taking action in this area. For example, Google launched a new search feature in the UK in 2010 that triggers Samaritans' 24 hour helpline for certain relevant search queries relating to suicide.
Did you know?
When researchers from the British Medical Journal used four search engines to look for information about suicide, the three most frequently occurring websites were pro-suicide sites (Source: BMJ, April 2008)
Although action is being taken to minimise the impact of these kind of websites - internet providers are using self-regulation and the Government announced in September 2008 that it would be amending the Suicide Act to ensure that the promotion of suicide on the internet is an offence - your students might still come across them.
They might also come into contact with individuals who want to promote self-harming or other harmful activities on social networking sites or blogs.
It's therefore crucial that you maintain a dialogue with young people at your school and discuss anything that concerns them, both offline and online. Guide them to reliable information on the internet and away from potentially harmful websites.
You can find contact details for many of the leading UK support organisations here.
The Internet Watch Foundation provides FAQs about pro-suicide and pro-eating disorder websites here .