Tag: online content

Women and Equalities Committee launches new inquiry into Misogyny: the manosphere and online content

Westminster’s Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) yesterday (Friday, 9 May) launched a new inquiry into Misogyny: the manosphere and online content.

The inquiry will explore the prevalence and impact of misogynistic views, attitudes and behaviour among young men and boys, particularly in schools and educational settings and the reasons for this.

It will examine ways that boys and young men are also being harmed and if better support, activities and services need to be available to them. 

MPs on the cross-party Committee, chaired by Labour MP Sarah Owen, will examine evidence of rising misogyny among young men and boys, and the role of social media and online communities, referred to as the ‘manosphere’.

It will also look at how online content and the availability of violent pornography, is contributing to sexist and misogynistic attitudes, behaviour and violence against women and girls both online and offline. 

The inquiry will examine how social media influencers are shaping attitudes towards women and girls and the strategies and interventions needed to address this. 

It will also assess what role social media companies and online platforms are playing in the promotion of misogynistic content and what policies they have in place for deplatforming or demonetising this content. 

WEC held an evidence session on April 29 with Jack Thorne and Emily Feller, executive producers of the hit Netflix drama Adolescence, exploring the impact of toxic online misogyny on young men and boys, as well as the public and political reaction to it. WEC’s predecessor committee held an evidence session in May 2024 on incel culture.

Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) Chair Sarah Owen MP said: “The recent television drama Adolescence brought into sharp political and public focus the burgeoning issue of misogynistic views and behaviour among young men and boys and the questions over its prevalence, particularly in schools and educational settings. 

“With young people spending significant amounts of time online, the Committee want to conduct a timely assessment of the drivers for such attitudes, as well as explore the complex interplay with social media content, the online manosphere and violent pornography.        

“This inquiry will examine what more could be done both on and offline to address these trends, and also feeds into WEC’s wider scrutiny of Government work to tackle violence against women and girls.”

Terms of reference

The Committee invites written submissions through the inquiry website addressing any or all of the issues raised in the following terms of reference by Friday, 6 June 2025.

  • How prevalent are misogynistic views, attitudes and behaviour among young people today, particularly in educational settings? What examples are there of these views, attitudes and behaviours? In what other settings are such behaviours prevalent? 
  • How is content on social media and online, such as violent pornography, contributing to sexist and misogynistic attitudes and behaviour and violence against women and girls both online and offline? 
  • How are social media influencers shaping attitudes towards women and girls? 
  • What role are social media companies and online platforms playing in the promotion of misogynistic content?  
  • Who is gaining financially from the marketisation of misogyny online, and how? What policies do social media companies have in place for deplatforming or demonetising this content and are they enforced? 
  • What strategies and interventions are needed to address misogyny among young people?

Children say exposure to dangerous online content is the greatest threat they face

Children and young people see dangerous and explicit online content as the number one threat they face according to a new survey commissioned by the charity Children First with support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

79 percent of young people in Scotland said they are moderately to extremely worried about seeing harmful online content and 78 percent are anxious about the impact of social media according to figures released today by Scotland’s national children’s charity.

Children First said the figures provide further “shocking” evidence of the depth of Scotland’s national childhood emergency, as they revealed less than one in four of the young people who completed the survey said that childhood is better now than it was for their parents.

The charity’s survey quizzed more than 2,460 children and young people aged 11-25 across Scotland about their lives.

Smartphone usage also came out as a top concern alongside worries about mental health.

Mary Glasgow, chief executive of Children First said: “The level of fear and anxiety that children and young people feel about the dangers of being online and the impact on their mental health is shocking.

“That less than a quarter of young people say their childhood is better than their parents, shows how deep the national childhood emergency goes. We must take children’s concerns seriously and act with urgency.

 “Our teams have seen a surge in children coming to us who are distressed and at risk of serious harm. We are extremely grateful to the generous players of People’s Postcode Lottery, whose support helps us to be there to help children and young people recover from trauma and abuse. But the terrible reality is that the online threats to our children and young people are growing daily.

“Children can’t protect themselves; everybody needs to help keep them safe. Technology platforms need to stop shirking their responsibility for children’s online safety. They must put children before profit and make young people’s safety their top priority.

“We understand how overwhelming online dangers can feel for parents and carers and are here to help. Anyone who is worried about a child can contact Children First’s support line for help.”

Players of People’s Postcode Lottery have been supporting Children First’s work to protect children across Scotland for over 17 years. Last year alone players raised £900,000 for the charity awarded by Postcode Children Trust.

Children First has been working with young people to understand their concerns about online harm. At a recent workshop, young people revealed worries about cyber-bullying, the dark side of social media, the sharing of photos and videos without permission, the use of artificial intelligence, unwanted contact from strangers and being served dangerous and explicit content.

Commenting on Snapchat, Jessie said: “you don’t know who you are meeting on there,” Beth added: “I have 84 boys trying to add me as a friend… I don’t know any of them.”

Laura said she “think(s) AI is a lot more dangerous than it is good, until there are proper regulations, but there probably won’t be enough regulations ever.”

Children First’s Scotland-wide confidential support line can be called free on 08000 28 22 33 or contacted by webchat at www.childrenfirst.org.uk. The charity’s support line is open 9am – 9pm, Monday to Friday or 9am – 12 noon Saturday and Sunday.

The charity has published some helpful advice for parents and carers about keeping children safe online www.childrenfirst.org.uk/onlinesafety  

   *Names have been anonymised to protect the identity of the young people quoted.

Half of children and teens exposed to harmful online content

  • 47% of teens say they have seen content online they wish they hadn’t seen while in lockdown, and one in eight (13%) see harmful videos everyday
  • 14 year olds see the most harmful content, with a quarter saying they see inappropriate videos every day.
  • The BBFC website and free app contains ratings info and age ratings so parents can help their children make informed viewing choices.

New research by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has shown that children and teens are being exposed to harmful or upsetting content while in lockdown, often on a daily basis.

The research, carried out by YouGov, has revealed that in lockdown, nearly half (47%) of children and teens have seen content they’d rather avoid, leaving them feeling uncomfortable (29%), scared (23%) and confused (19%).

One in eight (13%) said they see harmful content daily while in lockdown, with 14 year olds exposed to the most. A quarter (24%) of 14 year olds say they see harmful content on a daily basis.

This comes as more than half (53%) parents say they haven’t spoken to their children about their increased time online during lockdown, with a third (29%) saying they didn’t think those chats would make a difference.

The BBFC is encouraging parents to talk to their children about what content they might be watching online during lockdown, as 60% of children say they have approached their parents to chat after seeing content that has upset or disturbed them while they’ve been online in lockdown.

Parents, and young people, can check out age ratings and ratings info to find out what content might contain on the BBFC website and app. The BBFC also has a wide range of educational resources to help parents homeschool their children during lockdown available on their website, and on their children’s website cbbfc.  

The research also shows that 82% of parents, and three quarters (73%) of children want to see trusted BBFC age ratings and ratings info displayed on user generated content platforms like YouTube, so they can avoid content that might upset or disturb them.

95% of parents said they want age ratings on user generated content platforms linked to parental filters. The BBFC is therefore calling on platforms to consider using BBFC age ratings for their content, and for uploaders of user generated content to age rate their content which could then be linked to parental filters.

David Austin, Chief Executive of the BBFC, said: “This research shows that during the lockdown parents can make a real difference to their children’s risks online if they talk about how to avoid potentially distressing and inappropriate content. 

“We’re supporting parents to help their children to navigate the online world safely, and both our website and children’s website cbbfc, contain a wealth of free educational resources including ones we have developed with the PHSE Association.

“But platforms have a role to play as well. What a difference it would make, for example, if YouTube had well known, trusted BBFC age ratings created by those uploading or watching the video, that parents and young people recognise from the cinema, DVD and Blu-ray and Netflix, linked to filters. Now more than ever we need to work together to protect children online by giving them the information they need to choose content well.”

This research supports the Government’s recognition of the need to help families stay safe online, with guidance recently issued containing the four-point plan including: reviewing security and safety settings; checking facts and guarding against disinformation; being vigilant against fraud and scams; and managing the amount of time spent online.