Young people continue to face significant risks online, including exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying and exploitation. Recent UK research has highlighted widespread concern about the impact of social media and young people’s experiences online.
To help professionals and young people explore some of these risks, Cornerstone VR, part of the Antser Group, developed a series of four virtual reality films focused on young people’s online activity and the potential impact on their personal safety and mental health.
The films provide an immersive way to explore situations young people may encounter online, helping to raise awareness and encourage conversations around social media, online relationships and wellbeing.
Serena Hadi, Head of Operations and Practice at Cornerstone VR, said: “It’s no secret that social media is now an inescapable presence in the everyday lives of so many of us, especially among young people.
“It yields huge power and there are many people using their influence online to target vulnerable children and young people. When we started doing our research, we were really surprised by the methods that these individuals were using.”
The films were developed following focus groups with professionals working with children in social care and education. This included teams at Inspirations, a provider of children’s residential care homes, and the London Borough of Redbridge, alongside conversations with young people and consultations with social media experts.
Each film explores a different aspect of young people’s experiences of social media.
The first introduces social media and shows how it can feature throughout a young person’s day, from WhatsApp conversations with family members to unsolicited messages from strangers.
The second and third films explore how online interactions can develop and how young people can be persuaded to meet someone in real life. The fourth focuses on the potential impact of social media on a young person’s mental health and wellbeing.
Speaking about the thinking behind the films, Serena said: “We wanted to make the films as realistic and informative as possible to highlight the things that we don’t always see as adults.”
Parminder Basra, Director of Operations at Inspirations Leicestershire, explained why the organisation was keen to support the development of the films:
“Before the internet, the risk for children from strangers was mainly outside the home but this is no longer the case. We need to do all we can to educate and raise awareness to help young minds navigate their first experience of social media and throughout their childhood to equip them with skills to manage the risks.”
The films form part of Cornerstone VR’s wider use of immersive technology to help professionals better understand the experiences of children and young people.
Cornerstone VR is used by public and private organisations to support learning and awareness around areas including early life trauma, domestic abuse, child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation (CSE).