What do young people REALLY think of the online world?
Our 23,765 Digital Ambassadors shared their thoughts in our latest Pulse Report.
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“Being a Digital Ambassador means doing what’s right – shutting down bullying, standing up for people and supporting ideas that I agree with. As a Digital Ambassador it’s my job to make the internet a safer healthier place, because everyone is beautiful in their own way and deserves to feel good about themselves, others and the world.”
One of the exciting things we got to work on this year was PROJECT ROCKIT Digital Ambassadors supported by Meta (previously Facebook)! The program aimed to unite thousands of school students all over Australia to use their online power for good. Throughout 2021 the program trained 23,765 Year 7-9 students across the country as Digital Ambassadors. We got to hear what young people really think about the online world both before, during, and after a global pandemic.
Utilising a digital adaptation approach to support schools returning to the classroom in 2022, our Digital Ambassadors online workshops captured real-time data illustrating how young people are currently engaging with digital technology, how they really felt about the online world throughout remote learning and the lockdowns and how they felt about using their online power for good after Digital Ambassadors.
After attending the Digital Ambassadors events we discovered that:
71% of young people reported that being online is a positive part of their life
And when it came to the past year of spending more time online than ever students told us that the online world actually played a really big role in where they felt comfortable speaking out and how they were able to stay connected:
31% of young people would report cyberbullying to the platform, and 22% would talk to a trusted adult to get their advice.
When it came to self care and mental health, 38% said they follow wellbeing advice and app nudges most of the time, and 29% follow advice some of the time.
24% found that social media positively influences their mental health through connecting with content that makes young people feel good, and an additional 23% found they were positively impacted through connection with community.
When it came to their concerns about social media and the impact on young people, students named their top four issues and the things they loved to see online.
So what do we do with these learnings?
We commit to supporting young people tackle these issues in 2022 and beyond. Young people are online now more than ever and it’s time to listen to them and support them in getting the skills to use their online power for good.