Facebook to train teens as anti-bullying ambassadors
Written by News on 16/10/2017
Facebook is to train "tens of thousands" of students from every secondary school in the UK as digital safety ambassadors over the next two years.
The social media giant is partnering with Childnet International and The Diana Award to help pupils in more than 4,500 schools become digital leaders and anti-bullying ambassadors.
Research suggests 72% of teenagers would prefer to confide in a peer if they were being bulled online – and 55% said they would rather deal with an issue alone than speak to an adult.
Pupils will have access to face-to-face training, online resources and forums to help them deal with digital safety.
The investment from Facebook came after the UK Government announced plans to introduce a new tax on social media companies to fund awareness training.
Facebook’s head of global safety policy, Antigone Davis, said: "This partnership is the next step in our ongoing effort to help young people build safe and supportive communities.
"Over the last decade, we have developed a wealth of innovative resources on Facebook that enable young people to look after themselves and their peers, from our updated Safety Centre, to our online reporting tools.
"By offering trained digital safety ambassadors to every UK secondary school we are now taking this commitment offline too."
Facebook is also opening a physical experience in London called House of Us, which contains exhibits designed to highlight online safety challenges, and an audio maze that "evokes feelings of being bullied".
Culture Secretary Karen Bradley said: "It’s fantastic that Facebook have committed to providing digital ambassadors, these students in schools will help give their peers the tools they need to stay safe and tackle issues such as cyberbullying."
James Okulaja, a 14-year-old anti-bullying ambassador for The Diana Award, said: "My role is to go round schools and educate people on what it means to be an ‘Upstander’, which essentially is standing up to bullying and not watching it happen.
"Anti-bullying ambassadors educate others about how to stay safe and what to do if they see bullying online – about the reporting buttons, how to block and filter comments, and also where to go if you need help."
(c) Sky News 2017: Facebook to train teens as anti-bullying ambassadors
