Kintyre young people help lead national push for safer online world

Mr Titterton said the group was keen to be involved in the NSPCC project because online safety is such an important issue for young people.

“As part of their wider youth voice network work, they find out about different opportunities and felt this was an important issue they wanted to take part in,” he said. 

“They explored the topic at length in workshops with the Scottish Youth Parliament and created posters, notes and podcasts to make sure local young people’s views were included.”

The young people said working alongside national organisations had been both inspiring and empowering.

“It was good to work with them as they could support us and had more knowledge on the subject,” one member said, while another added: “It was very inspiring to work alongside them on such an important topic.”

Participants highlighted that online challenges can feel different in smaller communities like Kintyre. One young person explained that because communities are close-knit, online incidents can have a bigger impact.

“If something happens online then it will have more of an impact because more people know you in small towns and there’s less anonymity,” they said. “You have a higher chance of knowing a bully in person here than in a big city.”

The group members said their priority would be for as many local people as possible to see the videos on online bullying and misinformation, which they believe are the biggest issues facing young people today.

Across Scotland, the Digital Safety Ambassadors also gathered views from youth groups and worked with the NSPCC’s Voice of Online Youth panel to identify common concerns, including grooming, scams, hate speech, body image pressures and protecting personal information.

The resources were showcased at an online event last November and are now being made available publicly to help raise awareness and inform policy discussions with decision-makers, including technology companies and politicians.

One Kintyre participant said it felt important that their work could influence change at a higher level. 

“It would be great to see that something you have worked on has been able to climb up the ladder to decision-makers to hopefully change things for the better,” they said.

The Kintyre group has also been instrumental in developing a new youth-led participation model across Argyll and Bute, known as the Argyll and Bute Youth Action Council (ABYAC). 

The model allows young people to set their own agendas, chair meetings and invite decision-makers to hear directly about the issues that matter to them.

Reflecting on their involvement, one young member said being part of the group had changed their sense of what was possible. 

“Before, my words and thoughts couldn’t travel to people who could actually change things,” they said. “Now that I have ABYAC to get my opinions to people who can change things, I feel like I can change the world.”

The digital safety resources created through the project will be shared with schools and youth groups across Argyll and Bute, helping to ensure that the experiences and ideas of young people from Kintyre continue to shape conversations about online safety across Scotland.

Any young people interested in getting involved with ABYAC can visit bit.ly/abyac to find out more information and sign up.