One in five children have secret social media accounts that they hide from their parents

Published on: September 29, 2018

One in five children – some as young as 11 – have secret social media accounts that they hide from their parents and teachers, survey reveals

Survey of 20,000 secondary school pupils revealed growth in ‘fake Insta’ pages
The news has heightened fears that sexual content is being posted
Twenty per cent of pupils said they have a ‘main’ account to show parents

By Jonathan Petre for The Mail on Sunday

Published: 00:32 BST, 30 September 2018 | Updated: 00:33 BST, 30 September 2018

One in five children – some as young as 11 – are creating social media accounts that they keep secret from adults.

A survey of 20,000 secondary school pupils revealed a rapid growth in ‘fake Insta’ accounts – a reference to photo-sharing site Instagram. The news has heightened fears that sexual content is being posted.

There's been rapid growth in ‘fake Insta’ accounts – a reference to photo-sharing site Instagram

There’s been rapid growth in ‘fake Insta’ accounts – a reference to photo-sharing site Instagram

Twenty per cent of pupils said they operate a sanitised ‘main’ account to show parents, while also having private ones. One mother who stumbled across her 13-year-old’s daughter’s secret site found a teenager urging others to ‘rape me’.

The research, by Digital Awareness UK and the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) of independent schools, found 40 per cent of 11 to 18-year-olds had two profiles, with half of those admitting to keeping private accounts.

HMC chief Mike Buchanan said: ‘It’s disturbing so many teenagers are tempted into creating online spaces where parents and teachers cannot find them.’