Racist and misogynistic extreme online content influencing pupils, teachers say

More than half of teachers say pupils in their schools are being influenced by racist and misogynistic extreme social media content, a union survey has found.

A survey of 10,578 teachers by the National Education Union (NEU) found one in six (16%) teachers said they have experienced misogyny from a pupil in the last year.

Teachers were most likely to say misogynistic (56%) and racist (52%) harmful or extreme online content was influencing pupils in their school.

More than two in five teachers also said homophobic or transphobic (45%) content and conspiracy theories or misinformation (43%) were influencing their pupils.

It comes as the Government is considering measures to protect children under 16 online, which could include an Australia-style social media ban or measures like time limits and curfews.

Almost all (98%) teachers said they would support stricter Government regulation of tech companies to protect children from addictive algorithms.

A majority of teachers also said social media has resulted in pupils losing their ability to concentrate (71%), seeing an impact on their mental health (67%), and facing sleep deprivation (66%).

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said these impacts are “deeply concerning” and ministers must not delay action to rein in tech companies.

“Addictive social media algorithms are feeding our children harmful content on a daily basis. That content is having clear negative effects – with educators reporting racist and misogynistic behaviour by young people, influenced by what they have seen online,” he said.

Mr Kebede added: “This is not a problem that schools or parents on their own can fix.

“The vast majority of teachers and support staff back stricter regulation of tech firms to protect young people. That is why we are calling for Government to raise the age of social media access from 13 to 16.”

Nearly one in 10 (9%) teachers also said they had experienced sexualised comments from pupils in the past year.

Secondary school teachers reported stronger impacts or harmful and extreme online content.

More than one in two said social media use has caused changes in peer relationships (60%) and increased bullying or harassment (55%) among their students.

One teacher responding to the survey said their school was dealing with increasing incidents of children sharing explicit images and then being blackmailed.

Delegates at the NEU’s annual conference in Brighton are due to debate a motion on Tuesday calling on the union’s executive to reaffirm its opposition to all forms of racism, fascism and far-right extremism.

Another motion due to be debated calls for the union to campaign against rhetoric claiming migrants are to blame for all violence against women and girls.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said in an interview with the Sunday Mirror that addictive social media features should not be allowed.

He said he was “open-minded” about a full social media ban, but said things will not stay as they are.

Landmark case

His comments come after a landmark court case in the United States saw a jury find Meta and Google liable for a woman’s childhood social media addiction.

In a potentially precedent-setting decision, the jury in California recommended the 20-year-old plaintiff be awarded six million dollars (£4.4 million) in damages.

Both Meta and Google plan to appeal, but the Prime Minister said the decision could be a turning points that leads to “much stricter content restriction”.

A Government spokesperson said: “These figures are deeply concerning, and underscore the need for strong action to keep our kids safe online.

“We have introduced some of the toughest online safety laws in the world. Platforms now have a legal duty to remove illegal content for all UK users and to protect children from harmful material, including pornography, violent and abusive online content.

“We have also published strengthened guidance to make it even clearer that schools should be mobile phone-free and have launched a public consultation considering stronger measures, including a social media ban or curfew for children.”