The UK government has launched a new nationwide campaign aimed at helping parents understand what their children are seeing online and giving them the confidence to talk openly about harmful social media content, including body-shaming, rage bait, misinformation and misogyny.
The campaign, titled “You Won’t Know Until You Ask”, was unveiled on Tuesday by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and is designed to support parents with practical tools they can use immediately. It comes amid growing concern about the impact of social media on children, particularly as more young people gain access to smartphones at an increasingly early age.
New research commissioned by the government reveals that half of British parents admit they have never spoken to their children about harmful online content, despite 9 in 10 11-year-olds now owning a smartphone. While many parents say they feel confident using social media platforms themselves, a quarter acknowledge they do not know what their child is actually seeing online.
For many families, including those in diaspora communities navigating parenting across cultures, this gap in awareness is deeply worrying. Children today are growing up online as much as they are offline, often encountering content that parents never experienced at their age.
The new online guidance provides parents with advice on safety settings, conversation starters and age-appropriate ways to discuss difficult topics such as misinformation, online hate and extreme content. It encourages families to explore the internet together and to ask simple but powerful questions like how certain posts make children feel, who shared them and why.
The campaign is backed by behavioural research and academic insights, and has been developed in collaboration with organisations including Parent Zone and Internet Matters. It also responds directly to parents who say they feel unsupported, with more than half reporting they have never come across resources to help them navigate conversations about harmful content.
Experts warn that boys are particularly vulnerable to being algorithmically served misogynistic material, often without actively seeking it out. The campaign focuses on building critical thinking skills early, helping parents address harmful narratives before they take root.
Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said many parents feel anxious about what their children encounter online, especially when much of it happens out of sight. She said the campaign is about equipping parents with the confidence and tools they need to have regular, open conversations and to prepare children for a future shaped by digital technology.
The launch coincides with Safer Internet Day and forms part of a wider National Conversation on children’s digital wellbeing. Ministers will engage directly with parents and young people across the country to shape longer-term policy, with a formal three-month consultation expected to open in the coming weeks. Children will be given an opportunity to contribute directly.
For families from African, Caribbean and other global diaspora backgrounds, these conversations can feel especially complex. Many parents are raising children in a digital culture very different from the one they grew up in, balancing traditional values with new online realities around identity, gender and influence.
Dr Kaitlyn Regehr of University College London said addressing online harm requires regulation, moderation and education working together. She noted that education-focused campaigns like this one empower parents to communicate collectively rather than in isolation, helping families make more intentional choices about screen use.
Child safety experts say parents remain the first line of defence when something goes wrong online, but many struggle to discuss sensitive issues such as misogyny, hate speech and digital manipulation. The campaign aims to close that gap by normalising open dialogue rather than fear or silence.
The initiative builds on recent progress under the Online Safety Act, including wider use of age checks on adult sites, reduced visits to pornography websites, and stronger protections against online abuse. New laws have also criminalised the creation of non-consensual intimate images, including sexually explicit deepfakes, with further measures planned to ban so-called “nudification” tools.
As social media continues to shape how young people see themselves and the world, the government says parents do not need to have all the answers, but they do need to start asking the right questions.
For families across the UK and the diaspora alike, the message is clear: meaningful conversations at home remain one of the most powerful tools for keeping children safe online.