One in four teens have seen pornographic deepfakes online

• More than a quarter (26%) ^1] of children have seen a sexualised deepfake of a celebrity, friend, teacher or themselves
• One in eight girls aged 13-18 ^[2] have received sexual threats online
• More than two fifths (42%) of young people think more needs to be done to ensure they are safe online

Children are being exposed to sexualised deepfakes, misogynistic comments, sexual threats and many other online harms, according to new research from Girlguiding, commissioned in line with Safer Internet Day.

Building on Girlguiding’s flagship research, the Girls’ Attitudes Survey, which found that 77% of girls aged 7-21 have experienced an online harm, the new research reveals that the online harms and misogynistic content girls are experiencing online makes them feel unsafe (34%) and unable to tell a parent or carer (32%).

The research asked 2000 young people between the ages of 13-18 about their experiences to understand the ideologies that teenagers are exposed to on social media and elsewhere on the internet, and how this is affecting girls and the way boys view gender stereotypes.

One of the more recent dangers to emerge for teenagers online is the creation and circulation of ‘deepfakes’, which often are difficult for young people to tell whether the content is real or has been manufactured by AI.

Over half (58%) of 13-year-olds said they know what a deepfake is, rising to 62% for all ages. Concerningly, over one in four of all respondents aged 13-18 (26%) said they have seen a sexualised deepfake of a celebrity, a friend, a teacher or even themselves.

When asked, one in three (42%) of respondents (aged 13-18) agree that more needs to be done to ensure children are safe online. Girlguiding is calling for the government to empower schools and colleges to do more to educate young people about healthy relationships, gender stereotypes, early warning signs and consent.

Misogyny and explicit content

 Experiences of violence against women and girls online is concerningly high amongst young people. When asked, one in eight (12%) young people  surveyed^[3] aged 13-18 say they have seen sexual threats, including those of rape, directed at women and girls online, and over a quarter (27%) have seen misogynistic comments on social media posts.

Not only are young people seeing these harmful comments and threats, but some girls revealed they are also receiving them firsthand. Over a quarter of girls as young as 13 (26% of 13-18 year olds) have seen rumours circulate about their own sexual behaviour online, and one in eight (13%) girls said they had received sexual threats online, including those of rape, from strangers. or someone they know.

When asked about how the online harms they’ve experienced make them feel or react, girls aged 13-18 said…

• 32% felt unable to tell a parent or carer
• 34% felt unsafe
• 24% didn’t want to show their face online
• 15% wanted to miss school
• 11% stopped seeing friends or going out

Influencer culture

When asked about content they’ve seen from influencers, 66^[4]% of boys aged 13-18 report seeing Andrew Tate content on social media. Over half (60%) of boys said that they see this content through their algorithms (‘for you page/feed’). 36% of boys said the content had been showed to them by friends in school.

When asked how they respond to seeing videos on social media that make them feel uncomfortable, half of respondents (50%) said they ‘just click off’ – but 14% of boys aged 13-18 revealed they will just watch the video anyway, regardless of how it made them feel.

Girlguiding encourages public sector organisations, including schools, to publish data on incidents of sexism and misogyny across the range of services they deliver, and to publish detailed plans to tackle sexism and misogyny.

Erin, 17, Girlguiding advocate, said: “Girlguiding's new statistics deeply worry me. It is no secret that online harms have been becoming more prominent with the growth of social media usage.

“Unfortunately, for some young people, seeing this kind of behaviour online may lead to the belief that treating girls and women and speaking to girls and women in a degrading way is normal, which may carry on into their day to day lives.

“Harmful content should not be as accessible as it is currently; and we need change urgently if we want to protect children and young people.”

Angela Salt, CEO of Girlguiding, said: “This shocking new research shines a light on the stark and awful reality of what girls are experiencing online from misogynistic comments to threats of sexual violence.

“Both girls and boys are regularly exposed to harmful content and if it isn’t coming up on their social media algorithms, it’s being shared in schools amongst friends. Social media companies must be held accountable to do more to tackle this hateful content and protect young people from its impacts.

“It’s more important than ever that girls have a safe space where they can escape the pressures of the outside world, have fun and be themselves.

“Girlguiding supports the government's bold plan to halve violence against women and girls in the next decade, and we're determined to work with them to ensure the needs and voices of girls and young women are met as part of their plan.”