Over a third of teenagers aged 13-18 said they do not feel safe walking down the street by themselves, an exclusive survey commissioned by BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Bitesize has suggested.
More than a third say they have experienced verbal abuse on the street including name calling and being shouted at, whilst nearly one in five of the teenagers said they had experienced sexual harassment on the street, such as leering or wolf whistles.
The online poll, conducted by Survation, surveyed over 2000 teenagers aged 13-18 asking them questions on a range of different issues affecting teenage lives. These topics ranged from anxiety and social media to more controversial issues such as vaping, so called ‘sexting’ and pornography.
More than a quarter of teenagers questioned said they feel anxious all or most of the time with a further 45% saying they feel anxious at least some of the time, with exams, school life, and peer pressure the being main reasons.
More than a third of 13-18 year olds say they have seen pornography online, and 73 percent of teenagers said that social media and technology companies need to do more to stop pornography being viewed accidently online.
The survey also suggested that 16% of teenagers had been asked to make or share nude pictures or videos by a peer and 17% said they had received unwanted nude images/videos from a peer.
More than half of teenagers surveyed said they followed online influencers and of those that do, more girls than boys said influencers made them feel they needed to change the way they look.
And nearly a third of teenagers said they had watched videos by controversial influencer, Andrew Tate.
Nearly a third of those interviewed said they have messaged someone online that they didn’t know, and of those who have, 30% said they would consider meeting up in person.
Vaping was also a big issue with 32 percent of the teenagers saying have tried it at least once – and 67% say they have never vaped.
The teenagers were also asked what matters the most to them in life with family coming out on top. The survey suggested that 66 percent of teens feel positive about their future, and that family is the most important thing in their lives right now.
Heidi Dawson, Controller of BBC Radio 5 Live, said: “Understanding how teenagers feel and think about the world is crucial and this survey provides fascinating insights. Some of the findings are concerning and the research shows there is a big conversation needed on teen issues. We are working closely with BBC Bitesize and will be discussing all the issues during our Teen23 summit on BBC Radio 5 Live all day.”
Head of BBC Education Helen Foulkes said: “BBC Bitesize is committed to understanding our audience so that we can support them in the best ways possible. We do that for curriculum subjects but this survey shows that teenagers are increasingly dealing with all kinds of other issues and considerations.”
She added: “We’ve always been committed to getting expert guidance on the things that matter most to young people to provide support for all teenagers, but particularly those that are unsure of where else to go.”
