8 ways parents can help teenagers stay safer online

For teenagers today, being online is just part of everyday life. It's where they chat with friends, discover new interests, watch videos, play games and keep up with what's happening in the world.

As a parent, it can sometimes feel impossible to keep up. Technology changes quickly, online trends come and go, and the digital world your teenager experiences may look very different from the one you grew up with.

With the government announcing a social media ban for under-16s from Spring 2027, many parents are thinking more carefully about how to help their children navigate the online world safely.

The good news is that helping your teenager stay safe online isn't about understanding every new trend. It's about giving them the confidence to make good decisions when they're online, recognise potential risks and know when to ask for help.

While we await further detail on the proposed social media ban and other online safety measures, here are some simple tips for parents to help keep teenagers safe online.

Whether your teenager is chatting with friends, gaming online or simply browsing the web, they'll come across all sorts of people, content and information. While most online experiences are perfectly harmless, it's important they understand that not everything they see online is what it seems.

Whether it's fake profiles, phishing messages or websites designed to trick people into sharing personal information, it helps to talk with them about the most common online risks so they know what to look out for. The more familiar they are with what the risks are, the easier it becomes for them to spot when something feels off.

Read our guide on how to spot scams for more information

It's also worth talking about what they can do if they come across something suspicious. Whether that's blocking a user, reporting a message, leaving a website or simply coming to you for advice, knowing they have options can help them feel more confident and secure online.

Most of us know not to publish our home address or phone number online, but personal information isn't always that obvious. Photos, location tags, school information, holiday plans, daily routines and even seemingly harmless updates can reveal more than intended, and a series of posts might tell someone where your teenager spends their time, who they're friends with or when they're away from home.

It helps to talk regularly about privacy and help your teenager understand who can see the information they share. Encourage them to check privacy settings on social media accounts, gaming platforms and online forums and to think carefully about what they share.

It's also important to discuss the difference between sharing information with close friends and sharing it with a much wider audience. Sometimes teenagers assume they're only posting for people they know, when in reality their content may be visible to hundreds or even thousands of people.

Passwords aren't the most exciting topic in the world, but they're one of the simplest and most effective ways to stay safe online. Many teenagers use the same password across multiple accounts because it's easier to remember. Unfortunately, that means if one account is compromised, others can quickly become vulnerable too.

Encourage your teenager to create strong, unique passwords for their most important accounts. A good password should be difficult for someone else to guess and shouldn't include obvious information such as birthdays, pet names or favourite teams.

It's also worth encouraging them to switch on two-factor authentication wherever possible. This adds an extra layer of protection by requiring a second verification step before someone can access an account.

Online scams aren't always obvious anymore. Fraudulent messages, fake websites, convincing emails and AI-generated content can all look surprisingly genuine, and even adults can struggle to tell the difference.

Text messages or emails claiming a package couldn't be delivered, competitions promising expensive prizes or alerts warning that an account has been compromised are all common tactics used by scammers, and some of them can be very convincing, especially for those that don't know the signs.

Teaching teenagers to stop, think and question what they're seeing online is one of the most valuable digital habits they can develop. The more confident they are at spotting red flags, the less likely they are to be caught out.

Talk to your teenager about the importance of slowing down before clicking links or sharing information, and encourage them to check who sent a message, visit websites directly rather than through links and ask for a second opinion if they're unsure.

From helping with homework to answering questions and generating images, AI tools are becoming a bigger part of everyday life for young people. While they can be really useful, it’s important to help your teenager understand that AI doesn’t always get things right.

Sometimes, teenagers might turn to AI for answers or information about sensitive or personal topics, such as questions about their health, mental wellbeing, relationships or worries they don’t feel comfortable raising elsewhere. While it may feel like an easy place to look for reassurance, AI can’t assess risk, understand the full situation or provide proper care or support in the way a trusted adult or professional can.

It helps to have a conversation with your teenager about when AI can be useful and when it’s better to speak to a real person. It's important they know that using AI for general information, ideas or help with learning is one thing, but questions about their health, mental wellbeing, relationships or safety are better discussed with a trusted adult or professional.

It’s also worth a quick reminder about privacy. Things like their full name, school, address or other personal details shouldn’t be shared with AI tools, as it’s not always clear how that information might be stored or used.

When it comes to online safety, no app, filter or parental control can replace open communication.

That's why one of the most valuable things you can do is create an environment where your teenager feels comfortable coming to you when something doesn't feel right.

Try to make conversations about technology a regular part of family life rather than something that only happens when there's a problem. Ask about what they're interested in online, what they're learning, who they spend time with and what they enjoy doing on their devices.

Whether they're dealing with a scam, an uncomfortable interaction, cyberbullying or simply something they don't understand, knowing they can come to a trusted adult can be the thing that helps them speak up and ask for help when they don’t feel safe online.

We’re proud to support the Government’s ‘You Won’t Know Until You Ask’ campaign which aims to provide parents and guardians with practical support they can use to have a confident conversation with their children about the content they see online, and whether it’s true or not.

Cyberbullying can be difficult to spot because it often happens out of sight. Sometimes it's obvious. Other times it can be more subtle, such as being excluded from group chats, targeted with rumours, receiving repeated negative comments or being harassed through private messages.

Because so much of it happens online, the effects can feel constant. Unlike traditional bullying, it can follow young people wherever they go through their phones and devices.

What matters most is making sure your teenager knows they don't have to deal with it alone.

Some young people worry that telling a parent will mean losing access to their devices or being blamed for what's happened. Reassuring them that you'll listen first can make it much more likely they'll speak up if something goes wrong.

Online safety isn’t just about protecting accounts and personal information. It’s also about helping teenagers build a healthy, balanced relationship with technology.

While tech has plenty of benefits, it’s just as important to think about how – and when – we step away from screens. Finding that balance doesn’t need strict rules or screen bans. More often, it’s the small everyday habits that make the difference, like keeping phones out of bedrooms overnight, making time for family activities, or encouraging hobbies that don’t revolve around a screen.

That’s the thinking behind our Digital Wellbeing Manifesto, created by Virgin Media O2 to help people feel more in control of their digital lives and build healthier habits online.

We’ve teamed up with Mel B as part of our Digital Wellbeing Strategy, helping to bring this to life with two actually helpful tools to reducing screen time: O2 scroll stopper and The Digital Intentionality Score quiz. She’s been talking about how easy it is to get caught up in constant scrolling and why it matters to step back sometimes, as well as encouraging more open, honest conversations at home about screen time and how we use technology day to day.

Want to learn more? Head over to our Digital Wellbeing Manifesto to learn how we help you to use technology on your own terms.

At Virgin Media, we know that supporting your teen’s online life takes more than good advice; it also takes the right tools. That's why every broadband package comes with Essential Security at no extra cost, blocking phishing sites, viruses, and dodgy pop-ups before they ever reach your devices.

You’ll also find simple Parental Controls and content filters that let you manage what your children can access, along with our Online Safety Hub, which is full of easy-to-follow guides and practical tips on spotting scams, deepfakes and other online risks.