Experts claim teenagers face more risks online than Interrailing around Europe

TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp recently revealed that social services had intervened after her decision to let her 15-year-old son go Interrailing alone around Europe, but this may not be the biggest threat teens face.

A recent controversy surrounding television presenter Kirstie Allsopp’s decision to allow her teenage son to travel independently in Europe has sparked a debate about the risks faced by young people in today’s world.

Child safeguarding experts and psychologists have weighed in on the issue, with some arguing that the risks posed to teenagers online far outweigh those of travelling independently. Simon Bailey, a former chief constable and child protection expert, emphasised the dangers of the online world, comparing it with the risks faced by a minor travelling to European tourist hotspots or even local train travel.

Mr Bailey, a former chief constable and the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for child protection said: “The risk is far greater with a child up in their bedroom with access to a smart device than it is travelling to Berlin, Munich and seeing some of the wonderful sights that Europe provides.” 

He went on to claim that teenagers are at greater risk at home on their smartphones than many parents realise, saying: “There is a greater risk to children now in the online space than there ever has been before and actually the online world in which they inhabit poses greater risks than the physical world in which they live in.”

Childlight Research Exposes Child Exploitation and Abuse

Recent research by Childlight revealed that more than 300 million children worldwide face sexual exploitation and abuse online annually. For Bailey, this underlines that parents should be prioritising managing these risks. He explained, “in the physical world, a 15-, 16-year-old is going to recognise if somebody poses [a threat]” but that “in the online world, they just don’t know who they are talking to, what their motives are”.

The Importance of Independence for Young People

Others like Alan Wood, an expert in children’s social care, also weighed in on the issue, saying that the risks linked with social media and online exploitation are greater than those faced when travelling. Wood went on to argue that traditional childhood experiences like unsupervised play and exploration are key to young people’s development.

Kirstie Allsopp and the Trip that Started a Debate

The news that Kirstie Allsopp, presenter of the hit TV programme Location, Location, Location, was approached by social services after writing about her son’s solo Euro trip on X, broke last week. Allsopp says she was asked about the safeguarding measures in place for her son’s- then 15-  trip.

Allsopp hit out at the intervention, claiming it was an overreach on the part of social services. The trip has certainly divided opinion, even among experts. 

Alan Wood said that “it was not unreasonable” for social services to make the initial call. However, the characterisation that young people are children up until the age of 18 is “dubious” for Wood. Wood ultimately identifies the crux of the matter with this remark. Until what age should young people be considered children, and should parents be allowed free reign to make calls about potentially risky trips like her son’s Interrailing experience?   

Wood went on to make the comparison between the risk of technology and travelling, explaining: “Where I think a lot of the risk is coming from is slightly different to taking a tour at 15. I think the social alienation of individual children by being glued to social media and games and things like that for me is an area that potentially does have quite an impact on their mental health or emotional health.”

Further Support for Allsopp

Jonathan Haidt, a social psychologist at New York University, penned a book called Anxious Generation, which  explored the twin trends of the decline in adolescent freedom and unsupervised play coupled with the rise in a reliance on screens. He  praised Allsopp for the decision to let her son travel alone.

Haidt posted on X at the weekend: “If we’re going to roll back the phone-based childhood, we MUST give kids back a fun, exciting, and at times risky childhood in the real world. Kirstie gave that gift to her 15-year-old son.”

Dan O’Hare, an educational psychologist, also said that children’s decreasing amounts of physical freedom and increased screen time had an impact on wellbeing.

He claimed that parental worry about safety can reduce young people’s physical freedom, meaning that “you’re having less physical activity, you’re spending more time not engaging with the world around you, but rather through screens – and you’re exposed to content that you might never have come across if you were out in the park.

“I think all of these factors need to be considered … risk just doesn’t come from the immediate world around us. Risk in 2024 can come from thousands of miles away in a different time zone, at 3am in the morning.”

O’Hare said that independence was something that needed to be “cultivated as a skill” from an early age. He added that weighing up the risk of a teenager travelling without an adult would depend on how much support they had through childhood to build independence and whether they had learned how to go to others for help.

Parents Must Find a Balance 

The controversy highlights the evolving nature of childhood and the challenges parents face in balancing safety with independence. As technology continues to shape our lives, it’s essential for parents and caregivers to carefully consider the risks and benefits of allowing young people to explore the world both online and offline.

Though many parents will doubtless agree with Allsopp in principle, it remains to be seen how many of them would allow their children to do a similar trip. Could we see a spike in the number of unaccompanied British teens taking to the rails next summer? Only time will tell!

What do you think about Kirstie Allsopp’s decision? Do you agree, or was it too risky? Would you let your own son or daughter do a similar trip at 15 years old? Let us know in the comments!