Especially over the past 15 years, the creation of new "online identities" (the social identity that we acquire in cyberspace) and the expansion of the usability of our "digital identity" (the digital storage of our attributed, biographical or even biological identities) have entailed, alongside many advantages, also new and emerging risks and crime vulnerabilities, as identity information can be misused in many ways and create severe harms. Existing research in this context has so far focused on the illegal access to personal information (e.g. through hacking or social engineering techniques) but has overlooked the risky behaviours of individuals willingly sharing identifying (and potentially sensitive) information online. In this context, an area of particular interest that has been particularly overlooked is the one connected to the sharing of identifying and sensitive information of minors, who are often overexposed online in good-faith by parents and guardians in so called "sharenting" practices. Beyond risks due to negative psychological repercussions in ignoring children's desire to having (or not) an online identity, there are concerns regarding the potential for grooming and child abuse, and the potential for identity crimes (such as identity fraud and identity theft), especially keeping in mind that today's children, in a few years, will be those employing digital identities in many aspects of their lives, and will need a clean and curated digital identity to be fully part of many aspects of our society. The proposed project combines traditional and innovative cross-disciplinary approaches to further this emerging line of inquiry. The project does so by offering a better understanding of sharenting practices, their motivations, and the risks associated with them. It provides a better understanding of the existing technical and regulatory loopholes and gaps enabling potentially harmful sharenting practices. It also develops a better understanding of the perception of the problem by parents and guardians (our "target population"). The project can therefore enable better targeted awareness-raising activities; an improvement of the tools we currently have to study, prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of sharenting practices. The result of this research will be of significant importance for social media users (and specifically for those in our target population) by raising awareness and promoting sustained behavioural change to minimise cyber risks. The results will also be of relevance for the work of law enforcement in better addressing crimes potentially facilitated by certain sharenting practices such as grooming and identity crimes. More in general, the proposed approach will improve our understanding of criminogenic opportunities available in social media, supporting new avenues of investigation. By integrating insights and expertise from criminology and computer sciences, the proposed project also has important implications for demonstrating interdisciplinary methodological developments and promoting best practice for ethical online research. The research project is structured around seven cumulative work-packages to allow the research team to build a solid body of original data (currently not available to researchers) but also to promote engagement and effective communication with a non-academic audience (primarily, law enforcement, and parents and guardians). Throughout the project, we will be supported by our Project Partners (UK Safer Internet Centre; Kidscape; Arma dei Carabinieri); together with Dame Prof. Wendy Hall and other stakeholders, the Project Partners will be also part of our Advisory Board.

This study seeks to assess the impact of COVID-19 and social isolation on young people's experiences of online sexual risks and gendered harms during a period of increased reliance on screens. Through surveys and focus group interviews with up to 2k young people (ages 13-21) and 100 parents/carers, the study will address gaps in knowledge by exploring young people's differing experiences of online sexual harassment during Covid-19, in relation to gender (girls, boys, gender non-conforming), sexuality (LGBTQI+) and other intersecting identities. The study's central aim is to develop a set of interactive digital resources that provide accessible and tailored advice and information for young people, teachers, and parents, on how to stay safe online during the pandemic and beyond. These digital resources will be piloted and tested in 5 UK schools, before being launched online and delivered by our partners, the award-winning sex education organization School of Sexuality Education (SSE), and the Association of College and School Leaders (ASCL) with combined access to over 20k schools across the UK. All resources will be freely available through SSE's website and be promoted by our project partners. Finally, working closely with key stakeholders [such as the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP)], we will also produce a final report with advice and guidance for schools, parents, and tech companies on what is needed to better protect young people, including ways to report online sexual harassment and how to seek help.

Promoting improved understanding of how children's daily lives are influenced by the digital world that now surrounds them and how they experience family, peer and school life as a result represents a substantial challenge and opportunity relative to facilitating positive mental health and development for children and young people. Historically, researchers have emphasised the role of supportive parenting and positive school experiences (including peer relationships) as primary social environmental influences on children's mental health, with most interventions targeting family and school-based influences aimed at remediating poor mental health outcomes for children and young people. It is increasingly recognised that the digital environment constitutes a new dimension or common denominator to these traditional agencies of socialisation influence on children's mental health. Yet, little progress has been made in equipping parents, teachers and the professional agencies that work with families and schools with new knowledge that harnesses potential strengths while offering protection from substantial risks posed to children by the digital world. How do we equip parents, teachers, practitioners, policy makers and youth themselves with information, support and resources that promotes positive mental health in a contemporary (and future) digital age? Addressing this core challenge represents the primary objective of our multi-disciplinary e-Nurture network. While significant advances have been made in relation to highlighting and understanding the genetic and biological underpinnings of poor mental health and mental health disorders in recent years, it is recognised that the social environments children experience and interact with remain a substantial influence on their positive and negative mental health trajectories (even when genetic factors are considered). Three primary areas of social environmental influence on children's mental health have dominated past research and practice in this area. First, family socialisation processes, specifically parenting practices are recognised as a substantive influence on children's mental health. Second, peer influences are noted as an important influence on children's mental health. Third, school-based factors are recognised as a further influence on children's mental health and development. Increasingly, the digital environment is recognised as a factor that both infuses traditional agencies of socialisation for children and that can influence children directly. Policy makers have recently directed significant attention to the prevalence rates and support needs among children and young people who experience mental health problems. The digital environment and its potential for positive and negative influences on children's well-being, mental health and development has also received substantial research, policy and media attention. Building on this policy platform, the primary objectives of our network are to (1) explore how the digital environment has changed the ways in which children experience and interact with family, school and peer-based influences and what these changes mean for children's mental health, (2) identify how we can recognise and disentangle digital risks from opportunities when working with families, schools and professional agencies in developing intervention programmes to improve mental health outcomes for children and young people, and (3) identify how we effectively incorporate and disseminate this new knowledge to engage present and future practice models and the design and development of digital platforms and interventions aimed at promoting mental health and reducing negative mental health trajectories for young people. The network will engage a collaborative, cross sectoral approach to facilitating impacts by directly engaging academic, charity, industry, policy and front-line beneficiaries (e.g. families, parents, schools, teachers, children and young people).

Promoting improved understanding of how children's daily lives are influenced by the digital world that now surrounds them and how they experience family, peer and school life as a result represents a substantial challenge and opportunity relative to facilitating positive mental health and development for children and young people. Historically, researchers have emphasised the role of supportive parenting and positive school experiences (including peer relationships) as primary social environmental influences on children's mental health, with most interventions targeting family and school-based influences aimed at remediating poor mental health outcomes for children and young people. It is increasingly recognised that the digital environment constitutes a new dimension or common denominator to these traditional agencies of socialisation influence on children's mental health. Yet, little progress has been made in equipping parents, teachers and the professional agencies that work with families and schools with new knowledge that harnesses potential strengths while offering protection from substantial risks posed to children by the digital world. How do we equip parents, teachers, practitioners, policy makers and youth themselves with information, support and resources that promotes positive mental health in a contemporary (and future) digital age? Addressing this core challenge represents the primary objective of our multi-disciplinary e-Nurture network. While significant advances have been made in relation to highlighting and understanding the genetic and biological underpinnings of poor mental health and mental health disorders in recent years, it is recognised that the social environments children experience and interact with remain a substantial influence on their positive and negative mental health trajectories (even when genetic factors are considered). Three primary areas of social environmental influence on children's mental health have dominated past research and practice in this area. First, family socialisation processes, specifically parenting practices are recognised as a substantive influence on children's mental health. Second, peer influences are noted as an important influence on children's mental health. Third, school-based factors are recognised as a further influence on children's mental health and development. Increasingly, the digital environment is recognised as a factor that both infuses traditional agencies of socialisation for children and that can influence children directly. Policy makers have recently directed significant attention to the prevalence rates and support needs among children and young people who experience mental health problems. The digital environment and its potential for positive and negative influences on children's well-being, mental health and development has also received substantial research, policy and media attention. Building on this policy platform, the primary objectives of our network are to (1) explore how the digital environment has changed the ways in which children experience and interact with family, school and peer-based influences and what these changes mean for children's mental health, (2) identify how we can recognise and disentangle digital risks from opportunities when working with families, schools and professional agencies in developing intervention programmes to improve mental health outcomes for children and young people, and (3) identify how we effectively incorporate and disseminate this new knowledge to engage present and future practice models and the design and development of digital platforms and interventions aimed at promoting mental health and reducing negative mental health trajectories for young people. The network will engage a collaborative, cross sectoral approach to facilitating impacts by directly engaging academic, charity, industry, policy and front-line beneficiaries (e.g. families, parents, schools, teachers, children and young people).