‘Sadfishing’ is playing into hands of paedophiles and bullies

Children are at risk of being groomed and bullied because of a toxic social media trend, a report warns.

The trend, known as ‘sadfishing’, sees youngsters post details about personal issues online, in an attempt to attract attention.

The term was coined after a number of celebrities, such as Kendall Jenner, were accused of teasing details about personal issues on their social media site to drum up publicity and attract more likes and shares.

The charity Digital Awareness UK (DAUK), says that vulnerable children who face genuine distress, are turning to the internet to find support, where they may be bullied as a result.

For those who fail to receive the support they were looking for, emotional and mental health problems are made worse.

In one example, a Year 7 student was bullied for ‘attention seeking’ after posting details to Instagram about feeling lonely and isolated due to problems at home.

The student said: ‘I got a lot of people commenting on and “liking” my post, but then some people said I was sadfishing the next day at school for attention.

They added: ‘Sharing my feelings online has made me feel worse in some ways but supported in others.’

There also fears that groomers could be preying on vulnerable children by providing sympathy to gain their trust.

The report adds: ‘DAUK is concerned about the number of students who are bullied for sadfishing, thus exacerbating what could be a serious mental health problem.

‘We have noticed that students are often left feeling disappointed by not getting the support they need online.

‘Groomers can also use comments that express a need for emotional support as a platform to connect with young people and gain their trust, only to try and exploit it at a later point.’

The report also cites an example of a teenage girl who was asked to send explicit images of herself to a man much older than her, after she shared her experiences of depression online.

The study, commissioned by the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC), is based on face-to-face interviews with more than 50,000 children aged 11 to 16.

Chris Jeffery, chairman of the HMC wellbeing working group and headmaster of Bootham School in North Yorkshire, said: ‘It is encouraging to read of the growing signs of increased control that many young people are taking over their use of technology, but it is also helpful to know new ways in which it is proving to be a burden for them as.’

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