SUFFERING IN SILENCE: NEW RESEARCH REVEALS ONE IN THREE YOUNG PEOPLE BEING BULLIED DON’T TELL THEIR PARENTS

The Survation study, which surveyed over 1,000 11-18 year olds, also looked at young people’s views on their parents’ understanding of bullying, with 43% stating that parents underestimate the extent of bullying online and 45% saying mobile phones make it harder to escape bullying.    

Over half (57%) of young people say online bullying is harder for parents to notice than in-person bullying, with a third of young people (33%) revealing they receive hurtful posts and comments at least once a week or more that their parents never see.  The impact on young people is significant, with 31% saying it’s negatively affected their schoolwork and 30% saying it’s affected their sleep.  

These statistics come as The Diana Award and Kooth join forces to launch a hard-hitting campaign encouraging young people to speak out about bullying and not suffer in silence.

The film shows a boy being hounded by phone notifications and hiding his anxiety from his mum, before it reveals every notification is a message from bullies.  

A striking poster campaign shows parents’ phones with photos of their children on the lock screens, but a ‘Silent Mode’ pop-up is blocking their mouths.  

The campaign is a powerful reminder that children may not always be as happy as they seem. Parents can learn to spot the signs of bullying at The Diana Award’s website antibullyingpro.com

Alex Holmes OBE, Deputy CEO of The Diana Award:

“At least one child in every classroom experiences bullying every day and we know it regularly continues online via social media platforms and messaging.  We want young people to feel empowered to speak out about bullying and get the support they need.  We’re delighted to be joining forces with Kooth this year on our ‘Back to School’ campaign.”

Dr Hannah Wilson, head of clinical governance, Kooth:  

“Bullying can be life changing for students who can struggle with self-worth and confidence. Sadly, at Kooth we see issues of self-harm, anxiety and depression among many young people who have been – or who are still being – bullied. We would encourage young people to find help by telling a trusted adult or using a service like Kooth. For parents and carers, it may help to make their child’s digital life part of everyday conversations, while helping them to feel capable of handling tricky situations and of asking for help.”

ENDS_ 

Further information:
Emma Pelling 07958558172, emma@pellingpr.co.uk
 

diana-award.org.uk | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube 

 About the charity – The Diana Award  

The Diana Award was set up in memory of The Prince of Wales and The Duke of Sussex’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and her belief that young people have the power to change the world.  

The charity exists to empower young people to make positive change by unlocking potential, creating opportunities and inspiring action through four key programmes which include; a mentoring programme for young people at risk, a youth-led anti-bullying ambassadors campaign, a collaborative Changemakers programme that aims to reimagine mental health support for young people from racialised communities and a prestigious award which publicly recognises young changemakers – The Diana Award.  

About Kooth

Kooth’s mental health support helps build mentally healthier, happier communities. Our services are free to use, anonymous and safe, giving children, young people and adults the opportunity to access support - including one-to-one professional help - online and in-the-moment. Accredited by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, our UK digital services have helped over a million young people over the last twenty years. Kooth also supports people across the US: our app, Soluna, is available to more than six million young people across California.

For more, go to: https://connect.kooth.com/

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For media enquiries, please email WA Communications at kooth@wacomms.co.uk

MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES & ASSETS:  

Dropbox link with creative assets: here

Survey methodology:

Conducted by Survation, fieldwork took place 8th–12th August 2025 with 1040 children aged 11-18 in the UK.  The survey was conducted via online panel.  Different response rates from different demographic groups were taken into account.

Media spokespeople:  

Alex Holmes OBE, Deputy Chief Executive, The Diana Award.  

Alex is founder of the peer-to-peer Anti-Bullying Ambassadors Programme at The Diana Award, a network of trained young people dedicated to preventing all types of bullying particularly in schools.  

Dr Hannah Wilson, Head of Clinical Governance, Kooth

Hannah is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, with over 10 years working within the public sector, predominantly working within secondary care services.  Hannah is passionate about increasing the accessibility and reach of mental health support. In 2022, Hannah won an award for ‘teaching excellence’ voted for by the clinical psychology trainees at Lancaster University.

Young people who have experienced bullying are available for interview alongside a range of celebrity supporters including; Hollyoaks Oscar Sam Curtis, Olive Gray, Tylan Grant, Sam Retford, Laura Hopkinson and Twist and Pulse.  Health Media Consultancy (a small group of social media influencers in the medical space) are also available.