A north-east MSP has backed plans to get young people talking about the pressures they face from social media.
Aberdeenshire East MSP Gillian Martin has teamed up with two MSYPs to encourage their peers to get talking.
It comes after an Aberdeen mum spoke out when she discovered sexual images of her 11-year-old daughter had been circulated on the web.
The images were shared on Snapchat.
The girl, and another Aberdeen primary pupil aged 10, were pressured to give in to indecent demands in a series of social media messages – which were then shared almost 30 times in just three minutes.
The young girl was so distraught she was physically sick, her mother told the Press and Journal.
The revelation prompted Ms Martin to have a conversation about the dangers with her 14-year-old daughter, before speaking at Holyrood.
She said: “People who have teenagers walk a fine line between giving them freedom and trust to find their own path and keeping a watchful eye to protect them.”
She learned from her daughter and her peers about how youngsters were forced to send “nudes for nudes” which could also lead to bullying with images used as ammunition between friendship groups.
Next month she will hold a forum with youth politicians Evie Robertson and Josh MacRae to discuss ways youngsters can protect themselves online.
Ms Martin added: “For me, that conversation with my daughter was the beginning, and it must continue on so that cases such as the one highlighted in The Press and Journal can be prevented in the future.”
