Enough Is Enough, a national non-partisan, non-profit organization who is leading the fight to make the Internet safer for children and families, recently released data that shows how severe the destructive and dangerous elements children are encountering online.

The organization’s CEO and President Donna Rice reports that efforts are underway in Congress to address the major issues to make the Internet safer for the sake of all American children.

Bark, which provides online monitoring tools that alert parents and caregivers to potential online dangers, processed 5.6 billion activities in 2023 on family accounts across texts, email, YouTube, and 30+ apps and social media platforms. Here’s what they found: -Self-harm/suicide: 33% of tweens/57% of teens were involved in a self-harm/suicidal situation -Sexual content: 58% of tweens/75% of teens encountered nudity or content of a sexual nature.

-Anxiety: 19% of tweens/36% of teens used language or were exposed to language about anxiety -Drugs/alcohol: 58% of tweens/77% of teens engaged in conversations surrounding drugs/alcohol -Bullying: 67% of tweens/76% of teens experienced bullying as a bully, victim, or witness -Depression: 26% of tweens/38% of teens engaged in conversations about depression -Disordered eating: 9% of tweens/21% of teens engaged with or encountered content about disordered eating -Predators: 8% of tweens/10% of teens encountered predatory behaviors from someone online -Violence: 68% of tweens/82% of teens expressed or experienced violent subject matter/ thoughts Last year, legal action was filed by more than 40 states that accused social media companies of designing products that are deliberately addictive and that fuel the youth mental health crisis in order to increase profits. The lawsuits paint a picture of how these companies brush aside safety concerns and “exploit and manipulate” children.

While progress is being made to improve child safety on some platforms, it is clear that there is much work to be done. In 2019, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) received 16.9 million reports of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to their CyberTipline. In 2022, just three years later, this number nearly doubled to over 32 million reports, marking the highest number of reports ever received in one year.

“Every day we receive phone calls, letters and emails asking for help,” Rice said. “We hear from distraught parents, caregivers and outraged citizens from all walks of life who want to protect children from the online dangers they should never face.”

For more information, visit www.enough.org.