Young People Leading the Conversation on Online Safety: "It's Not That Deep" Campaign Launches Across Merseyside

Young people are spending more time online than ever before, with friendships, relationships and daily interactions often taking place through social media, messaging apps and gaming platforms. While technology offers many positives, it can also create opportunities for harmful and abusive behaviours that are often overlooked or dismissed.

To help tackle this issue, Merseyside Police and Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell have launched the latest phase of the Taking Action campaign, titled "It's Not That Deep." The campaign shines a spotlight on the ways harmful online behaviours can become normalised among young people and encourages them to recognise the signs of abuse before situations escalate.

Launch Event at St Julie's Catholic High School

The campaign officially launched at St Julie's Catholic High School in Woolton on Tuesday 8 September, where pupils took part in an engaging and interactive workshop.

During the session, students watched campaign films exploring scenarios involving persistent unwanted contact and the sharing of intimate images. As they viewed the clips, they were invited to raise red flags whenever they believed a character's behaviour was concerning.

The exercise encouraged students to think critically about online interactions and identify the point at which behaviour moves from being uncomfortable or inappropriate into abuse or even criminality.

Addressing Growing Online Harms

"It’s Not That Deep" is the sixth phase of the wider Taking Action campaign, which aims to tackle Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) and improve awareness of harmful and criminal behaviours among young people.

This latest campaign focuses specifically on technology-facilitated abuse, including:

• Cyberstalking

• Online grooming

• Sextortion

• Deepfakes

• Non-consensual sharing of intimate images

These forms of abuse are becoming increasingly common in digital spaces and can have a serious impact on young people's wellbeing, confidence and safety.

Built by Young People, for Young People

What makes this campaign particularly unique is that young people have shaped every stage of its development.

Working alongside Merseyside Youth Association, campaign organisers held a series of focus groups exploring attitudes towards online relationships, digital behaviours and technology-enabled abuse.

A key finding from these discussions was that many young people had a much higher tolerance for behaviours that adults would immediately identify as controlling, manipulative or abusive. Some saw these behaviours as a normal part of modern relationships and online life.

One phrase repeatedly emerged during conversations:

"It's not that deep."

For many participants, this phrase was used to dismiss concerning behaviour or minimise the impact it could have on others.

Bringing Real Experiences to Life

Drawing directly from the focus group findings, young performers from Liverpool-based theatre company Unistar Youth acted out realistic online harm scenarios.

The films were then shown to another group of young people whose genuine reactions and discussions were recorded and incorporated into the campaign content. Their responses provide valuable insight into how harmful online behaviours are viewed by teenagers and demonstrate how attitudes can change when the effects on victims are fully explored.

This approach helped ensure the campaign speaks with young people rather than at them, creating content that feels authentic, relatable and relevant to their everyday experiences.

Encouraging Young People to Recognise the Red Flags

Assistant Chief Constable Matt Smith highlighted the importance of understanding how online and offline lives are deeply interconnected for today's generation.

He explained that while many young people viewed certain online behaviours as normal, the reality is that some of these actions can be harmful, abusive and even criminal.

By involving young people throughout the campaign's development, Merseyside Police hope to help teenagers:

• Recognise warning signs of tech-enabled abuse

• Understand when behaviour crosses the line

• Know where to seek support

• Feel confident reporting concerns

Most importantly, the campaign reassures young people that they are not alone and that help is available.

Giving Young People a Voice

Police Commissioner Emily Spurrell praised the campaign's youth-led approach, noting that the phrase "It's Not That Deep" came directly from conversations with young people across Merseyside.

Rather than delivering messages from adults to young people, the campaign encourages teenagers to reflect on situations for themselves and identify warning signs through discussion and real-life examples.

The project also followed the Lundy Model of Participation, ensuring young people had genuine opportunities to influence decisions and contribute their experiences.

Rhiann Barrett, Mental Health Promotion Worker at Merseyside Youth Association, emphasised that young people's voices have remained at the heart of the campaign from the beginning, helping to shape resources that raise awareness, support prevention and encourage positive online behaviour.

Support Is Available

The campaign aims to increase awareness that tech-enabled abuse is a crime, improve understanding of healthy online relationships and encourage reporting when concerns arise.

Anyone worried about online abuse, unwanted contact, image sharing, grooming or other forms of technology-enabled harm can access information, advice and support through Merseyside Police's Violence Against Women and Girls resources.

As the campaign message reminds us, behaviours that may seem "not that deep" can have very real consequences. Recognising the red flags early is an important step in creating safer online spaces for everyone.

For information, advice and support, visit: www.merseyside.police.uk/VAWG.