The Youth Academy have teamed up with Aberdeen Alcohol and Drugs Action’s Green Light Project to deliver advice and information to young players on the definition of sexual exploitation and how to keep them safe and informed on issues relating to social media.

Richard Taylor, the Club’s Safeguarding Officer was keen to highlight the importance of using Social Media responsibly. “As part of our commitment to investing in our young players’ wellbeing and development, it’s important that the Club help our young players to be aware of the need to be safe online.”

The Green Light Project, based in Aberdeen, are a service that offers free advice and support to those under the age 25-year old. They educate young people in understanding how they could be exploited and raise awareness of various situations of when it could arise.

Hannah Bennet of the Green Light Project welcomed the opportunity to speak to the young players at the Club over two nights.

“With social media now being such an ingrained part of young people’s daily lives, it is becoming increasingly important that they are taught how to keep themselves safe on the multiple apps they will be using daily. As social media is now the new norm for children and young people, it is imperative that parents increase their knowledge and understanding of how their children are using the internet.

“Unfortunately, offenders are more than aware that they are able to contact young people through applications like snapchat with a low chance of the parent becoming immediately aware of this contact. Parents must be made aware of the new risks our young people are facing online.

Richard praised the work by Green Light Project and reiterated the importance of educating the young players.

“Hannah has allowed us to bring this subject to our players using real world scenarios to illustrate how damaging inappropriate use of social media platforms can be for individuals and families. The sharing of information from a practitioner such as Hannah brings with it the credibility that ensures the impact of the presentation really gets across to our players.”