Growing up online: What employers need to know to support parents, carers and the next generation of employees
As technology accelerates and social media deepens its grip on young people’s lives, employers face a growing challenge: employees who are parents and carers worried about what their children are experiencing online, and a rising generation of young employees who may themselves have been shaped by it.
We are Everyone’s Invited, a charity dedicated to eradicating rape culture – the normalisation of sexual violence in society – through empathy, compassion and understanding. Our evidence-based education programme delivers training to schools, parents, carers and workplaces across the UK.
In May, we partnered with the Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse (EIDA) to deliver a webinar exploring these issues. EIDA supports over 2000 employers, representing more than 25% of the UK workforce, to take effective action on domestic abuse. EIDA provides practical tools, shares best practice, and advocates for workplace responses to domestic abuse across the country. Our partnership reflects a shared understanding: domestic abuse does not happen in isolation. It is part of a wider culture that normalises violence, one that technology is actively accelerating.
Why this matters to employers
The concerns parents and carers carry don’t stay at home. Research from Deloitte (2024) found that 46% of parents are worried about their children’s well-being, costing UK employers £8 billion annually through reduced performance, absence and attrition. Whilst domestic violence, by definition, can begin from age 16, Everyone’s Invited’s research and work in primary schools shows us that the language, expectations and attitudes that normalise abusive behaviours begin forming at primary age. Therefore, employee support on these issues is crucial, irrespective of the age of the employees’ children.
EIDA exists to raise awareness and equip employers to respond effectively to domestic abuse, including the rising rates of technology-facilitated abuse. Everyone’s Invited works alongside that mission, providing employers and employees with the knowledge of why and how these issues arise and empowering them with the tools they need to address them confidently.
Alongside supporting employees who are parents and carers, it is also vital for employers to support young people in their workforce. 16 – 24 year-olds are statistically the most likely group to experience domestic abuse. This is important to be aware of, particularly as organisations are increasingly welcoming in younger employees through apprenticeships, graduate schemes, and early career pathways. Supporting them is vital, but can be challenging for employers to navigate, especially as experiences of childhood are radically shifting with the increasing presence of social media and new technology.
The technology dimension
Two issues sit at the forefront of Everyone’s Invited’s research, both directly relevant to any employer thinking about technology and its consequences.
The first is AI-generated deepfake imagery. Generative AI has made it easy to create sexually explicit images of real people without consent.
Research by Internet Matters (2024) found that 13% of teenagers have had an experience with nude deepfake and more than a quarter (26%) of children have seen a sexualised deepfake of a celebrity, friend, teacher or themselves (Girlguiding, 2025). In 2025, Elon Musk’s Grok AI came under intense scrutiny after it emerged the platform was generating sexually explicit images of real women and children from ordinary photos shared online, without consent. Despite the backlash and subsequent restrictions.
Everyone’s Invited’s research found that workarounds are still being shared through Reddit forums. The harm is real and directly connected to the image-based abuse seen in domestic abuse cases.
The second is AI companionship platforms. Apps like Character.AI let users form relationships with AI characters. These AI characters learn your mannerisms, reflect your insecurities back to you and are available around the clock. They never judge, never reject. That validation is powerfully compelling to someone who feels isolated or does not have healthy relationships modelled to them in their lives.
But what they reflect back causes real harm. Male characters model dominance, possessiveness, and control. Female characters are frequently portrayed as cruel or jealous, reinforcing the online narrative that women are man-haters and that men are society’s disadvantaged victims. This is contributing to the increasing polarisation we are seeing between young girls and boys. Rather than meeting the isolation and lack of role models with healthy relationship models, these platforms embed the attitudes that drive abuse. A survey by Male Allies UK found over a third of secondary school boys were considering an AI companion, demonstrating the widespread nature of this issue.
Working together
Everyone’s Invited and EIDA are here to ensure employers don’t navigate this alone. Everyone’s Invited provides training, talks and ongoing support resources. EIDA provides the employer frameworks and a community committed to tackling domestic abuse. Together, we help organisations shift culture and create meaningful change.
To find out more contact education@everyonesinvited.uk or visit www.eida.org.uk Employers’ Initiative on Domestic Abuse
