The Cybersmile Foundation has launched ‘Words Are Permanent’, a campaign designed to highlight the impact of online abuse among young people. 

Created by adam&eveDDB London, the campaign uses real comments made to young people online and turns them into eye-catching permanent tattoos on the faces of children. The creative shines a spotlight on the fact that online comments only take a few seconds to write but can cause permanent damage to the person being targeted. 

With 88% of Gen Z indicating that social media use negatively affects their mental health*, young people in the UK are being deeply affected by negative experiences online.  

The visuals are designed to raise awareness of the harmful long-term effect of online abuse and direct people to Cybersmile, who promote safety online.  The models themselves were created using AI, to ensure no real children were negatively impacted by the campaign and media placement was carefully considered. 

* The Cybersmile Foundation (2022). Digital Wellbeing Report (2022): A national UK study examining the impact of social media use on Gen Z wellbeing.