In short:
Note: There are many names for the LGBTIQ+ community. These can include queer, rainbow, LGBTQIA+, ‘girls, gays, and theys,’ and others. What works for you may not be quite right for someone else, and the other way around. On this page we use LGBTIQ+ to refer to lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans gender, intersex, queer, gender diverse, non-binary, asexual and other people who identify as part of the community.
Online spaces can be a great way for LGBTIQ+ young people to find a shared understanding and connect with each other. But we also know people who identify as LGBTIQ+ are at a higher risk of negative online experiences – so we’ve gathered some advice on how to navigate the internet for your needs and interests.
Whether you’re looking for your community, exploring your identity, testing ideas or connecting with others, it’s important know how to manage your online experiences safely and respectfully.
You may have already found your LGBTIQ+ community – whether that’s in person, online, or even both – but if you’re looking for information or want to explore your identity, where do you start?
There are many different identities within the LGBTIQ+ community, so some may feel more comfortable for you than others. No matter how you identify, or whether this changes over time, it’s important that you feel welcome and included in the communities you choose.
Research1 shows that some young people see the internet as a place where they have the freedom to experiment with their identity.
‘I think the people [who] are maybe inhibited in person or who have their guard up a little bit [may] feel a bit freer on the internet to express themselves a little more – to be a bit more loose.’ – Geoffrey, 20.
1 Find out more in our latest research, Being a young man online.
There are lots of LGBTIQ+ friendly spaces you can join online. You might start by scrolling through different social media feeds to see what others are talking about or which hashtags are popular. If you’re looking for support around what you’re experiencing, there are plenty of websites with resources too.
These are some of the sites that can help you as an LGBTIQ+ young person:
When it feels right, you can also help build a safer and more inclusive online community.
There are plenty of ways LGBTIQ+ young people use the internet to connect with each other. This includes through online gaming, social media, messaging apps or other platforms. Whatever you choose, it’s important to take steps to protect yourself so you feel safe, respected and appreciated for who you are.
Although it can be good to be challenged by new and complex ideas, it’s important to protect yourself especially if people are pressuring you.
Be careful not to agree to anything if you’re unsure about it. And remember, it’s always OK to stop the conversation and cut off contact with anyone who makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe.
Check out our tips to keep yourself safe when you’re chatting to people online:
A common way for LGBTIQ+ adults to meet is through dating apps and sites, but they are generally for people who are 18 and older.
LGBTIQ+ online dating apps and sites are sometimes highly sexualised spaces where adults are looking to get into sexually explicit chat or to hook up. Also, some people use online dating to connect with others so they can scam them, stalk them or trick them into sex.
Apart from dating apps, people sometimes meet online through other platforms such as social media apps, games or chat services, then decide to date or hook up.
Being young and new to online dating may lead you into being pressured to send nudes, or to get sexual before you’re ready.
It’s important that you always feel safe with what you share, say and do online – especially in live chats that may be recorded (even without you knowing).
Make sure you know about the online dating risks and warning signs including:
If you choose to date online despite the risks, follow our tips for staying safe including:
You can find more tips about online dating for young people. If you’re 18 or older there's also more advice in our LGBTIQ+ learning lounge, including tips for staying safe when meeting online.
Socialising online can be a lot of fun and everyone deserves to feel safe about it, but there are real risks. They range from being contacted by someone you don’t feel comfortable about, right through to being scammed, stalked or attacked.
Abuse can come from any online connection, even if you’re not dating online. For example, a new online friend who you like at first could end up pressuring or harassing you, or become bullying or aggressive.
Sometimes LGBTIQ+ people are targeted by others who ‘out’ them (reveal they’re LGBTIQ+ to others), ‘deadname’ them (refer to them by a name that no longer matches their identity) or even trick them into meeting in person to hurt or steal from them.
It’s never OK for someone to abuse, trick or take unfair advantage of you online.
Here are some dangers to watch for – click on the links to find more information about what to do if it happens to you.
This is when someone uses online communication to be mean or abusive to another person so they feel upset, embarrassed, bad about themselves or scared. If you’re older than 18, cyberbullying can be part of adult cyber abuse.
People in the LGBTIQ+ community are more likely to be bullied both online and offline. If you’re being harassed, judged or made to feel bad about yourself because you are LGBTIQ+, remember that you don’t deserve it — the problem is the other person’s ignorance and intolerance.
It’s not just the LGBTIQ+ community who can be affected by anti-LGBTIQ+ abuse online. Sometimes kids or adults label someone as ‘gay’ or ‘queer’ or use insults that are homophobic (anti-gay) or transphobic (anti-trans) to bully them.
If the cyberbullying is seriously harmful and the online platform or service doesn’t help you, eSafety can have the content removed.
Find out more about cyberbullying and adult cyber abuse and how to stop it.
This can be any hateful post about a person or a group of people for things they can’t change – like their race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability. When online hate is targeted towards a specific person, it's called cyberbullying (or adult cyber abuse if you’re 18 or older).
The LGBTIQ+ community and First Nations people are twice as likely to experience online hate than other Australians.
Find out more about online hate and how to deal with it. You can also read our research about young people’s experience with online hate, bullying and violence.
This when you feel uncomfortable or upset about a stranger or someone you know contacting you online, or sending you content that you don’t want such as messages, photos or videos (including ‘dick pics’).
Find out more about unsafe or unwanted contact and how to prevent it.
This is when someone uses a fake online identity to control you, usually by tricking you into believing you’re in a real online friendship or romance with them. They may catfish you because they think it’s funny or to be mean and make you feel bad about yourself, or to scam you.
Some people pretend to be LGBTIQ+ so they can encourage you to tell them your secrets, and then embarrass you by sharing them with others, or blackmail you for money or nudes. Or they may try to get you to share your personally identifiable information so they can steal your money or identity.
Find out more about catfishing, including the warning signs that an online friend may not be who they say they are.
This is when someone shares (or threatens to share) a nude or sexual photo or video of you, which is illegal if you’re under 18. It’s also illegal when you are 18+, if you have not given your consent for the intimate content to be shared. Image-based abuse is sometimes known as ‘revenge porn’ if a person does it to hurt someone who’s ended a relationship with them. But people do it for a range of reasons, including to be mean, boast, get the targeted person in trouble, ‘out’ them as being LGBTIQ+ or blackmail them.
eSafety can have real and fake intimate images and videos removed online, or help stop the threats.
Find out more about what to do if your nudes are shared and what to do if someone is threatening to share your nudes.
This is when someone blackmails you by threatening to share intimate images or videos of you unless you pay them. Often they hook you with a fake profile or catfish you first, then ask you to send nudes or get sexual online.
Scammers sometimes target LGBTIQ+ people, threatening to use the images or recordings to ‘out’ them to family, friends and other contacts. If this happens to you do not pay – stop all contact and follow our advice. It’s not your fault and there’s help available.
This is when a sexual predator tricks someone under 18 into thinking they’re in a close relationship, so they feel OK about sending nudes or getting sexual in a live video chat. They may be really nice at first, giving you lots of attention and compliments and even gifts. They may tell you they’ll make the images or videos public, or hurt you or someone you care about, unless you send more nudes or get sexual with them on camera.
Find out more about how to recognise and prevent grooming and child sexual abuse online.
If someone sends, posts or shares seriously harmful content about you there’s help available – you don’t need to deal with it on your own. Talk to someone you trust about what has happened, like a friend, family member or another trusted adult, to help you feel supported.
Click the links and follow the steps for collecting evidence, reporting the harmful content, preventing further contact and getting more help.
Online abuse can have a serious impact on your mental and physical wellbeing.
You can find more advice on our pages about how to manage the impacts of cyberbullying, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse, as well as online hate targeting the LGBTIQ+ community.
If you feel you do not have anyone close you can talk to about what you’re going through, you could contact Kids Helpline (for under 18s), Your Town (for 18 to 25-year-olds) or another confidential counselling or support service. They have people who are ready to listen and help.
There are also LGBTIQ+ support services that can also provide further support.
All ages. Counselling and referral for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer and/or intersex. Phone counselling and online chat available every day from 3pm to 12am.
Articles, resources and training for lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer and/or intersex young people. As well as professional training to help support LGBTQI people.
5 to 25 year olds. All issues. Confidential phone counselling available all day, every day. Online chat available 24/7, 365 days a year.
12 to 25 year olds. All issues. Phone counselling and online chat available 9am to 1am AEST, every day.
Sometimes, there’s just no better feeling than finding your community online. That’s why it’s important for the online communities you’re a part of to be safe and respectful – so everyone feels welcome.
There are ways you can help make the online world safer and more inclusive for people of all genders and sexualities.
Many members of the LGBTIQ+ community highlight their pronouns. This can be a form of identifying themselves, and a show of support and respect for their trans friends. If you’re comfortable, you could consider doing this in your bio or in an online post. Remember, not everyone will feel comfortable sharing their pronouns, which is also OK.
Being active in your online community can help other LGBTIQ+ young people who are not ‘out’ find safe and supportive spaces. Something as simple as adding an emoji LGBTIQ+ flag in your bio or username can show your support and let others know you’re a safe person to talk to and interact with online. This is the benefit of representation – the more you see people who look and act like you feel, the more you feel comfortable being authentic online.
If you’re sharing photos of an LGBTIQ+ event or experience, be sure you have consent from everyone in the photos. Not everyone is ‘out’ – so tagging someone at a Pride party (accidentally or not) could have a serious impact. Read more about consent for sharing photos and videos.
There are many ways you can take action to support others in the LGBTIQ+ community online – go from being a bystander to an upstander. Depending on your style and what you feel confident doing, helping others could be as easy as sending a direct message to make sure they’re OK. If it feels safe and right, you could step up and call out the bad stuff online, or even report the content. Read more about how to be an upstander.
There are things we can all do to minimise the impacts of negative online experiences. If you’re recovering from online abuse, make sure to give yourself time to heal. What you’ve experienced is not your fault, and talking it through with others, or a support service, can really make a difference. You might also find a new way to balance your time online and turn off your notifications for a while, until you feel comfortable being active online again. You can find more tips for how to strengthen your online resilience in our LGBTIQ+ learning lounge.
Don’t feed the trolls. Resist the urge to respond – it’s likely to make things worse.
Tell someone you trust. Talking with someone else can make it easier to decide what to do next and how to deal with the impact.
Collect evidence, report and prevent further contact if things are seriously bad. Collect evidence so you have proof – this can include screenshots or recordings of what was posted or shared. Then you can report and block the other person in-app. You can find how to do this on common social media sites, games and apps in The eSafety Guide. If you don’t hear back from the service or platform, you can ask eSafety for help to remove serious cyberbullying content (for under 18s) or adult cyber abuse (for 18+).
Get more help. If the trolling is really concerning or you’re feeling overwhelmed by the situation, talk to someone you trust like a close friend or family member. You can also contact Kids Helpline (for under 18s), Your Town (if you’re 18 to 25-years-old) or another confidential counselling or support service.
Remember, this situation is not your fault. It’s never OK for someone to use threats to force you into doing something you’re not comfortable with. If it feels safe, ask them to stop.
Tell someone you trust. Talking with someone else can make it easier to decide what to do next and how to deal with the impact.
Collect evidence, report and prevent further contact. If the person threatening you doesn’t stop, collect evidence so you have proof – this can include screenshots or recordings of what was posted or shared. Then you can report and block the other person in-app. You can find how to do this on common social media sites, games and apps in The eSafety Guide. If you don’t hear back from the service or platform, you can ask eSafety for help to remove serious cyberbullying content (for under 18s) or adult cyber abuse (for 18+).
Get more help. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the situation, talk to someone you trust like a close friend or family member. You can also contact Kids Helpline (for under 18s), Your Town (if you’re 18 to 25-years-old) or another confidential counselling or support service.
Ask them to stop. If it feels safe, you can try asking your old classmates to stop and to delete what they posted or shared.
Tell someone you trust. Talking with someone else can make it easier to decide what to do next and how to deal with the impact.
Collect evidence, report and prevent further contact. If your old classmates don’t stop, collect evidence so you have proof – this can include screenshots or recordings of what was posted or shared. Then you can report and block the other person in-app. You can find how to do this on common social media sites, games and apps in The eSafety Guide. If you don’t hear back from the service or platform, you can ask eSafety for help to remove serious cyberbullying content (for under 18s) or adult cyber abuse (for 18+).
Get more help. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the situation, talk to someone you trust like a close friend or family member. You can also contact Kids Helpline (for under 18s), Your Town (if you’re 18 to 25-years-old) or another confidential counselling or support service.
Last updated: 13/06/2024
