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Discord Explained: A Guide for Teachers & Parents
- Charlie
- Apr 22
- 6 min read
Table of Contents:
Discord might just seem like another social media platform, a place where children go to contact their friends online. But under the surface, it's a complex, and largely unmoderated platform where young people can be exposed to serious risks; including online grooming, bullying, radicalisation, graphic content, and harmful communities.
Behind the scenes, Discord is increasingly being used by:
Online Predators
Exploitative Content Creators
Extremist Recruiters
Cyber Criminals
Self-Harm and Eating Disorder Communities
This blog breaks down how Discord works, why it's so appealing to young people, the real risk it carries, and why it's time for parents, carers, and schools to take it seriously.
What is Discord?
Originally launched in 2015 as a way for gamers to communicate while playing games, Discord has now become one of the top social apps, used by over 150 million people each month.
For teenagers, it offers a sense of belonging in online spaces tailored exactly to their interests; whether that be anime, music, homework, gaming, coding, memes, fandoms, you name it.
Users can join "Servers", which are essentially private or public group spaces made up of text channels, voice chats, video chats, and file sharing. Some servers are tightly moderated and community-run. However, most are not. Anyone who has a Discord account can create a server within minutes, invite others through private links, and build what is essentially an invisible online world; one that often glides under the radar of parents, carers, and teachers.
Unlike platforms such as Instagram or TikTok, Discord doesn't have "doom scrolling" or function around a public feed. There's no for an outsider to browse a user's activity. Everything happens in spaces behind closed doors. That is what makes teens use the app, a sense of privacy, but it's also what makes the platform incredibly difficult to monitor and dangerous for young users.
What Happens Behind the Scenes?
We've seen it first-hand. How quickly Discord can shift from a harmless chat app into something much darker. What begins as a light conversation in a public gaming server can lead to private one-on-one messages filled with manipulation, inappropriate conversations, or calculated trust building. The change happens fast, and unless you're inside those conversations, you'd never know it was happening.
One minute, a teenager is sending memes in a shared group. The next, they're being messaged directly by a stranger pretending to be their age. Through countless investigations, we've seen how users change their tone instantly, moving from playful to predatory just to see what they can get away with. And in the absence of active and detailed platform moderation, they often get away with it all.
The conversations we have witnessed were deeply concerning. Ranging from casual oversharing, to clear signs of grooming techniques being used on underage users. The worst part is how normalised it has become on the platform. Many of the young people on these servers don't even realise they're being targeted until it's too late. And due to Discord's lack of moderation, the harm often goes unseen and unreported.
The Tech That Makes it Possible
Discord's architecture is the primary part of the problem. The platform has minimal safety features by default. A child can register with a fake date of birth and gain full access to all content. There is also no identity verification so users have the ability to sign up with a fake email to create a "temporary" account. DMs (Direct Messages) are open unless the user manually changes their settings. NSFW (Not Safe For Work) channels exist and while they're supposed to be age-restricted, enforcement is minimal.
Unlike platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, Discord does not monitor conversations. Most servers are not moderated by the official platform, yet moderated by the server owners making it easy for harmful content to circulate.
In 2021, the NSPCC highlighted Discord as one of the most commonly mentioned platforms in online grooming cases. In 2023, Discord were made aware of the platform's part in child abuse and abductions.
The Hidden Servers Parents Don't See
What many families don't realise is that Discord isn't just an individual space, it's thousands of little communities all within one platform. A teenager may be active in multiple servers at once, ranging from homework help to underground meme forums. Some of these spaces feel harmless. Others contain explicit content, jokes normalising racism or misogyny, and even DIY guides for bypassing parental controls.
In one disturbing example reported by BBC News, a server posing as a mental health support group was found to be encouraging self-harm and suicide ideology. Teenagers were praised for their self-inflicted injuries, photos were shared for validation, and the admins were untraceable. By the time parents discovered what was happening, several young users had already acted on the advice shared inside the server.
The "Com" Gangs & Discord's Role
In early 2024, a concerning investigation by Sky News exposed an underground network of teenage boys forming, what they called "Com" groups, sadistic online gangs where cruelty is encouraged. Members compete to outdo each other in manipulating, abusing, and exploiting their victims, often targeting younger, more vulnerable boys and girls. Their aim was to cause as much psychological harm as possible, and then brag about it to each other like a trophy.
The most disturbing part of these groups were that they operated through private Discord servers.
The Sky News article detailed how these boys plan their attacks, using secret channels and coded language to share graphic images, screen recordings of emotional manipulation, and proof of self-harm they've caused. In some cases, they pushed victims to suicidal thoughts. They referred to victims as "objects" and ran competitions to see who could be the most manipulative.
The UK's National Crime Agency said it's now dealing with six times the number of cases compared to 2022.
The reason Discord keeps showing up in investigations and articles is because the platform offers everything these individuals need. Anonymity. Encrypted chats. Private spaces. No content filters. No identity verification.
To be clear, Discord is not creating these behaviours. However, the platform is allowing this ideology to grow behind closed doors.
Until recently, parents, schools, and even some tech professionals haven't fully been able to understand the level of cruelty unfolding in these hidden online spaces. The danger here isn't just the content, it's the behaviours that have been normalised within these private communities. And for the young people subject to these attacks, the psychological consequences are traumatising and lasting.
What Can Parents Do?
The safest decision you can make? Keep your child off Discord entirely.
There's no way to monitor private chats, no guarantee that your child won't experience explicit and inappropriate content, and no real way to know who your children are talking to online.
As much as kids push back and complain that all their friends are on it, it's your role to protect them. And some platforms simply don't deserve your trust.
Here's what we recommend instead:
Set firm boundaries: Be clear - "Discord is not allowed because it's not safe, maybe when you're older we can look at it again"
Talk about the risks: Teenagers are more likely to accepts the rules when they understand why they exist. Share this blog as an example, written by a 17-year-old, not some "boomer" that doesn't relate to them.
Offer safer alternatives: If they want to game or chat with their friends, there is so many platforms out there such as FaceTime, WhatsApp, Xbox/Playstation Party Chats. We suggest WhatsApp to younger teens.
Stay Involved: Know what apps their using, and encourage healthy, non-critical conversations about digital safety.
You don’t need to know every tech detail. You just need to stand firm when it counts, and this is one of those moments.
What We Do
At Atlas Cyber Network, we work directly with schools to deliver practical, engaging, and relatable workshops that help entire communities stay safer online.
We offer:
Student sessions that raise awareness of real online risks — in a way that’s relatable, not fear-based.
Parent workshops that unpack the platforms young people are using, and how to support them safely.
Staff training to equip teachers and school leaders with the tools to respond confidently to digital issues.
Our mission is to build digital resilience from the inside out — through education, not just restrictions.
Want to bring us into your school? Reach Out!
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