Social media shapes young people’s experiences and identities. It has irreversibly changed how we use communicate and interact with people. Boundaries between real and virtual worlds have blurred and the associated risks are troubling. This training looks at social media’s link to youth violence; how violence is glamorised and shared socially which can lead to violence in the real world. When young people, especially those involved in or exposed to youth violence, are left unprotected in a world we don’t fully understand, they are increasingly vulnerable. We explore how social media plays a part in the advocation of violence and how it’s being used within criminal justice to demonstrate the motivations of violence amongst young people in communities. This one day course also covers threats and provocations in music videos, idealised online identities, the social pressures that come from an acquired need for audience approval and gratification, (especially driven by celebrity culture), the impact of daily exposure to online violence and the link between education and employment prospects. We all have a role to play in tackling the links between young people’s use of social media and serious youth violence.