Social media 'weapons of bullying', Youth Parliament told 15 November 2013 Last updated at 14:47 Facebook and Twitter have been branded "weapons of bullying" in a Youth Parliament debate in the Commons. Student Scott Lamond said children could no longer think of their homes as a safe haven from bullies. Other UK Youth Parliament members said schools were not doing enough to tackle the problem. More than 300 young people aged between 11 and 18 have crowded into the Commons chamber, which is normally close to deserted on Fridays. It is the third year in a row the event has been held in the Commons chamber - the only time it is opened to non-MPs. The young people will vote later on whether to make opposition to bullying their campaign for 2014. Other possible contenders being debated include a curriculum for life, youth unemployment, careers advice and votes for 16- and 17-year-olds. Arguing the case for bullying to become the UKYP campaign for 2014, Scott Lamond said: "Facebook, Twitter and the notorious ask.fm - these are all things we have heard of in the news and these are now weapons of bullying. It used to be that young people could go home to a safe haven, now you can be accessed by bullies wherever you are in the world. Faraz Hanif, from east London, said: "Bullying is a problem because the education system is currently lacking. I think the problem is that society has created the image of the perfect man and the perfect woman and if you do not fit in that image then you are looked down upon by society. Teachers need to start teaching students how to grow their self-esteem because that is the problem at the moment. Dramatic improvement Perdita Blinkhorn, who represents young people in Medway, Kent, said schools needed to do more than say they had a zero-tolerance approach to bullying. The motion before the Youth Parliament states: "We believe that schools need to have professional support and peer advice for both the victim and the bully, better training for staff about bullying, and improved information and advice for students about bullying." This year's UK Youth Parliament has a record mandate of almost half a million votes. Opening the day's proceedings, Commons Speaker John Bercow said: "The British Youth Council state that this is a record turnout, very specifically, it is a dramatic improvement on the turnout of 253,000 last year - almost a doubling of the level of interest." Shadow Commons leader Angela Eagle said the turnout proved young people were very much politically engaged and she criticised comedian and actor Russell Brand for remaining on the sidelines. She said: "I was dismayed to see Russell Brand being interviewed a few weeks ago, complaining about how our political system was failing, but then admitting that he didn't vote and he didn't plan to. You can't change anything by sitting on the sidelines; you have to be part of the process.