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  • The rise of cyberbullying?

    Wednesday 10 August 2011

    Categories: Education, Personal Safety, Technology & the Internet

    A new study by academics at Anglia Ruskin University has concluded that just under a fifth of young people have suffered from cyberbullying, where mobiles and the internet are used as channels for vindictive messages and hate campaigns. 22% of the girls and 13.5% of the boys in their online survey of 500 11-19 year olds claimed that they had been the victim of cyberbullying, and reported the psychological damage they felt they had suffered as a result.

    Am I alone in being surprised that the figure wasn’t higher? Bullying has been a sad fact of our existence since long before these particular tools were available to wound and humiliate others. The internet and current technology just make it easier for those who are so disposed to hurt those they target. It’s the modern equivalent of the notes passed in class, the graffiti in the toilets or the whispers on the school bus. The major problem it causes is the speed and scope of the hateful messages which can be transmitted, and the fact that those on the receiving end cannot escape it as it invades their homes and private space through the technology which is now an indispensible part of their lives. Girls may favour it because it gives them an opportunity to exclude and ostracise, which is often their preferred form of torture. Bullying boys can tend to be more physical.

    The articles reporting the results of the study recount the tragic tales of those who have ended their lives after being subject to cyberbullying, but, again, bullying-related suicides are sadly not new. This isn’t a new story, merely an old story retold with an emphasis on the new tools the modern day bully now has at their disposal.

    We should all take bullying seriously, wherever and whenever it happens. We need to encourage our children to tell us when they are subject to it. The saddest element of the study findings, for me, was the statistic that 55% of those surveyed said they would not seek help, for fear of the problem getting worse and the hope that they could deal with it themselves. Again, this is classic in bullying cases, whatever the channels of communication employed. If your daughter does seem to be at the receiving end of such treatment, my advice would be firstly to check that it really is an example of sustained bullying rather than just a one-off reaction to shifting friendship groups. In my experience, girls are more likely to label unkind treatment as ‘bullying’ than boys are. If it is deliberate and sustained hurtful treatment, and school-related, talk early to pastoral staff at the school. Resist the temptation to approach the bully or their parents. If there is no school link, consider approaching the charity Beatbullying (www.beatbullying.org) and find out more about their cybermentors scheme. Help is out there, but we do need to encourage our children to confide in us when they need it.

    But remember, bullying is in essence what it always was. Cyberbullying is just the 21st century manifestation of it.

    Posted by Jill Berry

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