Online violence is on the rise around the world, according to new research that concludes that one in six school children is affected by cyberbullying.
Around one in eight schoolchildren aged 11 to 15 stated that they had already bullied someone in a digital space, according to the second report on Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The proportion of victims among boys has risen from 12% in the last report in 2018 to 15% and among girls from 13% to 16%. The current report refers to data for the period 2018 to 2022.
While 11% of boys stated in the 2018 report that they had bullied someone in the digital space, this figure has now risen to 14%. For girls, the figure rose from 7% to 9%.
"This report is a wake-up call for all of us to call out bullying and violence, whenever and wherever it happens,” stated Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe.
"With young people spending up to 6 hours online every single day, even small changes in the rates of bullying and violence can have profound implications for the health and well-being of thousands
A commitment must be made to protect children from violence and harm, both online and offline.
The report focussed on the patterns of bullying and violence among children and young people. It analysed data from more than 279,000 young people. For the HBSC study, 11 to 15-year-olds are surveyed every four years. The most recent survey in 2021/2022 was conducted in 44 countries and regions in Europe, Central Asia and Canada.
According to the report, the number of bullying incidents in schools overall remained relatively stable. Around 11% of students said they had been bullied at school, while 6% stated that they had bullied someone at school. This behaviour was more common among boys (8%) than girls (6%).
One in 10 young people had already been involved in physical altercations, with a clear difference between the sexes: 14% of boys compared to 6% of girls.
AI era of cyberbullying
Experts believe AI-supported software is already changing the nature of cyberbullying in classrooms.
In the wake of explicit deepfakes of pop singer Taylor Swift appearing on social media, education experts are urging parents to speak to their children about cyberbullying and ways to handle AI-generated images, videos and audio recordings.
A fast-growing number of AI tools can be used to alter material to make it look or sound like a specific person and create a piece of content known as a deepfake. Only a free app and a couple of taps are needed to put someone's face in a whole new setting.
The issue of AI-enhanced cyberbullying has scarcely been as contentious since a number of explicit and sexualized images of Taylor Swift went viral online in late January.
Although the singer's fans called on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to stop them from being shared further, the damage appeared to have been done, with the photos spreading rapidly, initially on X and then on Instagram and Facebook.
Once uploaded, such images are very hard to remove, and the Swift deepfakes should be a warning to parents and schoolchildren of the irreversible damage that is done once harmful content is shared.
Schoolmates, not strangers
Cyberbullying often doesn't come from strangers, but from schoolmates, say experts. "The closer it is to the real world, the greater its impact," Sabine Eder, a specialist in how children use digital media previously told dpa.
For parents, a child who no longer wants to go to school may be an indication of online harassment. Victims of online harassment should be sure to block the offending account on the social media network in question. But first it's advisable to take screenshots of the abusive postings and save them as evidence.
Online platforms also have mechanisms through which harassment can be reported. They're often not easy to find, so teens should get help from someone they trust.
Schoolchildren should be made aware that voice generating software can also read out texts in someone else's voice. Fake voice messages might therefore become another medium in cyberbullying, used to single out, trick and embarrass a child at school.
If your child shows an interest in AI, parents should explore the tools and technology with them and together agree on sensible ways to use them, media education experts say.