Protecting children from cyber bullying
According to research, Instagram accounts for 42% of bullying that occurs online, while 37% occurs on Facebook, 31% on Snapchat, 12% on WhatsApp, 10% on YouTube and 9% on Twitter.
CYBERSECURITY experts have urged adults to play an active role in protecting youngsters from cyber bullying.
Briefing the media on Thursday, researchers of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) put the spotlight on the negative effects of cyber bullying and provided some solutions to the problem.
CSIR Senior Researcher, Sipho Ngobeni, said many people still do not see the harm associated with cyber bullying, which takes place through online communication platforms.
Ngobeni called on everyone to get involved – youth, parents, educators, counsellors, youth leaders, law enforcement, social media companies, and the community – to fight the scourge.
Read also: Reinforce the message of zero tolerance towards bullying
According to Ngobeni, this is the key to dealing with this problem, adding that parents are often oblivious to their children’s online behaviour.
“In addition, educators do not know when and how to intervene in online behaviours that occur away from school, but still involve their learners. Law enforcement is often also hesitant to get involved unless there is clear evidence,” he said.
According to research, Instagram accounts for 42% of bullying that occurs online, while 37% occurs on Facebook, 31% on Snapchat, 12% on WhatsApp, 10% on YouTube and 9% on Twitter.
Meanwhile, statistics show that about 41% of kids develop social anxiety after being bullied, 37% battle with depression, 26% have suicidal thoughts and 25% engage in self-harm.
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