The European Commission has a new strategy on combating online harassment (cyberbullying), which could be implemented in all EU member countries. The strategy also includes an application, through which children and teenagers will be able to signal when they are victims of this phenomenon and receive help. According to Commission data, one in six children in Europe, aged between 11 and 15, is affected by cyberbullying.
What the app might look like
Through the app – which is now only at the planning stage – children and teenagers who are victims of cyberbullying will be able to report incidents confidentially and get quick support through national helplines. The application will allow, say representatives of the European Commission, the safe storage and transmission of evidence.
The organization will create the basic model, and EU member states will be able to adapt it and connect it to existing national services.
The application is part of “Cyberbullying Action Plan”through which the European authorities want to make the internet safer.
Children feel alone in the face of online abuse
Ilona Chiriac, a psychologist at the NGO World Vision Romania, says that such an application responds directly to the needs reported by children themselves.
“Members of the Children’s Advisory Council of World Vision Romania have repeatedly drawn attention to the lack of safe, simple and confidential mechanisms through which students can report abuse, including harassment and aggression manifested in the online environment. Children frequently talk about the fear of reporting situations of violence or bullying, the lack of confidence that they will be taken seriously or the fear of reprisals. In this context, an anonymous digital tool can reduce reporting barriers and provide a real sense of security.”
The Effects of Online Bullying
If many parents fear bullying face-to-face, at school or in the circle of acquaintances, practice shows that the online environment is actually more dangerous, for a number of reasons.
“Online bullying is not ‘less serious’ than offline bullying; in many situations, the psychological impact can be even more intense. Unlike face-to-face bullying, the victim cannot easily withdraw from the digital space and the exposure can be constant and repetitive, 24 hours a day. Messages, comments or images shared can stay online for a long time, can be quickly re-shared and reach a very large audience, amplifying the child’s sense of shame and helplessness.”explains the psychologist.
Forms of digital bullying: from insults to blackmail
What are the most common forms of digital bullying? Ilona Chiriac says:
“Digital bullying can take many forms, from insults and threats in private messages or public comments, to spreading rumours, publishing photos without consent, being deliberately excluded from online groups, identity theft, image manipulation or digital blackmail.”
Such cases are not few at all, because the discrepancy between access to technology and the low level of training in the field of digital protection is large. Digital education therefore becomes an obligation to protect children, not an option.
Who are the online bullies?
“In many situations, the aggressors are people known to the child – colleagues or members of the social group. The online environment thus becoming an extension of real-life relationships, and conflicts or group dynamics quickly transferring online,” explains the psychologist.
And if in such situations it can be easier for children and adolescents to ask for and receive help, the danger can become even greater when the aggressors are people they do not know in reality.
“According to a survey carried out by World Vision Romania, over a third of the adolescent respondents were approached online by unknown adults with messages of a sexual nature, and almost two thirds received unwanted messages from people they did not know personally. Thus, interactions that remain exclusively online involve greater risks due to anonymity, emotional distance and the lack of immediate consequences that can encourage aggressive or inappropriate behavior, the aggressor being more difficult to found and prosecuted”emphasizes Ilona Chiriac.
