Almost one in five students in higher education have experienced negative acts such as bullying in the last academic year, according to a national survey.
Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said the findings, alongside those of a separate report on cyberbullying among schoolchildren, represented an “alarming wake-up call” to education authorities.
The National Survey of Student Experiences of Bullying in Higher Education Institutions was conducted by Dublin City University’s Anti-Bullying Centre. A total of 2,573 students took part in an anonymous online survey.
A total of 18 per cent of students said they endured negative acts online or in person over the last academic year.
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Being gossiped about was the most commonly experienced type of negative act, both online and in the real world.
Overall, minority groups, such as ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ respondents or those with a neurodiversity or disability, were more likely to endure negative acts at college or university, such as bullying and cyberbullying, the report found.
A third of respondents said they had witnessed bullying at their college or university in the past year while six out of 10 said they had taken action to help the target of the negative acts.
Furthermore, a large proportion (42 per cent) of survey respondents were aware that their institution had an anti-bullying policy in place and more than a third (36 per cent) “strongly agreed” that bullying is against the values of their college/university.
Mr Harris said the survey showed some similarity of patterns with the report on cyberbullying among schoolchildren also published this week.
“I think the reports are an alarming wake-up call for our country. More and more now, we are seeing activities that used to take place in person taking place online, both criminal especially, and also, crucially, bullying,” he said.
“Bullying has taken place, sadly, in schools and society and workplaces for a very, very long time. That bullying used to take place in a physical location. That bullying is now [targeted at] a young person, and children sometimes as young as eight, on an almost ever present basis [because of its online nature].”
He said parents need to be empowered to have “pushback” tools for smart devices. He said there was a role to play in informing parents and that would include awareness campaigns.
He praised the voluntary code in his own hometown of Greystones in Co Wicklow not allowing smartphones in primary schools, saying it had potential to change the peer pressure, and pressure on parents.
He said that social media companies also needed to step up. He said some social media platforms had a minimal age restriction but said there was clearly no enforcement to ensure that those restrictions were upheld.
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Separately, Minister for Education Norma Foley has expressed “deep concern” over the harmful consequences of “over-consumption of social media” by children and young people.
Her concerns are contained in a letter to the newly appointed online safety commissioner, Niamh Hodnett, this summer, where Ms Foley said that she hoped the new position could bring about positive change.
“These consequences are unfortunately witnessed on a daily basis in Irish schools, and principals, school staff, parents and students often share their concerns and experiences with me,” she wrote.
“Tackling this issue will require a whole-of-society response, and I am determined that my department will play its role.”
The online safety commissioner is drawing up a new binding online safety code aimed at reducing harmful content online and will require platforms to take measures to do so. A failure to comply with the code may lead to criminal or civil sanctions.
