Cyberbullying soared during lockdown. What are schools doing about it?

Digital platforms have proved a lifeline for students during school closures – but there’s been a hidden downside. All that time spent online – whether on social media or gaming consoles – has resulted in a sharp increase increase in cyberbullying, according to new research by DCU’s National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre.

Cyberbullying among children and adolescents soared by 28 per cent during the lockdown. The younger children were, the more likely they were to become victims. The problem is particularly prevalent in young boys aged 10-16, with nearly 50 per cent experiencing more cyberbullying since the first lockdown.

While bullying has always been a problem in school, the fact that cyberbullying is so difficult to escape from intensifies the negative impact.

“In the old days you could leave the classroom or the schoolyard and go home and the bullying would most likely stop,” says James O’Higgins Norman, director of the National Anti-bullying centre in DCU. “Unfortunately, smartphones mean the bullying can continue and never stop.”

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So, what can parents or schools do to tackle the problem?

Today is Safer Internet Day, an EU-wide initiative to promote a safer internet for young people. There are lots of free resources and webinars online for students, schools and parents.

Concerns

Experts agree that education plays a key role in reducing cyberbullying but say one-off anti-bullying lessons in schools have a limited impact.

“It has to be something deeper than that, something that addresses the real concerns of children and adolescents and is led by them,” says O’Higgins Norman.

DCU has developed an anti-bullying programme called Fuse which is child-led and free to all schools in Ireland.

“It is very successful,” says O’Higgins Norman. “Eight-five per cent of kids that participate in it tell us that they now feel safer online and that they know how to recognise bullying online and know how to go about reporting it.”

David Swaine, education project coordinator at the National Anti-Bullying Centre, helped design and develop the programme which is available to both primary and post-primary schools.

“It is clear from research that children are accessing social media at a much younger age, with or without parental consent,” says Swaine.

He recommends educating children about cyberbullying from as early as second class.

“Social media is so woven into the fabric of a young person’s life now and while it does have a lot of benefits in relation to connectivity, you have to be more aware of the more pernicious elements of it,” says Swaine.

“It is in everyone’s interest – parents, guardians, teachers, school staff and the wider school community – to be mindful of this from a very young age.”

Aoife Fox, second-class teacher at Scoil Assaim Boys’ National School in Raheny, completed the programme with her class in December.

She says while most children don’t have their own phones at that age, many of them are using online games consoles. (The DCU study showed that there was a 66 per cent increase in the use of gaming consoles during the first lockdown.)

“We would talk about how to keep safe when we are playing games online and get them discussing what to do if somebody says something during the game that they don’t feel comfortable with or makes them feel bad,” says Fox.

She says the preventative approach helps pupils identify cyberbullying before it escalates.

“If they notice it happening to somebody else they might tell somebody quicker,” she says.

Liam Walsh, principal at Coláiste Pobail Setanta, a mixed secondary school in Clonee, Dublin, says promoting positive engagement with digital devices is the first step a school can take on the road to minimising cyberbullying.

“We have a very healthy relationship with IT and that might be a reason why cyberbullying isn’t as prevalent here as it is in other places,” says Walsh.

Parents play a major role in helping address the problem of cyberbullying and have a responsibility to familiarise themselves with the technology their children are using, he says . They should also establish a relationship based on openness and discussion with their child.

“If a young person has already had these transparent discussions with their parents around their platform, the communication channels are open so the child can tell the parent if they get a dodgy message,” he says.

Walsh advises against parents taking away a device from their son or daughter as it may deter them from reporting.

Fear

“It is important that the child knows that it is absolutely okay to tell their parent what is happening without the fear of having their phone taken off them,” he adds.

Swaine agrees that parents and guardians play a vital role in negating the impact of cyberbullying.

“The first and most significant influencers would be your parents or your guardians and a really good thing to do is to talk about bullying at home,” says Swaine. “Talk about what it is and ensure the child understands that bullying is always wrong.”

Coláiste Pobail Setanta has also committed to teaching the Fuse programme remotely during the current lockdown.

“One of our teachers is going to start delivering it through Microsoft Teams, so even during lockdown we are still striving to get the programme out through the tutor system for our students,” says Walsh.

Eilis Fox, a teacher at the school, says a key benefit so far is students are able to better identify what bullying behaviours are.

“I taught it with my class last year and the videos are so beneficial because it helps the kids put themselves into the position that the kids in the videos are in and link it back to something that might happen in their life,” says Fox.“It teaches them empathy.”

O’Higgins Norman says while there was an increase in cyberbullying during the first lockdown, the research also showed there were positive developments in terms of cyber safe behaviours for children and adolescents.

“Parents and children spent more time online together and because of this increased amount of time, a lot of children were reporting that they were getting better at protecting themselves online,” says O’Higgins Norman.

“It wasn’t just the case that more time online meant more bad things, some felt better able to deal with being online because there was increased involvement of parents being online with their kids.”

Warning signs: How to spot if your child is at risk of cyberbullying

David Swaine says that there are signs that parents should be aware of if they are concerned about cyberbullying.

1. Anxiety: "You would notice a visible level of anxiety in the student, they'd be anxious about the idea of being in school."

2. Withdrawn behaviour: "This could be seen in a disengagement form their academic life, an inability to concentrate and a loss of confidence."

3. Device anxiety: "If a young person appears upset when they are coming offline, even annoyed. They might appear nervous or anxious when they are using a phone or device."

4. Avoiding online: "People talk about excessive use of phones, but you have to flip that around the other way, it becomes a problem if you notice they are never on these things anymore. You might think that it is refreshing but they aren't on them because they are terrified of what is on the other side of the screen."

5. Report: Swaine says that parents should notify the school immediately if they become concerned about cyberbullying. He also says that schools must communicate an incident with parents quickly. "Once you have established that it has happened you have got to get in contact with the parent or guardians as quickly as possible," says Swaine, "Otherwise the parents will feel that the school are dragging their feet. You need to ensure that parents feel heard."

Today is Safer Internet Day. Check out our guide to the best resources online to help keep your child safe:

[ irishtimes.com/news/education/safer-internet-day-guide-to-the-best-free-classroom-resources-1.4167010 ]