Online abuse in childhood may lead to adult mental health problems, says Minister

Children who suffer online abuse through social media could be more likely to experience mental health problems later in life, says Minister of State Aodhán O’Ríordáin.

Mr O'Ríordáin, who was speaking at the launch of Spunout.ie and Twitter's new Online Safety Hub which provides young people with guidelines on safe internet use, warned that young people were at risk of becoming addicted to each other's lives through social media.

He added that online bullying could not be “easily washed away” and that later in life people often “retreat to things that affected them in their childhood”.

“They (young people) are addicted to what people feel about them,” he said. “You can almost get addicted to the negativity people feel about you. This is not a young person’s thing, this lasts all your life.”

“We need to have a conversation about how we can collectively protect childhood... and ensure children really focus on the best of what they are.”

Speaking in response to the latest report on internet safety among children in Ireland, Patricia Cartes, global head of safety outreach for Twitter, said the organisation had worked with Irish youth panels to find the best way to disseminate safety information to younger users.

The Net Children Go Mobile 2015 report found 43 per cent of young people didn't know how to use the 'report abuse' safety button on social networking sites. It also found 40 per cent of those aged 11-12 admitted to setting up a profile despite a ban across most sites on users under 13 signing up.

“Verifying age is a very difficult challenge for all industry players,” said Ms Cartes. “Education online begins at a very young age and it’s important we have resources in place so that once they turn 13 they can engage with the site.”

Ms Cartes says Twitter, which sees 500 million tweets every day, has implemented clear safety guidelines using a language that young people understand.

“We can’t proactively monitor everything that is happening on the platform, that would get in the way of the technology. We rely on the community to flag content. The tone we want to strike with our users is to help them feel empowered and protect themselves online.”

The Online Safety Hub, launched as part of Safer Internet day, is designed to show young people how to control their personal information and stay safe when using platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter.

The Ask.fm Q&A social network has also launched a new Safety Centre which provides users with guidance on how to use the site in a safe way. The centre's tools include how to turn off anonymous questions, block and report users, and control public profiles.

Meanwhile, the new Web We Want resource for teachers, launched by UPC Ireland in partnership with Webwise and Google as part of Safer Internet Day, offers educators the tools to prepare lessons on internet safety and digital living.