According to a new report from CyberSafeKids, more than 25 percent of elementary school children and 40 percent of secondary school students are victims of cyberbullying.
The annual Trends and Usage Report reveals that, overall, girls are more likely to be victims of the Internet than boys, reports Breaking News.
Nearly two thirds (62%) of teachers have experienced online safety incidents and 31% of children aged 8-12 can go online whenever they want.
CyberSafeKids surveyed more than 5,000 children aged 8 to 16 between September 2022 and June 2023.
93 percent of children aged 8 to 12 have their own smart device, with YouTube (76 percent) being the most popular app, followed by WhatsApp (39 percent), Tik Tok (37 percent) and Snapchat (37 percent).
Online gaming is also popular with younger children: 15% play 18+ games like Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto.
While boys were more likely than girls to play games created by people over 18 (28% vs. 6%), girls were more likely to post videos of themselves online (26 % versus 18%).
The Irish Online Safety Organization’s survey of more than 5,000 children included secondary school pupils for the first time.
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of young people aged 12 to 16 said they can go online at any time, and 40% post videos of themselves on social media platforms, reports Breaking News.
Talking about the research, CyberSafeKids CEO, Alex Cooney, said: “Online safety for children remains a critical issue that is not being sufficiently addressed in Ireland’s education system or by the social media companies whose platforms are being used. Our data shows children are extremely active on social media, often unsupervised, leaving them highly vulnerable to bullying, grooming, and exposure to violent or sexual content,” reports Breaking News.
He added: “We’ve been reporting on these patterns for the past 7 years, but not enough is being done. We urge the Government to invest heavily in more resources and campaigns to support both parents and educators. Whilst organisations like CyberSafeKids barely have the funding to survive, many online service providers report annual profits in the billions,” reports Breaking News.
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