This point was driven home by a new survey conducted by Vodafone which found that one in four Irish teens have experienced cyberbullying.
The online survey, which was carried out across 11 countries, forms part of Vodafone’s #BeStrong anti-cyberbullying initiative, to build emotional resilience amongst teens online.
In some of the most concerning findings of the survey, 60% of Irish teens admitted that they believe cyberbullying to be worse than face-to-face bullying. Meanwhile, over half (51%) believe it to be a bigger problem than drug abuse for young people.
What is more worrying again, is that out of those who had experienced cyberbullying, 45% felt helpless in their ordeal, and one in four even felt suicidal after the experience.
One positive aspect that emerged from the study, however, is that the majority of teens find it easier to cope with cyberbullying if they have support from a friend who has been through the same experience – and that’s where #BeStrong comes in.
Joined by Minister for Education and Skills Jan O’Sullivan - as well as representatives and children from youth organisations - the campaign team unveiled a suite of ‘support emojis’, chosen by the study’s 5,000 young participants.
These emojis have been designed for use by teens to convey compassion, sympathy and support when their friends are being bullied online.
Commenting on the campaign, Minister O’Sullivan said: “This research and the #Bestrong initiative will prove beneficial to everyone working in this important area. One of the main themes to emerge from the research is that teenagers want to help and support each other when a friend is being bullied online. Giving teenagers an additional communication tool to achieve that goal, through the use of emojis, is a great initiative.”
Check out more in the video below.
