Helplines have reported a rise in young people being cyberbullied during COVID-19 lockdowns. Left unaddressed, the effects of bullying can have a lasting impact on a person's life.
As countries were forced into lockdown to curb the spread of SARS-CoV-2, schools closed and children's screen time soared. With classes taught online, and curfews established in some countries, kids were spending more and more time indoors.
A survey of more than 6,000 10-18-year-olds from June to August last year found that about 50% of children had experienced at least one kind of cyberbullying in their lifetime, according to a reportpublished in February by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).
In the 11 European countries included in the report, 44% of children who had been cyberbullied before lockdown said it happened even more during lockdown. For 22% it happened less and 34% said it remained the same.
Among people who said they had cyberbullied others before, 39% said they did it more during lockdown.
A South African study published in the International Journal of Criminology and Sociology found that increased social media use during lockdown had led to many children and young people becoming victims of cyberbullying, including sexual comments on young women's photos, people insulting each other, and videos of school children fighting. The study highlighted the use of fake accounts to bully others.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has described bullying as a major public health problem. It can result in depression, anxiety and sometimes suicide. It can also lead to substance abuse, social withdrawal, missing school or dropping out, and can have implications later in life, according to the WHO.
Masa Popovac, a lecturer in psychology at the University of Buckingham in the UK, says she is concerned about kids being bullied in person when they return to school if they have been cyberbullied during lockdowns.
"There's often links between offline and online bullying," Popovac told DW. "There's research, including my own, which shows that those who experience bullying in both online and offline contexts have more severe outcomes."
Source: DW.com
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