Almost 1 in 6 children experience cyberbullying: WHO Europe

The study, titled Health Behavior in School-Age Children, found that 15 percent of boys and 16 percent of girls reported being cyberbullied at least once in the past few months.

The UN agency noted that the pandemic has changed young people’s attitudes towards each other.

“Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual forms of peer violence have become particularly important since young people’s worlds became increasingly virtual during lockdown,” the report said. There is.

Other forms of bullying have remained largely stable with only slight increases.

Eleven percent of boys and girls reported being bullied at least two or three times a month at school in the past few months, compared with 10% four years ago.

Without providing detailed data, the WHO said the highest levels of cyberbullying were among boys in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Moldova and Poland, while the lowest were in Spain.

Kluge said: “Young people spend up to six hours online each day, and even small changes in rates of bullying and violence can have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of thousands of people.” Stated.

The report found that one in eight young people admitted to cyberbullying, an increase of three percentage points from 2018.

Meanwhile, the number of adolescents who got into physical fights remained stable at 10% over the four-year period, with 14% of boys and 6% of girls getting into physical fights.

The study was based on data from 279,000 children and adolescents from 44 countries in Europe, Central Asia and Canada.

In most regions, cyberbullying peaked when children were 11 years old for boys and 13 years old for girls.

Parents’ socio-economic status had little effect on children’s behavior, according to the report.

The exception was Canada, where disadvantaged youth were more likely to be bullied.

They found that 27% of girls from the least wealthy 20% of families said they had been bullied at school, compared to 21% of girls from the richest 20% of families.

The report noted that the problem was widespread and called for more efforts to improve awareness.

“Further investment is needed in monitoring various forms of peer violence,” the report said.

“While social media platforms are regulated to limit exposure to cyberbullying, there is also an urgent need to educate young people, families and schools about forms of cyberbullying and its effects,” the report said. I concluded.

Without providing detailed data, the WHO said the highest levels of cyberbullying were among boys in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Moldova and Poland, while the lowest were in Spain.

Kluge said: “Young people spend up to six hours online each day, and even small changes in rates of bullying and violence can have a significant impact on the health and wellbeing of thousands of people.” Stated.

The report found that one in eight young people admitted to cyberbullying, an increase of three percentage points from 2018.

Meanwhile, the number of adolescents who got into physical fights remained stable at 10% over the four-year period, with 14% of boys and 6% of girls getting into physical fights.

The study was based on data from 279,000 children and adolescents from 44 countries in Europe, Central Asia and Canada.

In most regions, cyberbullying peaked when children were 11 years old for boys and 13 years old for girls.

Parents’ socio-economic status had little effect on children’s behavior, according to the report.

The exception was Canada, where disadvantaged youth were more likely to be bullied.

They found that 27% of girls from the least wealthy 20% of families said they had been bullied at school, compared to 21% of girls from the richest 20% of families.

The report noted that the problem was widespread and called for more efforts to improve awareness.

“Further investment is needed in monitoring various forms of peer violence,” the report said.

“While social media platforms are regulated to limit exposure to cyberbullying, there is also an urgent need to educate young people, families and schools about forms of cyberbullying and its effects,” the report said. I concluded.

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