Teenagers caught in the cyberbullying trap – one network is particularly bad

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Teenagers caught in the cyberbullying trap – one network is particularly bad

More than every second person between 14 and 17 has experienced cyberbullying More than every second person between 14 and 17 has experienced cyberbullying

More than every second person between 14 and 17 has experienced cyberbullying

Quelle: Getty Images/Justin Paget

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According to a study, more than every second teenager has been confronted with bullying on the Internet – in different roles. The youngsters are most often exposed to insults and rumors. One network seems particularly affected. What experts advise.

ATeens don’t have to search too long to find hate speech online. You have a laugh like a serial killer, writes a user under a picture of the well-known influencer Diana zur Löwen. She is one of the most embarrassing Berliners, says another. And these are just the most innocuous comments.

Whether as a perpetrator, victim or just an observer: More than every second young person between the ages of 14 and 17 in Germany has ever experienced cyberbullying. This is shown by the results of the Sinus Youth Study 2021 on behalf of the Barmer health insurance company, which is exclusively available to WELT. According to this, 14 percent of those surveyed were directly affected by attacks on the Internet, and every twentieth young person outed himself as a bully. Most often, however, the teenagers stated that they had observed cyberbullying in others (43 percent).

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A total of 2005 young people were interviewed for the study. The most common way of bullying is through insults (72 percent) or by spreading rumors (56 percent). Almost every third person also knows that they or others are excluded from digital groups. Around as often, teenagers report harassment or posting embarrassing videos.

“Cyberbullying is still unacceptably widespread in the lives of young people,” said Barmer boss Christoph Straub to WELT. Particularly worrying: According to the study, insults on the Internet take place in all common social networks.

Source: WORLD infographic

Young people most often find out about this on the WhatsApp messenger service (59 percent). But according to the study, 41 percent of those surveyed are also familiar with bullying attacks from the Instagram picture app, which, like WhatsApp, belongs to the Facebook parent company Meta.

It was only this summer that Instagram introduced new functions to protect against hatred. For example, users can restrict direct contact by others. In addition – to put it simply – filters should be used to sort out aggressive comments and messages.

“We had to record an enormous increase in those affected”

More and more young people are victims of cyberbullying, and the number has doubled within ten years. This can turn into a nightmare for those affected. But there are offers of help.

Source: WORLD / Sarah Widter

“We hope that these new functions protect people better from seeing abusive content,” said Instagram boss Adam Mosseri at the introduction. Regardless of whether it is racist, sexist, homophobic or any other kind of abuse. Even with the most recent network, the popular TikTok video app, more than one in four reports of bullying.

Barmer boss Straub, on the other hand, calls for significantly more intensive prevention. Those affected need easy access to help and, above all, contact points that they can trust. “Because bullying attacks are difficult to survive alone,” says Straub. Anyone who experiences bullying usually goes to their own family with it.

Source: WORLD infographic

Two out of three people affected seek help from their parents, as the study shows. For 44 percent, the Circle of Friends is also one of the first people to contact. “Mothers and fathers, best friends, enjoy the greatest trust in the difficult situation in which those affected by the bullying get,” explains Straub.

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There are also other contact points where teenagers can look for help. Those who bully heavily are often liable to prosecution. Those affected can report it to the police. But self-help groups and teachers are also available as contact persons. Schools in particular could do active educational work, according to the EU initiative Klicksafe.

However: “We know from research that teachers notice bullying very late,” said Klicksafe director Birgit Kimmel on the occasion of the most recent day of action against cyberbullying a few weeks ago.

Source: WORLD infographic

Cyberbullying was a growing problem even before the corona pandemic, according to the initiative. The pandemic has exacerbated the situation, however, as many activities such as meeting friends and school offers have shifted to the Internet.

The number of unreported cases of affected teenagers is likely to be higher. According to the Barmer study, around a third of 14 to 17 year olds claim that they have never heard of cyberbullying. However, 17 percent did not provide any information – or said they did not know.

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