Cyber Bullying in Ireland: A dark stain on the rich tapestry of a child’s mind and psychology that lasts for years
The increasing centrality of digital media in children’s lives and the eased access to social-media sites like Facebook and
Cyber Bullying in Ireland: A dark stain on the rich tapestry of a child’s mind and psychology that lasts for years
The increasing centrality of digital media in children’s lives and the eased access to social-media sites like Facebook and Twitter, have breathed new life into bullying. Cyber Bullying in Ireland poses a particular risk because there is a substantial lack of awareness; the victims do not realize they’re being bullied, the perpetrators do not fully recognize their actions as bullying, and the parents might be a bit slower to find out.
The virtual world has given bullies stronger grounds to victimize and humiliate, creating a corrosive impact on our children’s confidence, self-esteem, and mental health, and inevitably affecting their capacity to learn and to live.
Astounding Numbers, Facts and Stats on Cyber Bullying in Ireland
Cyber Bullying in Ireland has been brought to the attentions of schools, society and the government due to the staggering data that research has revealed. Amidst national concern over the extent to which Cyber Bullying in Ireland has become a social phenomenon, one that attention must be paid to, numbers and statistics only come a little close to uncovering the threat that cyber bullying forms towards children in Ireland.
According to recent EU Kids Online research, 99% of young people aged nine to sixteen in Ireland use the Internet, and over half of these have set up their own profile on a social networking site. Levels of bullying in Ireland are above average compared with the 25 other countries surveyed as part of Safer Internet Day, a global initiative to promote a safer internet for all users, especially young people.
Moreover, the ‘Growing Up in Ireland’ study highlights how over 24% of 9 to 17 year olds have reported been bullied, while research by the Anti-Bullying Centre Trinity College has highlighted how one in four girls and one in six boys in Ireland have come in contact with cyber-bullying either as a victim, bully or both. Incidence rates tend to be slightly higher among girls than boys.
Cyber Bullying in Ireland and Cases: As early as 7?
Chief executive of the National Parents Council Primary, Aine Lynch, said that while cyber-bullying is mainly a problem among teenagers, children as young as seven being bullied via technology. The primary school age category is becoming more exposed to technology, and consequently to being bullied. Reports of children in the age bracket of nine to 11 being bullied on using Facebook, Bebo or over a mobile phone is more common, but there are isolated cases of seven- and eight-year-old children in Ireland being victims of cyber-bullying, which is more difficult to detect it than traditional bullying, as you don’t know who is doing it.
In April 2012, the Herald reported on a 10-year-old boy who was being terrorized online by bullies who had gone as far as creating a Facebook page titled “Everybody Hates [name].” The abuse became so bad that his parents opted to switch their son into a different school. The boy’s father, Gerry Dalton said: “We weren’t aware of the page because we don’t allow our youngest son on Facebook.” This example brings to light the necessity of supervision from the parents’ side, as Facebook has a rule that children under 13 should not use their site. Studies and Facebook statistics have revealed a crazy 75% of eight year olds creating Facebook accounts… being aided by their parents in bypassing age restriction controls, which has heightened concerns about their vulnerability to cyber-bullying at such a young age.
What we believe is that if parents are allowing young children to use social networking sites, they must be vigilant and supervisory of their kids’ activity, and if carrying a mobile phone is a must for whatever reason, mobile phones for children need neither the internet nor a camera.
Aftermath of Cyber Bullying in Ireland, from Depression to Suicide
A sixteen-year-old girl was left traumatized by a vile campaign of internet abuse in which she was targeted for sick sexual references by teenage boys. The girl, a student at Colaiste Choilm in Ballincollig, Co Cork, was deeply upset by the comments posted about her on the Facebook page ‘Colaiste Choilm Memes’ over Christmas, which was launched on December 10th, 2012, but only became active on December 16, according to the Irish Independent. While it initially involved humorous references to named teachers and celebrities, from December 19 the content became nasty in tone and focused almost entirely on the 16-year-old girl. When she was made aware of the postings, she initially dismissed them, calling them “sad”, but it wasn’t long before the attacks became more vicious, and they had the young girl begging for the posts to be taken down. In response, the girl was taunted with vile sexual references by a number of page users, all believed to be teenage boys. The school and the girl’s family only became aware of the cyber-bullying in January.
Lara Burns was a student at Maynooth Post Primary School. She committed suicide late November 2012 at her family’s home, and after police investigations, it appeared that she was a victim to online bullying. However, Lara’s suicide was not the first; in fact, it was the third among young teens during the past year.
The recent tragedies surrounding Cyber Bullying in Ireland include the heart-aching deaths of three young teenage girls: Lara Burns, (aged 12) in Co. Kildare, Erin Gallagher (aged 13) in Co Donegal and Ciara Pugsley (aged 15) in Co Leitrim.
The 13-year-old Donegal girl, Erin Gallagher, was found on October 27th, 2012, after telling friends that she was considering killing herself due to the abuse she was suffering, after being subjected to a bullying campaign on the controversial websi