Schoolchildren in England are more likely to be bullied online than in any other developed country in the world.
An international study by the OECD found 13.9% of secondary head teachers have received reports about harmful posts on the internet about their pupils –this compares with an OECD average of 2.5%.
The report, which compared the experiences of 250,000 teachers across 48 nations, revealed the next highest country was the US, where 10% of head teachers face issues with online bullying on a weekly basis.
[Read more: Advice For Parents: 7 Signs Your Child Is Being Bullied Online]
The Teaching and Learning International Survey, carried out every five years, showed bullying, in general, has increased in schools in England. There are no UK-wide statistics, because Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland do not take part.
Overall, 21% of English school heads said intimidation or bullying “of all kinds” among their pupils occurred “on a regular basis”, compared with an average of 14% in countries in the OECD.
The OECD’s Andreas Schleicher described it as the “dark side of the modern age”. “It’s clearly about social media,” he said.
Schleicher warned that misuse of social media was “hindering learning”, and called for greater regulation, as has been introduced in France where mobile phones have been banned from schools.
If you’re worried about what your child may be experiencing online, here are six ideas on how to help them:
Do Your Research
According to Adele Jennings, who writes the Our Family Life blog, which has been shared by Internet Matters, online games and social media companies need to do more – but as parents, we have to “find out and learn more about what our children are getting up to while online”.
So do your research, as much as you are able to. Find out what your child is looking at, and judge for yourself if it’s appropriate.
Talk To Your Child
If you’re struggling to work out how to have that conversation, look at Thinkuknow – the website is connected to police and CEOP, and offers advice targeted appropriately to the age of your child.
[Read More: This eight-year-old gives advice on how to combat bullying]
Take Them Seriously
If your child is scared or upset, it can be counterproductive to dismiss those fears and risk invalidating their feelings. It doesn’t matter if the fear is real, if it’s scaring your child, it’s worth listening – really listening.
And sometimes, if they feel heard, they’ll feel better. CforCat – a platform dedicated to early childhood development – advises acknowledging their feelings, and inviting them to discuss what they’re thinking about.
Understand Technology
It can be hard keeping up with which app, game or social messaging service your kids are using. If you want the latest on tech, consider checking out parentzone – the experts on family digital life. There are sections ranging from explaining the game Fortnite, to what age ratings really mean and how to achieve a digital detox.
Make Informed Decisions
If you care about gender stereotyping, or want to weed out content that depicts violence or bad language, check out Common Sense Media. It watches online media and content for you, and provides advice, reviews and trigger warnings.
Report Any Serious Risk of Harm
Take a look at the CEOP online safety centre. You can make a report to one of its child protection advisors if you’re worried about online sexual abuse, or the way someone has been communicating with your child online.
