Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
OVER 25% OF primary school aged children have faced cyberbullying in the past year according to a new report.
Posting pictures without permission, creation of fake profiles, and being excluded from chat groups were amongst the commonly reported forms of such behaviour.
Over a quarter of the 5,000 children surveyed had seen or experienced something online in the last year that “bothered” them, defined as content that scared them, upset them or made them wish they hadn’t seen it.
Nearly half of the younger children (46%) didn’t tell a parent or trusted adult about this experience, rising to 67% for secondary school children in this position.
CyberSafeKids, an Irish online safety charity, carried out the research for its Annual Trends and Usage Report and were able to include secondary school children for the first time.
Its chief executive Alex Cooney warned that online safety for children remains a critical issue that is “not being sufficiently addressed” in Ireland’s education system or by the social media companies whose platforms are being used.
“Our data shows children are extremely active on social media, often unsupervised, leaving them highly vulnerable to bullying, grooming, and exposure to violent or sexual content.”
The research also found a “couple of instances” of 8-12 year old boy using the OnlyFans website, which is an 18+ subscription
service and is often associated with creators of adult content.
Up to 40% of secondary school-goers reported being cyber-bullied, with girls overall more likely to be victimised than boys.
Smartphone ownership is widespread with little difference between primary and second school children – 93% of 8-12 year olds have their own smart device whereas it’s 98% for 12-16 year olds.
Almost two-thirds (62%) of teachers dealt with online safety incidents while 31% of 8-12 year olds are allowed online whenever they want.
The incidence of cyberbullying significantly increases at secondary school (aged 12 to 16) to 40%, with girls more likely than boys to have been victimised online (43% vs 30%).
Advertisement
Young children are also unaware of how best to protect themselves online with 22% posting videos, and 17% unaware of how to manage privacy settings.
‘Disempowered’
One school principal in Dublin said the figures confirmed the findings of her own teachers.
Carmel Hume, principal of Presentation Primary School, Terenure said staff have found children “feel disempowered” by social media, especially in large group chats.
“They are afraid to leave a group, and afraid to speak up if they see others being ridiculed. We were shocked by the number of children who had access to their smartphones in their bedrooms late at night,” she said.
“Many slept with phones under their pillows. Negative commentary online has become normalised and the nuances of face-to-face communication and engagements are being lost.
“As principal of an all-girls school I worry about the influence of social media on image and body positivity, and I urge parents and guardians to exercise stronger control.”
Young girls are more likely to post videos of themselves online (26% v 18%) according to the report.
The survey by Ireland’s online safety charity of over 5,000 children included secondary school aged children for the first time.
Professor Brian O’Neill of TU Dublin, who is a CyberSafeKids advisor, said children’s online safety is a shared responsibility that requires a “more urgent response” by all.
“Given the fast-changing nature of the digital environment, parents and teachers cannot be expected to manage it without support,” O’Neill said.
Most popular apps
For 8-12 year-olds, YouTube (76%) is the most popular app, followed by WhatsApp (39%), Tik Tok (37%) and Snapchat (37%).
Online gaming is also popular with young children, with 15% playing over-18 games such as Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Boys were more likely to play over-18 games at 28% compared to just 6% of girls.
Almost three-quarters (73%) of 12-16 year-olds said they can go online whenever they want, with 40% posting videos of themselves on social media platforms.
Younger children face more controls at home from parents, but 31% of 8-12 year olds say they are free to go online whenever they want, and 15% of primary school children have no rules in place for going online at home.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
29 Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
@Simon Moore (SkylineSi): Unfortunately, if every other kid in 4th class has a phone and your child doesn’t, that leaves them open for bullying and being excluded. That’s not the way it should be but that’s the way it is. If that’s your child it’s not an easy decision to make.
@Terry Fagan: ah but if smart phones are banned in primary school all together, then that is not an issue. Looking forward to seeing how it works out in the Wicklow schools this year
If one in four primary kids are been bullied on line its completely the parents fault, on both sides. Firstly these children shouldn’t be online without being 100% monitored. I’m not against kids being online but the should be supervised at all times. They should be watched for bullying against them and for them doing the bullying. Time parents took more responsibility for their children. Parents need to educate their kids around bullying. kids need to be informed its ok to report it as it happens, parents of kids bullying need to be held account for it and the responsibility of correcting it put on them. Bring law into. Forced counselling for repeat bullies and their parents. Key here is kids are kids, they act how they are raised, or not raised in some cases, its up to parents to control and impart civil & moral values on them. Be parents.
There is no reason a child needs a smartphone. A bog basic one for communication is enough. They should be banned during school hours for primary and secondary schools. After that, parents need to step up.
@Iano C: then they will be blamed for being a nanny state.can’t win….. no ,how about parents acting like parents and taking what’s know as responsibility(it’s lost on a lot of people in this country)
@John Terry: I agree with you. I feel we’re on the same page. But let the moaners moan. They’ll always find something to complain about. In the meantime, make a law banning personal digital devices in primary schools (removes the chances of a kid being bullied/slagged for not having one, by other kids) and then let good parenting handle the remainder of the day. Being online is a reality. It’s essential, in a lot of ways. But strict, monitored (via parental software/apps) can at least mitigate most of the risk. Regardless, I’ll be heavy-handed on this one with my kids (one just started primary this week + one more to follow in a few years). Wish me luck!!
@Iano C: I have three girls,one in secondary and the other two in primary.it is a constant battle.our school have ‘hinted’ that a ban is coming in and a huge amount of parents are up in arms and are insisting that the school are overstepping their mark……As I always say,we are very quick in this country to blame everyone but ourselves for all the shortcomings in life.cheers.
@John Terry: in fairness, we weren’t allowed to bring in game boys etc, could only imagine how the Christian brothers would have reacted to swing lads on tik tok. Very supprised phones are allowed to be turned on during school ours, but with the use of ipads/lap tops it won’t change a thing re. Online bullying / drama.
If EU wins the privacy battle with the US mega corps like meta etc this might fix itself in the most part as how US accounts will have to be firewalled off from EU Users. And lets face it, most of the toxicity on these plaforms originate from murica.
Simply introduce a law that makes it illegal for anyone under the age of 16 to own a smart phone . Simple phones or pagers are all that’s necessary to ensure regular contact between children and parents. We’ve created this monster, but we can put it back in it’s box.
From a 'welcoming culture' to a 'wall of suspicion': What's behind the rise of Germany's AFD?
Eoghan Dalton
Reports from Berlin
4 hrs ago
2.7k
South Dublin
Thousands of rental properties in Dublin found in breach of minimum housing standards
6 hrs ago
9.7k
43
Fatal Stabbing
Gardaí make third arrest in connection with fatal stabbing on South Anne Street as victim named
Updated
7 hrs ago
60.1k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 148 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 102 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 133 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 103 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 75 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 74 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 36 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 32 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 124 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 59 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 72 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 79 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 37 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 42 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 24 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 82 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 92 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 65 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 48 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 81 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 60 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say