SO-CALLED ‘TRADITIONAL bullying’ is still three times more common than online harassment, according to Trinity College Dublin professor Mona O’Moore.
Speaking yesterday at the National Youth Council of Ireland “Screenagers” conference at the Science Gallery in TCD, O’Moore said cyber-bullying is an extension of traditional bullying and most of those involved in harassing people online were also doing so in the ‘real’ world.
She said that girls were more likely to use texting to cyber-bully while boys tend to use cameras and video clips, the Irish Times reports.
O’Moore, founder and director of the anti-bullying centre at TCD, said that young people can be classed as pure bullies, pure victims or bully victims – a combination of the two.
One in five young people (one in four girls and one in six boys) are involved in cyber-bullying – either as bullies, victims or bully victims O’Moore said.
Although she described cyber-bullying as an “overrated phenomenon”, O’Moore predicted a shift in bullying styles as young people gain greater internet access, the Irish Independent reports.
Earlier this week, Phil Prendergast MEP commented on the number and seriousness of instances of cyber-bullying amongst youths, saying that the “effective protection of children online depends on continued and enhanced cooperation at EU-level, as the web cuts across national or legal boundaries”.
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