More than a quarter of girls in the UK aged between 10 and 18 have been picked on and bullied over the internet, a recent survey revealed.
The survey, conducted by Girlguiding UK, of more than 1,000 girls showed that as many as 28 percent of them had been bullied over the web or by email, with the cases of girl-on-girl bullying soaring up overwhelmingly.
Discussing the organisation's responsibility to deal with the issue, chief exec of Girlguiding UK Denise King said in a statement, “As the UK's largest organisation providing a safe female-only space for girls and young women, we see it as our responsibility to give girls and young women the knowledge and self-confidence to deal with issues that worry them”.
In addition to this, King mentioned that the organisation also wanted to emphasise to girls the role of the skills needed in being a “good friend”, and said these skills would be beneficial for them throughout their life.
Aligning with the aforesaid objectives, the organisation has released a new guide which says girls should learn to handle the problem instead of ignoring it. The guide further suggests keeping various things like email address, mobile phone number, as well as online profile details private.
Our Comments
The statistics is worrying and shows a growing trend amongst young adults and teenagers. Bullying can have devastating effects on the upbringing of young people and the fact that it can be done online in all anonymity and relative impunity represents one of the darker sides of technology and the internet.
Related Links
Quarter of girls have been cyber-bullied
(Tech Radar)
Girls at risk of cyber bullying
(Press Association)
'Quarter of girls' cyber bullied
(CBBC Newsround)
Website helps Guides with online bullying
(Wales Online)