Around 10 percent of all adolescents in grades 7-9 are victims ofinternet bullying.
'This type of bullying can be more serious than conventional bullying.At least with conventional bullying the victim is left alone onevenings and weekends', says Ann Frisén, Professor of Psychology atthe University of Gothenburg.
'Victims of internet bullying - or cyberbullying - have no refuge.Victims may be harassed continuously via SMS and websites, and theinformation spreads very quickly and may be difficult to remove. Inaddition, it is often difficult to identify the perpetrator.'
Ann Frisén's research concerns body image, identity development anddifferent types of bullying among children and adolescents. She isalso part of an EU network of researchers studying cyberbullying andis since 1 January the national coordinator of this type of research.
What is cyberbullying?
'Cyberbullying occurs when new technologies such as computers andmobile phones are used to harass or bully somebody. The perpetratorsoften use SMS, e-mail, chat rooms and Facebook to spread their message.'One example of this is the Facebook group 'Vi som hatar Stina Johansson'(Those of us who hate Stina Johansson).
'This Facebook group was very difficult to remove. It took Stina'sparents almost one whole month', says Frisén.
A clear link to school life
Who are the victims?'Around 10 percent of all adolescents in grades 7-9 are victims ofcyberbullying. There is a clear connection to school life - it usuallycalms downs in the summer.
The perpetrator is almost always from the same school as the victim.'It is a lot easier to be a perpetrator on the internet since itenables you to act anonymously. This also makes it possible for aweaker person to bully a stronger, which is uncommon in conventionalbullying', says Frisén.
Blurring of boundaries is another important factor:
'In these contexts, people take liberties they normally wouldn't. Forexample, nobody would ever think of starting a magazine called "Thoseof us who hate Stina Johansson"'.So how can cyberbullying among children and adolescents be prevented?
Parents have an important role, according to Frisén:
'Adults shouldn't be so naive about what they put out about themselveson the internet, for example pictures. Kids get inspired by what adults do.In addition, it's good if parents show interest and ask their childrento show them which sites they like to visit. But it's usually not agood idea to forbid them from visiting certain websites; they shouldinstead teach them how to act when they are there.
'It is also important not to blame victimised children, since it'sreally not their fault. Our job is instead to help them end the harassment.'Frisén feels that people in Sweden generally are a bit naive when itcomes to these issues:
'All school children in the UK are taught to "zip it, block it andflag it" - don't share information, block contacts and tell an adult!'
Source: University of Gothenburg