More than every fourth child between the ages of 9 and 18 has experienced bullying on the internet, games sites or on their mobile phone.
This was found in a survey conducted by the Norwegian Media Authority. On Tuesday, ‘Safer Internet Day’ was marked in a number of countries. The theme of the event in Norway was ‘How can we help children and young people online?’
More boys than girls reported negative experiences. Four out of ten boys aged between 15 and 16 said that they have been exposed to bullying online. Among the girls of the same age, three out of ten responded that they have experienced digital bullying.
‘We in the Media Authority are worried that more and more boys are experiencing bullying online,’ said Director, Mari Velsand.
38% of respondents aged between 9 and 18 said that they had been exposed to some form of online exclusion. At all ages, more girls than boys were exposed to this.
‘The figures indicate that there are some gender differences in terms of what kind of negative experiences children and young people are exposed to online. It seems that the boys are more likely to experience bullying, while girls are exposed more indirectly’, said Mari Velsand.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today