Stop the cyber-bullies and protect your children online

The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence on Friday, March 16th is an important opportunity for us all to focus on the issue of bullying, both in the classroom and at home.

While popular social media platforms are a common ground for cyberbullying, new gaming research released by the eSafety Office reflects that 17% of young people experienced bullying while playing multi-player games online.

As social media and technology become increasingly entrenched in young people’s lives, we have no doubt that the incidence of cyberbullying could grow too.

We know that cyberbullying is often an extension of bullying in the schoolyard, so we need to work at altering these behaviours online as well. In tandem, the eSafety Office continues to encourage social media sites and app providers to innovate and improve user safety tools.

This National Day of Action, the eSafety Office is providing a suite of resources to help equip young people, educators and their parents with practical strategies and tools to help combat cyberbullying, including:

• Virtual Classrooms will be hosted for schools around the country, exploring strategies to prevent and manage cyberbullying
• An updated cyberbullying complaints form, making it easier and faster for young people to report cyberbullying; and
• Information and advice to help parents understand cyberbullying and the steps they can take to support their child and report material at www.esafety.gov.au/iparent

Parents can play an important role in encouraging their kids to seek help, and the eSafety Office is here to assist through our cyberbullying reporting function.

We know from experience that prevention, active parental engagement, followed by early intervention by reporting and having the cyberbullying material removed helps limit issues from escalating further.

The online world can be a powerful force for good—building community and resilience, and providing access to education and support. Many young people turn to online spaces first when seeking help for issues with their mental health.

All of our organisations here can help parents, educators and young people themselves find solutions-based pathways for their specific situation and can help improve their mental health and online well-being.

Today is the perfect day for parents to have the conversation with their children—know the sites and apps they’re using, check their privacy settings, set guidelines around tech use at home and most importantly, let them know you will be there to support and guide them if they encounter online abuse.

For more information and advice around cyberbullying, visit www.esafety.gov.au.