IGF 2019 WS #95 Tackling Cyberbullying on Children with Digital Literacy

Relevance to Theme: The rapid proliferation of information and communications technology (ICT) is an unstoppable force changing the world order and shaping everyday life. Childhood is no exception, representing a generation that grows up online. Over 40 per cent of the young people polled began using the Internet before they were 13-years-old. The report by UNICEF also indicates the time online of connected children and way of using are becoming longer and more mobile. Social entertainment and learning, information and exploration and civic engagement and creativity are the main online practices of children. Moreover, the Internet has become a fixture of young people’s lives regardless of income level. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), while 94 per cent of young people aged 15-24 in developed countries are online, more than 65 per cent of young people in developing countries are online.

On the other hand, this online proliferation comes with increased risk, particularly for children, who are more impressionable, emotional and more vulnerable to online violence than adults are, for example, to suffer social and academic loss. Digital connectivity has made children more accessible through unprotected social media profiles and online game forums. The dangers posed by online violence, cyberbullying and digital harassment affect 70.6 per cent of young people aged 15 to 24 years old who are online globally. Cyberbullying can cause profound harm as it can quickly reach a wide audience, and can remain accessible online indefinitely, virtually ‘following’ its victims online for life, forming a continuum of damaging behavior. Victims of cyberbullying are more likely to use alcohol and drugs, to experience in-person bullying, to receive poor grades and to experience low self-esteem and health problems. In extreme situations, cyberbullying has led to suicide. However, evidence from UNESCO’s study shows that 62% of interviewed digital users did not know or were unsure about where to find help when cyberbullied. Consequently, it is urgent and necessary for international society to tackle and prevent violence against children and adolescents online.

Whereas in the offline world, children being bullied could escape such abuse or harassment by going home or being alone, no such safe haven exists for children in a digital world. Online bullying is carried and spread widely by mobile devices and social media. It also allows perpetrators to remain anonymous, thus reduces their risk of identification and prosecution, but has tangible repercussions in a single click, instantly disseminate violent, hurtful or humiliating words or images without legal consequence. Therefore, cyberbullying can hardly be prevented from the source, the offenders, or be intervened in the transmission media. The key to solve the problem is to minimize the harms and effect of bullies on young victims by improving their capability to protect, adapt and become resilient, so that to develop children’s digital literacy, which indicates here having the skills to access, understand, question, critically analyze, evaluate and create media.

Furthermore, cyberbullying undermines the full achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education, Goal 3 on good health and well-being and Goal 16 on peaceful and inclusive societies. Traditional bullying and online bullying are closely connected, both denying equal access to education and acting against the provision of safe, non-violent and inclusive learning environments for all children and adolescents (SDG 4 target 4.a). It could also increase the likelihood of narcotic drug abuse, harmful use of alcohol and the risk of mental health problems (SDG 3 target 3.4&5). In addition, cyberbullying is a kind of violence against children, which could undermine social order and security (SDG 16 target 2).

To sum-up, in order to build a healthy and positive digital environment beneficial to children, the workshop seeks to examine to what extent cyberbullying can be tackled and intervened through children’s digital literacy, and how to improve their digital literacy.

Relevance to Internet Governance: If we decompose and analyze the occurrence process of cyberbullying, it contains three main elements, which are the source of bullies, so-called perpetrator or offender, the transmission media and the victim. Firstly, the potential for bullies hides behind a nameless profile disseminating violent, hurtful or humiliating words or images online. It also allows offenders to be anonymous, reducing their risk of identification and prosecution, expanding their networks, increasing profits and pursue many victims at once. Considering the measures to prevent cyberbullying from it source, it could lead to contradiction with other problems, like freedom of speech. Offenders might come from all kinds of age groups, regions and backgrounds. Therefore, cyberbullying can hardly be prevented or controlled from the source. Even though, raising the awareness of spiteful speech and remark, improving digital literacy, and building a well-ordered international cyberspace are always important.

Secondly, concerning the transmission media of cyberbullying, digital connectivity has made children more accessible through unprotected social media profiles and online game forums. Moreover, once bullying content is posted, deleting it is difficult, which increases the risk of victims being revictimized and makes it hard for them to recover. Although technology tools like Big Data and AI could be applied to filter and intercept some of the bullying words, the spreading ability of social media and the high cost lead the feasibility and effectiveness of these technology tools to be questionable.

The breakthrough point of this problem thus concentrates on the victim, to minimize the harms and effect of bullies on young victims by improving the capability to protect, adapt and become resilient themselves. Children who are digital literate are more aware of the way media content is made, where it comes from and what its purpose is, and more confident about voicing their opinions about media. They’re also safer online and less likely to be manipulated by the media.

In order to improve children’s digital literacy, it is important to promote the engagement and cooperation among all stakeholders in this issue, involving children themselves. Parents, as the guardian of the child, are responsible to talk to their children about online safety, make sure children understand online risks and what to do if they find themselves in trouble. Educator also plays a crucial role to incorporate information on digital safety into the curriculum and provide school-based counsellors and peer-to-peer support for children. Moreover, it is important for government to implement law and regulation to protect children online, and businesses should enhance their awareness of social responsibility and development more preventive and child-friendly technology tools. Last but not least, children themselves also play an irreplaceable role of supporting one another by sharing information about how to protect each other, and speaking out against online violence. The majority of adolescents recognize online dangers exist and more than half think friends participate in risky behaviors, and more adolescents turn to friends than parents or teachers when they feel threatened online. Therefore, the role and capacity of children themselves should not be underestimated.

To conclude, protecting children online requires holistic and coordinated responses that take account of the full circumstances of the child’s life and the wide range of players, including parents, teachers, governments, law enforcement, civil society, private sector and children themselves. Accordingly, the workshop is going to discuss the different function and responsibility of each stakeholder and how to promote the collaboration and cooperation of the entire society to protect children from online bullying.