Cyberbullying through online platforms already accounts for up to. 18% of all bullying suffered by minors, and there are three platforms and social networks where this harmful and damaging behavior is most concentrated: WhatsApp, Instagram and Tiktok.
95% of teachers point to the inappropriate use of social networks and technology as the main risk factor for school bullying
The data come from a report prepared by the ANAR Foundation to help children and adolescents. According to the study, WhatsApp is the platform with the highest incidence (70.3%), followed by Instagram (54.9%), TikTok (37.4%) and Twitch (15%). In all of them, there has also been a significant growth in the last year of cyberbullying cases.
The percentage of bullying received through online games (32.1%) is also significant, reflecting that. occurs in all digital environments where minors are present.. For its part, face-to-face bullying accounts for 26.7% of attacks.
The report includes the opinion of teachers, who point out. in 95.2% of cases to the misuse of social networks and technology. as the main risk factor for bullying.
As for the profile of cyberbullies, no specific typology is determined, noting that any other minor can engage in this behavior, sometimes even without being fully aware of it. The ANAR Foundation reports in its statistics that 25% of Spanish students admit to having participated in a case of bullying or cyberbullying without being aware of it. Laughing at an aggressive comment or liking a mockery can lead to this behavior, something that not all minors are able to understand.
The feeling of impunity when incurring in these practices through the Net stands out, despite the fact that 85.2% of the students claim to know the bullies, identifying up to 53.9% as classmates from the same class. This false sense of impunity comes from not being aware that the IP addresses of the devices from which they connect to the Internet to carry out their aggressions are traceable and can be identified.
The ANAR Foundation is committed to reinforcing digital education both within the family and in the educational environment, recommending that only known users be accepted as contacts, as well as trying not to share private information on the Internet, specifically photographs or videos with intimate content.
In the event of cyber-aggression, the recommendation is. ask for help from family and teachersTrying not to respond to the aggressions, without deleting them or even keeping them so that they can be used as evidence when pursuing the cyberaggressor. Finally, those who are witnesses or spectators of this type of behavior are reminded that they should not become accomplices, and should also go to adults to report the situation.