Primary schools across the country need to be more proactive in the fight against cyber-bullying, according to an anti-bullying expert.
Speaking before the start of the new school year, Marion Flanagan of the Anti-Bullying Centre in Trinity College Dublin said children as young as those in first class are being bullied and taunted by text message and via social networking games, and that the culprits often don’t realise the impact their actions are having.
“It’s not good enough anymore to say cyber-bullying doesn’t happen in primary school and, therefore, schools don’t have a responsibility to tackle it,” said Flanagan. “Cyber-bullying is just an extension of what can happen in the classroom or in the playground.
“It’s often a lot more vicious as it’s easier for someone to say something hurtful sitting in front of a computer screen or with a smartphone in their hands than it is looking someone in the eye.”
Flanagan added that the impact of cyber-bullying is “potentially a lot more harmful as it can be read over and over again by the victim. What might start out as a throwaway comment can all too soon become something that the target really takes to heart and gets them down.”
The Trinity lecturer said the best way to tackle the problem is by a “three-pronged approach – involving parents, schools and children themselves.
“Some schools are terrific and proactive and astounded by what is uncovered when I go in and children hand back their questionnaires. But others simply stick their heads in the sand.
“It’s time for us to act collectively before the tragedies which have struck several second level schools are seen at primary level,” she added.
Flanagan recommended for school authorities to invest in a new text resource for primary schools, Bullying in a Cyber World, which provides guidance on what action to take.
