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- Putting it all out there: kids are getting harassed more often for their parents' content
Putting it all out there: kids are getting harassed more often for their parents' content
One of the main reasons for cyberbullying against children last year was the content posted by parents, Izvestia found out. It is used by aggressive classmates who start bullying on the Internet. According to the center "Security 2.0", for the year only such situations have become one third more, but in general, experts record an increase in cases of pressure on the Web. Why and how the scale of online bullying is growing is the subject of Izvestia's article for World Safer Internet Day.
Why are children being bullied on the Internet?
Children are increasingly being harassed on the Internet for photos and videos posted by their parents, according to data available to Izvestia from the monitoring center "Security 2.0" of the Russian Peace Foundation. The number of such cases increased by 30% over 2024 and now accounts for 23% of the total number of identified online conflicts.
Cyberbullying due to the publication of content by parents is becoming an increasingly serious problem, stated Elena Sutormina, head of the monitoring center "Security 2.0", first vice president of the Russian Peace Foundation.
- Parents, wishing to share moments from their children's lives, often publish photos, videos or personal information on social networks without thinking that their publications can be used against their child. For example, a photo in an embarrassing situation or a video from a family celebration can be used by classmates to bully," she explained.
We need to work with parents and explain to them how to protect their children from cyber threats, she said. At the same time, many adults have become cautious themselves.
- When my daughter became a teenager, I deleted from my social networks all her baby and child photos, where, for example, she is not fully dressed. After all, not only adults with perverted thoughts can stumble upon them, but also her classmates," Muscovite Anastasia shared with Izvestia.
The woman added that she began to ask her daughter's consent to the publication of certain photos.
In general, the number of high-profile episodes related to bullying of minors on the Internet increased by 15% in 2024, the experts of the center calculated. They recorded about 8 thousand cases when the number of active or passive participants of bullying exceeded 100 people.
What other cyber threats await teenagers?
The experts of the center also named the excessive openness of minors as the reason for the emergence of bullying. Inaddition, identity theft, destructive communities and fraudulent manipulation around political topics, as well as inaccurate information from neural networkspose a threat .
Children and teenagers often publish many videos and photos that show the well-being of their parents and contain personal data. In this way it is possible to trace where the child lives, studies and spends free time.
- Such publications pose an obvious threat to the persons involved and their entourage. The data gets into the open access and darknet, it is used by fraudsters, representatives of various criminal groups to commit illegal actions, - emphasized the experts of the Foundation.
Personal data is often stolen through mail, social networks and applications, the experts reminded. For example, through phishing mailings or the use of fake public Internet access points.
The experts also highlighted a trend related to the use by criminal and banned organizations of various online games and communities in social networks. Through them, with the help of manipulation, children are induced to commit real crimes.
With the development of neural networks, it has become more difficult to distinguish reliable information and easier to mislead users, which can also be used as a tool for manipulation, experts emphasized.
How to help a child cope with bullying
Itis important for parents to agree on the child-related content they put on the Internet if their son or daughter has already reached the age of six, psychologist Natalia Naumova told Izvestia.
- When a child starts attending school or preparing for it, the opinion of others becomes very important to him. It is important for children during this period to conform to certain rules of society," she explained. - If parents during this period post some content without asking the child, and it causes ridicule from peers, the child has to fight it.
By asking the child if he or she is okay with posting certain videos, parents show that they value his or her opinion and respect boundaries, the psychologist added.
- If you treat a child's boundaries with care, he or she learns to respect other people's opinions and to consider them. Such a child, as a rule, is able to cope with the violation of his boundaries, because he knows what he is entitled to, - said Natalia Naumova.
If the child has already been in a situation where he or she is ridiculed for published photos or videos, it is important to explain to him or her that there is nothing wrong with him or her, and people can laugh at anything. It is also important to seek the help of a child or family psychologist to work through the situation together.
- Often, when parents post "no pants" photos or videos without the child's consent that are cute to adults and painful to children, it is the adults who need work. Perhaps they have some hidden motive, which they may not even realize, - stressed the psychologist.
Bullying in childhood is dangerous because in the future the child can form the thinking and behavior of the victim, explained "Izvestia" head of the department of medical psychology of the Scientific Center for Mental Health Sergei Enikolopov.
- The second danger is that some victims and witnesses of bullying become its subjects in another situation. Someone bullies younger siblings, someone bullies weaker ones in another situation. That is, it is a self-learning system," the expert explained.
At the same time, according to him, the aggressor can be the most status and strongest in the company, as well as those who do not have such a position. In some cases, these are informal leaders, very sociable teenagers, but there is no single pattern.
The State Duma is also concerned about the problem of bullying in adolescence. According to the VTsIOM survey, 75% of teenagers have experienced bullying in the role of victim, aggressor or witness, Artem Metelev, chairman of the Duma Committee on Youth Policy, reminded Izvestia.
- Now bullying has become more aggressive and toughened. It has also gone online," he emphasized.
The deputies have prepared a bill, which not only introduces the concept of "bullying", but also offers a comprehensive mechanism to address such situations with the involvement of the Commission on Juvenile Affairs and Protection of their Rights, said the parliamentarian. The document is planned to be introduced and considered this year, he added.
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