«Cyberbullying hurts the soul»
What does cyberbullying feel like? The awareness-raising campaign organised by the Elternsein foundation, publisher of the Swiss parents' magazine Fritz+Fränzi, is touring German-speaking Switzerland to educate children and young people about the consequences of cyberbullying. Visiting a 6th grade class in Rümlang.
Wednesday morning in December: there is still snow in Rümlang and it is freezing cold as we approach the primary school in Worbig. Soon the bells are ringing for the big 10 o'clock break. The first pupils emerge from their classrooms. In no time at all, the corridor is filled with children and teenagers singing, running, dancing and cheering. It's break time.
Today we are at a 6th grade primary school in the Zurich Unterland region as part of the "When words hurt" awareness-raising campaign together with Thomas Schlickenrieder, Managing Director of Stiftung Elternsein. The experts from the zischtig.ch association for safety and media skills, commissioned by the Elternsein Foundation, will teach the pupils how to use digital media responsibly in various modules and highlight the sometimes dramatic consequences of cyberbullying. As soon as the bell rings, the children are back at their desks. "The boys grab a pencil and go with Mr Schnegg," says specialist Kim Gray. The girls stay in the classroom and then they switch.
This is what hurtful messages feel like
There is a pillar in the music room with a mobile phone on it. Specialist employee Andrin Schnegg from zischtig.ch instructs the boys: "Take the mobile phone in your hand and scroll through the chats". Using the specially created mobile phone installation, the pupils can experience the pain of bullying messages. While holding the smartphone in their hands, they receive simulated chat histories. The phone then sends light to strong electrical impulses to the "victim".
"Ouch! What's that?" shouts a boy. Andrin Schnegg explains why certain electrical impulses are stronger than others. One by one, he dares to pick up his mobile phone and squeezes his eyes shut while he waits for the "jolt". Have you ever been a victim or perpetrator yourself? "I used to be tormented by older boys. They prepared a photo of me and put it on Instagram," says one pupil. "But I managed to persuade them to delete the photo myself." Another pupil in the class needed more support and turned to the teacher: "I was bullied in a chat. Thanks to the support of my teacher, the chat was deleted."
School social worker Olga Lionello says: "Pupils regularly come to me about bullying or cyberbullying." It is important to her that there is no marginalisation at school. That's why she was the initiator who invited the Parenthood Foundation to present the awareness campaign here.
Worksheets are filled out.
It is important to know that cyberbullying at primary school age takes place almost exclusively in children's and young people's free time. The parenting behaviour of parents has a significant influence on whether a case of cyberbullying is noticed and how successfully it can be dealt with.
Girls and cyberbullying
After the girls have completed the theoretical part with Kim Gray, it is now their turn to use the "charged mobile phone". The first pupil bravely dares to pick up the mobile phone. "Wow, that pinches!" she exclaims and lets it go. A giggle goes through the group. When asked whether they have ever been confronted with cyberbullying, almost all of them nod. Many of the 12-year-olds have already received WhatsApp messages with pornographic content.
Thomas Schlickenrieder, Managing Director of Stiftung Elternsein and initiator of the "When words hurt" campaign, says :"I find it alarming that girls as young as 12, and often younger ones too, are receiving messages with pornographic content."
Andrin Schnegg hands out worksheets showing messages with emojis. He wants to know from the schoolgirls when chatting should generally be avoided. "When you're not in a good mood, for example," says one pupil. Chat histories and messages that are ambiguous are analysed. The young people should develop a feeling for when it makes sense to tell someone something face to face. They also learn that emojis and messages can be misunderstood.
The lesson is coming to an end. What did you take away from the lesson, the experts want to know. "You can be beaten at school, cyberbullying hurts your soul," says one pupil.
Andrin Schnegg and Kim Gray summarise again at the end of the lesson.
Cyberbullying - what young people and parents need to know
- Get help: Support and comfort from parents, teachers, friends or other trusted persons are essential.
- Do not apportion blame: If parents suspect that their child is being bullied online, they should speak to them about it. Important: don't overreact, don't apportion blame, stay calm and reassure the child that you will find a solution together.
- Do not react by banning mobile phones or the internet: The internet and mobile phones play a major role in your child's free time and school. A ban sends the wrong signal.
- No reaction to online attacks: Perpetrators thrive on feedback from the victim. Even if the temptation is great: don't retaliate.
- Save evidence: Save conversations, messages, videos or images - including screenshots.
- Contact the website operator: Parents can ask website operators to delete content about their child.
Read more about cyberbullying:
- Harassment on the net
- "We were left alone"
- Dossier: Bullying
About the Parenthood Foundation:
Because there is no training for the most demanding job in the world, the Stiftung Elternsein takes on the questions and concerns of parents. They support and accompany parents of school-age children in all matters relating to upbringing and education and make a valuable contribution to the dialogue between children and young people, parents and teachers.
"With these workshops, we support schools in their work and their committed efforts to promote empathetic, engaging and tolerant coexistence online and offline," says Thomas Schlickenrieder.
The Elternsein Foundation, publisher of the Swiss parents' magazine Fritz+Fränzi, regularly runs awareness-raising campaigns and informs parents seeking advice with short films on relevant topics such as media consumption, school anxiety, mental disorders, ADHD and strengthening social skills.
The politically and denominationally independent Elternsein Foundation was founded by Dr Ellen Ringier in Zurich in 2001.
Bullying is one of the worst things that can happen to a child.
Support our current awareness-raising campaign against bullying at school.
Support our current awareness-raising campaign against bullying at school.