When young people hate on the internet

The sentence in the WhatsApp group chat hurts to read: «Just lie down under the train, you're helping us all,» Luca writes to his classmate Marius. «He'd be doing himself and the world a favour,» Luca adds. «Jumping off the bridge would be okay too. But he doesn't have the balls for that either». The reason for this agitation is banal. Apparently, Marius has spoken up too often in class. The sentence has only one aim: to get Marius down.

As with bullying in the classroom or on the school playground, the aim of cyberbullies is to disrupt their victim over a longer period of time," says cyberbullying expert Catarina Katzer. She is one of the leading researchers in the field of cyberpsychology.

One in four young people has been a victim of cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is one of the most discussed topics in the media. As there is no universal definition of cyberbullying, the figures on the number of people affected vary greatly. The most recent figures are provided by the JAMES study from 2016, which has been analysing the media use of Swiss young people for many years. Last year, the makers of the Swiss study asked young people aged between 12 and 19: «Have you ever had false or offensive information spread about you online?». And: «Has it ever happened that someone has tried to get you down on the internet?» According to Gregor Waller, project manager of the JAMES study, 24 per cent answered yes to one of the two questions. This means that one in four young people in Switzerland has already been the victim of cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying victims often expose themselves too much online. The YouTube phenomenon «Pretty or Ugly» shows the extent to which this can take on. Young girls talk about being bullied and teased because of their appearance and then ask the camera with a shy smile and an insecure voice: «Am I pretty or really ugly?» They want «honest» reviews from strangers on the World Wide Web in the hope of boosting their insecure young souls. It doesn't take much imagination to visualise how destructive «honestly meant» online comments can be for these girls' vulnerable self-confidence.

Combating bullying with criminal law measures

However, all online agitators must be aware of one fact: Attacks, insults and threats in the virtual world are not trivial offences and can be prosecuted. In Switzerland, the age of criminal responsibility is ten years old, which is very early compared to other European countries. Although, unlike in Austria, there is no legal article on cyberbullying here, «cyberbullying can still be broken down into offences such as coercion, threats, defamation, insults or slander,» says Martin Niederer, Deputy Head of the Youth Service of the Zurich City Police.

Classmates and friends can play an important role in prevention

If the attacks don't stop, reporting them to the police is often the last resort: but before it gets that far, the investigators try to show young people what consequences their online behaviour can have. The police officers visit school classes or invite individual young people to the police station for a chat. «Most of them are well aware that what they are doing is «somehow not quite okay»,» explains Martin Niederer. He advises victims of cyberbullying not to delete evidence under any circumstances (see tips box) and to contact their parents or another trusted person. It's not just the parents of cyberbullying victims who are blindsided when they hear about it - so are the perpetrators.

The parents of the perpetrators are often unsuspecting too.

What can mums and dads do if their child bullies others online? «They need to find out what's behind the cyberattacks, whether it's problems, fears, peer pressure or their own experiences as a victim,» says social psychologist Catarina Katzer. «It's important to make it clear that they have to show responsibility as perpetrators. » Children should be sensitised to the topic not only at school, but also at home - ideally by talking about it all the time and not just when the child is behaving strangely.

Classmates and friends can also play an important role in prevention and even help to stop cyberbullying in its infancy. Anyone who notices that someone is being bullied online should intervene and mobilise other classmates so that they don't stand alone, advises Katzer. This is not always an easy endeavour, as peer pressure is high. Nevertheless, showing moral courage can be an important lesson in a young person's life. «Cyberbullying can often be prevented and worse things can be avoided.»

Picture: iStock