Cyberbullying surges to 16% in 2022 – WHO

Cyberbullying surged to 16 per cent in 2022 from 13 per cent four years ago among children aged 11 to 15, according to a World Health Organization Europe report covering 44 countries.

According to the report released on Wednesday, 15 per cent of boys and 16 per cent of girls reported being cyberbullied at least once in recent months, according to the study entitled ‘Health Behaviour in School-aged Children’.

It added that cyberbullying or violence has become prevalent since the onset of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.

“Virtual forms of peer violence have become particularly relevant since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, when young people’s worlds became increasingly virtual during times of lockdown,” the report said.

WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said the report is a wake-up call for all to address the menace of cyberbullying and violence whenever it happens.

“This report is a wake-up call for all of us to address bullying and violence, whenever and wherever it happens”, Kluge stated, according to AFP.