By Wendy Harrington

AS we “stay at home” to avoid spreading the dreadful COVID-19, the benefits of digital and mobile media have become apparent– it allows precious inter-generational interactions to continue, and it is crucial for our children’s ongoing education now that schools have closed. Online activity, often criticised as a disruptive force in family life, is now promoted as the preferred way for young people to connect.

This particular apple, however, might not always be poison-free. Digital technology, as a vehicle for communication, can both improve and diminish lives. It allows an immediate, unconsidered response to be given to a perceived or real grievance, and it provides a ready means for sharing a “clever comment” at someone else’s expense without the need to look into their face and be made uncomfortable by their distress. Teachers and youth leaders cannot watchfully monitor communications, relationships and signs of distress online, the way they can offline. Online bullying has no time boundary– there is no easy escape without literally “switching off” – a simplistic and isolating solution which is unlikely to be effective in the long term and which, anyway, is simply not acceptable to most young people.

Bullying concerns, however, do not only relate to increased opportunity. A recent report linked growing incidents of discrimination and racism against minority communities around the world to the pandemic, with the UK being no exception. In a Scottish survey undertaken well before the Covid-19 crisis, one-third of young people said they had been bullied via electronic media in the previous two months (respectme, 2014). Public Health Scotland has recognised the increased levels of anxiety young people are currently experiencing from exposure to daily to messages of death and illness, whilst concurrently losing the support of their wider familial and social network. This can impact on their relationships and on their resilience to cope with negative experiences.

This is a matter which requires action now, rather than being left to sort itself out over time. Online bullying, whether it involves name calling, threats, humiliation or exclusion, whether it happens over a period of time or is a one-off, can have a devastating, long-term effect on children and young people’s well-being. Community cohesion has grown in places, but so has a culture of intolerance to the difference of others. The coronavirus has, paradoxically, highlighted that, despite the technical world we have created, we remain exposed and fragile as human beings. Our potential strength lies in respectful interactions, whether these are virtual or physical.

Assumptions that parents can “police” their child’s appropriate use of technologies underestimate the anxiety some parents have about intervening within a virtual environment. respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service, funded by the Scottish Government to provide free training, policy support and resources for adults who work with children and young people who may be bullied or may bully others, has developed specific online resources to support parents. It considers how to better connect with young people about their online experiences, rather than ‘disconnect’ their means of communication. The work is informed by the views of children and young people on what kind of help they want and need. These can be accessed at: www.respectme.org.uk/adults/online-bullying.

Wendy Harrington is the Director of respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service