The Internet has changed bullying in the late 1990th. Different types of violence,
humiliation and abuse moved online. In Ukraine, 93.1 per cent of girls aged between 15
and 24 years old are online, compared to 87.3 percent of boys of the same age. Globally,
70.6 percent of the world’s young people between 15 and 24 are online.
The online population in Ukraine is getting younger with 50.2 percent of children under 15
years old online. Children suffer from use of IT technologies and cell phones, which at the
same time are necessary and dangerous. While older students may be more exposed to
cyberbullying than younger ones, children are not immune from harmful content, sexual
exploitation and abuse, and cyberbullying.
According to Ukrainian U-Report survey, 26% of young people aged 15-24 communicate
with strangers on personal topics on the Internet, and about a third of surveyed people of the
same age admitted that their personal information was shared on the Internet without their
consent (photo, videos, posts).
According to data from UNESCO on the prevalence of cyberbullying in high-income
countries, the proportion of children and adolescents who are affected by cyberbullying
range from 5 to 21 percent, with girls appearing to be more likely to experience cyberbullying
than boys.
Cyberbullying can cause profound harm as it can quickly reach a wide audience, and can
remain accessible online indefinitely, virtually ‘following’ its victims online for life. Bullying
and cyberbullying feed into each other, forming a continuum of damaging behaviour. Victims
of cyberbullying are more likely to use alcohol and drugs and skip school than other
students. They also are more likely to receive poor grades and experience low self-esteem
and health problems. In extreme situations, cyberbullying has led to suicide.