Teenage girls' understanding and experiences of cyberbullying

The research conducted by Dr Debbie Ging and Dr James O'Higgins Norman of the Anti-Bullying Centre revealed that 53pc of girls had been personally upset by something on Facebook, which was, by far the most popular social media site visited by the girls. When asked about what had upset them, they talked about nasty comments, comments on photos/profiles, fighting, threats, name-calling, rumours, secrets and making public on the sites about people not being "liked". Previous DCU research found that 14pc of students reported that they had been cyberbullied and 8pc admitted cyberbullying, while 39pc of girls and 30pc of boys reported that they had witnessed someone being cyberbullied. This suggests that there is a 'silent majority' who are aware of cyberbullying and not reporting it, which is confirmed in the new study. Among the other worrying findings was the reluctance among girls to report cyberbullying to their teachers or parents. This was usually because they feared it would result in loss of internet access, or that they would make things worse for the victim. These findings were presented at a forum on cyberbullying being hosted by Sean Kelly MEP in Bray, Co Wicklow and published by the Irish Independent.