Rabat – A study released by the World Health Organization (WHO) today shows that one in six teens was a victim of cyberbullying in 2022.
In percentage terms, the number of teenagers who experienced online abuse rose to 16% from only four years before.
The study surveyed 279,000 children and teenagers from 44 countries and territories across Europe, Central Asia, and Canada.
“This report is a wake-up call for all of us to call out bullying and violence, whenever and wherever it happens,” the WHO Regional Director for Europe, Hans Kluge, highlighted the study’s objective.
According to the WHO report, statistics on physical harassment have not changed; 11% of respondents said they had experienced harassment at school in the previous year, up from 10% in a research done four years ago.
The organization’s study indicates that teens’ responses to harassment have changed as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. In addition, 15% of boys and 16% of girls reported having experienced online harassment at least once in the past few months.
The study stated that one in eight teenagers reported having experienced cyberbullying from one or more other teenagers. This percentage has increased by three points since 2018.
Online harassment peaked for males in most countries around age 11 and for girls at age 13. Based on the socio-occupational categories of the parents, there was no discernible difference.
Regarding the social class families, 27% of girls from the bottom 20% of households reported experiencing bullying at school, compared to 21% of girls from the top 20% of families.
The report went on to emphasize the necessity of increasing funding for the observation of various types of peer aggression. It found that in order to lessen online harassment, rules regulating social media and education about the types and impacts of cyberbullying are urgently needed.
Likewise, OpinionWay Maroc and Saga Communication recently conducted a study that provided insight into the social media preferences and behaviors of young Moroccans between the ages of 18 and 29.
The report offers insightful information on this significant demographic’s interactions with companies, influencers, and social media platforms.
According to the research, social media is a major part of young Moroccans’ everyday life; around 43% of them use these platforms for three to five hours every day.
Read also: Casablanca Police Arrest Two Students for Sexual Blackmail
