Cyber-bullying: more than one in two young people has already been a victim

After focusing on the children, the study Caisse d’Epargne and the Association e-Enfance/3018 focused on young adults (18-25 years old) to determine their exposure to digital violence. The survey, carried out by the Audirep institute, revealed figures disturbing to say the least.

Cyberbullying: the impact of the health crisis

18-25 year olds are three times more likely than teenagers (60% versus 20%) to report having been victims of cyberbullying. “The figures have not fallen since March 2020, during the first confinement”said Justine Atlan, general manager of the e-childhood / 3018 association, to our colleagues from ETX Studio.

In addition, 90% of young people surveyed believe that their time spent on the internet and social networks has increased following the health crisis and periods of confinement. The global crisis linked to Covid-19 has played an important role for these young people: 70% declare that this period has exposed them more than before to the risks linked to the Internet and networks.

Is there a typical profile?

The study points in particular to the fact that this generation was the first to learn to manage social networks alone and discovered cyber-harassment.

Question profile, difficult to establish one according to the professionals. However, according to the study, men are the most exposed since they are the most present on social networks, and in particular on online games. People without qualifications also seem to be the most affected among the victims.

But what are the most affected social networks? A complicated question for Justine Atlan: “Where there are the most users, there is the most cyberbullying. Today, I would tend to tell you TikTok” while qualifying “from the moment when young people will appropriate a new network, it will be there, where there will be the most”. The professional still puts Twitter “apart”. “It feels like Twitter is a social network that has taken a bit of a marketing bias of being a place where there can be a lot of violence online, where it’s uninhibited. It’s not the place where we deal with the most cyber-harassment”before concluding : “No, there isn’t a more ‘friendly’ platform for cyberbullying.”

The direct consequences of cyberbullying

Cyber-harassment unfortunately has serious consequences on the mental health of users. According to the study, 69% of the victims were disturbed by insomnia, appetite disturbances and despair. 49% even admitted to having already thought about suicide, while 51% almost fell into addictive behavior such as alcohol or drugs. Work and studies have also contributed to the malaise of 66% of young adults and 61% find it difficult to talk about their problems.

If the platforms have put in place means to prevent such behavior, 52% of young people said they would like help or information from an association fighting against cyber-violence and 63% would like more help from their relatives. 62% even go so far as to consider it useful to set up psychological support.

Justine Atlan has also announced the establishment of the e-Enfance / 3018 association where victims can file evidence of their harassment in order to ask for help. The association works closely with social networks to speed up the removal of hateful content. Each year, nearly 7,000 accounts and content are deleted. The association is pleased to take less than an hour to act. Of the 24,000 calls received each year, 60% relate directly to cases of cyber-harassment.

“Cyberbullying is a reality for many young people, but also parents, who are often at a loss when faced with this type of situation. This is why we were keen to engage with a reference in terms of child protection on the Internet and thus to take a new step in the support of our customers. With this sponsorship, we affirm more than ever our usefulness to families, by providing them with advice on prevention and above all practical and concrete solutions to these risks”, specifies in a previous study of the Caisse d’Epargne and the e-Enfance/3018 AssociationNicolas Balerna, Retail Banking Director Caisse d’Epargne.

If you are a witness or victim of digital violence, do not hesitate to talk about it. 3018 is a free, anonymous and confidential number. A dedicated team (composed of psychologists, lawyers and specialists in digital tools) will be at your disposal and available from Monday to Saturday, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.