Bullying or exclusion in the class app: 1 in 4 children experience it
Research by MediaMasters and Kidsweek shows that 1 in 4 children has experienced bullying or exclusion of classmates in the group app.
Spamming
The group app is extremely popular not only with adults, but also with children: 92 percent of children between 9 and 13 years old are in one or more WhatsApp groups, almost 20 percent are even active in more than ten group conversations. In addition to friends and family apps, children mainly use class apps: more than two-thirds are active in such a group. According to the respondents, there are both nice and less nice sides to this. Sending lots of messages (spamming), sharing nonsense and expecting an immediate answer are experienced as the most annoying aspects.
Violent Videos
Despite the fact that 73 percent of the children indicate that rules have been drawn up, 20 percent sometimes see messages that they would rather not have seen. Think of violent videos, naked photos or unkind messages. Furthermore, 25 percent indicate that children are sometimes bullied or excluded from the class app – even though only half of the parents monitor what happens in such a group.
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Mutual understanding
Henrike van Gelder, editor-in-chief of Kidsweek: “You don’t have to spy, but you do have to ask occasionally what the class app is about, and help if your child isn’t feeling well. Just the realization that you can also turn off your phone or get out of a group is a revelation for many children. I understand that some parents think ‘my parents used to have no idea what was happening in the schoolyard, so why would I want to know what my children are doing online’? But I think it’s really a different situation if children feel unsafe online, but maybe don’t dare to share this. Also out of fear that their parents won’t understand. That mutual understanding is really important.”
Online communication has become an integral part of the lives of young people in the Netherlands. Alone: how do you keep it together socially online? That question is central during the Week of Media Literacy (5 to 12 November), organized by Netwerk Mediawijsheid.
