{"id":142,"date":"2020-07-20T23:24:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T20:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fierceonlinevideo.com\/?p=142"},"modified":"2020-08-29T22:45:32","modified_gmt":"2020-08-29T19:45:32","slug":"cyberbullying-in-the-age-of-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fierceonlinevideo.com\/story\/cyberbullying-in-the-age-of-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyberbullying in the Age of COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has plunged the world into a new and unprecedented era of uncertainty, economic instability and chaos. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Professionally, many of us have had to move to a whole new virtual workplace. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Students strive to complete their studies from home, which is a real challenge in any era.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

What is being lost in this debate is the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>increase in online victims, abuse and cyberbullying. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>The lock can provide some relief to personal victims and bullying. <\/span><\/span><\/span>For many, and what could be more worrying, is that the same <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>harassment has shifted and even increased online.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many nonprofits and victim support services are struggling to stay afloat right now<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> , and it has clearly expanded into a cyberbullying resource community. <\/span><\/span><\/span>The pandemic has affected professional organizations, which are usually fully staffed, by answering calls and responding to victims \u2019complaints and reports. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Our researchers wanted to find out how these resources have been affected and take an in-depth look at how the world thrown by Coronavirus into chaos deals with online harassment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Based on data collected from our <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>own study<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> , we have <\/span><\/span><\/span>found that vulnerable communities ranging from people of different races, LGBTQ, as well as children and young adults, <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>have risen dramatically<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> to the 2018 and 2019 benchmarks.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

This article discusses our findings and how the current pandemic is negatively affecting those communities online.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

VPNMentor’s cyberbullying data from 2020<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

81% of cyberbullying organizations <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>reported <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> an increase in online bullying during the pandemic. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>
\n49.7% of the organizations surveyed <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>did not respond<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> to the phone numbers, discussions and emails mentioned on their websites and resource pages. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\nOf these organizations, 17% (or 16.7%) were <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>temporarily or permanently closed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Includes offices whose phone numbers have not been connected or stored messages indicating that they are currently closed due to Coronavirus.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Young people or people from marginalized communities are deprived of normal resources for reporting, counseling and general support. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Whether these organizations can be rebuilt or reopened during a pandemic remains more uncertain and cloudy than any other aspect of this global crisis.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Research Methods:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> Our <\/span><\/span><\/span>researchers<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span> invited 199 cyberbullying organizations and local hotlines internationally (United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The study includes a brief interview with a qualified support operator who is over 12 months of age at the center. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Each operator was asked about the operation of the center before and during the outbreak. <\/span>The open questions were used to find out about perceptions and questions about the Centre’s workload and effective responsiveness. <\/span><\/span><\/span>The focus of the study was in February-July 2020.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cyberbullying: Children and teens<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In the years before the pandemic, cyberbullying was already at an awkward level, and as many as five children and teens had some form of bullying or harassment. <\/span><\/span><\/span>With <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>more than a billion students attending school at home<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> , international experts express deep concern that social exclusion offers <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>more opportunities for online harassment<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> and its dangerous effects.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the obvious dangers of cyberbullying is its invisible effects, namely that its perpetrators have the added benefit of real invisibility. <\/span><\/span><\/span>It is much easier to disturb a child or young person online because it never happens in person.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Using the web has the added potential to reach a very large audience very quickly, making it even more difficult to replicate in a physical environment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The epidemic has forced children to access the network even more than usual to keep them involved in school assignments. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Such prolonged exposure is dangerous without the air of trolls, hostile, pedophiles and others who were also locked in and repelling the victims.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

How adults will experience cyberbullying in 2020<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, teenagers and children are more vulnerable to all forms of bullying and abuse than adults, but adults are not granted exceptions to online harassment.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span>