Survey: One in Three Secondary School Students Has Experienced Cyber-bullying

Bratislava, May 10 (TASR) - One in three secondary school students in Slovakia has experienced cyber-bullying, with the most common forms being defamation, the spreading of gossip online (61 percent), sexting (60 percent) and arguing in discussions (51 percent), according to a survey carried out by the Public Affairs Institute (IVO). The revealing and posting of intimate information has been encountered by 28 percent of secondary school students, cyber-grooming by 26 percent, cyber-stalking by 24 percent, and slapping for fun by 22 percent. "This is a serious problem that requires increased attention. It turns out that as many as 35 percent of secondary school students don't contact anyone, that is, they keep it to themselves, and that's the group of students we don't really know anything about. Only the remaining part, the 65 percent, have contacted someone," Marian Velsic, IVO analyst and the author of the research, told TASR, adding that students most often turn to their closest social circles. Velsic went on to say that young people who have sought help did so from parents (42 percent), followed by classmates and friends (25 percent), teachers (23 percent) and siblings (10 percent). Only 9 percent of secondary school students has approached a school psychologist or educational assistant, and the same was true for headteachers and their deputies. Another 3 percent contacted a professional counselling centre or online counselling, and 3 percent approached someone in their parish, a coach or a club leader. The police or prosecutor's office has been contacted by 2 percent of the respondents. am/df/mf