Mobile Technologies and the Incidence of Cyberbullying in Seven European Countries: Findings from Net Children Go Mobile

The harmful effects of bullying and harassment on children have long been of concern to parents, educators, and policy makers. The online world presents a new environment in which vulnerable children can be victimized and a space where perpetrators find new ways to perform acts of harassment. While online bullying is often considered to be an extension of persistent offline behavior, according to EU Kids Online (2011), the most common form of bullying is in person, face-to-face. With the rise in use of mobile Internet technologies, this balance is changing. Increased levels of use and more time spent online accessed through a variety of devices has increased children’s exposure to a range of online risks, including cyberbullying. This article presents the findings of the Net Children Go Mobile project, a cross-national study of children aged 9–16 in seven European countries. The research builds on the work of EU Kids Online and supports the identification of new trends in children’s online experiences of risk and safety. The study finds that while overall levels of bullying have remained relatively static, levels of online bullying have increased, particularly among younger teens. The relationship between cyberbullying and the use of mobile Internet technologies is examined and factors contributing to increased levels of cyberbullying are highlighted.

The findings presented by the Net Children Go Mobile project show a rise in cyberbullying compared to data revealed by EU Kids Online. EU Kids Online found that while cyberbullying was not the most prevalent risk that young people encounter online, it is the one that has the most severe impact [8]. Its findings showed that cyberbullying is a phenomenon that particularly affects teenagers, is closely associated with more intensive Internet use, and happens mostly on social networking sites [12]. With new data from seven of the original 25 countries, Net Children Go Mobile shows that while overall incidence of bullying has not increased since the EU Kids Online survey, cyberbullying is now more prevalent than face-to-face bullying and occurs most commonly on SNS.