Cyberbullying – threat to children’s rights and well-being

The development of new technologies and the growing presence of technologies in people’s everyday lives have initiated a debate about the risks of modern communication practices. Considerable attention has been turned to young people, the pioneers of the new digital age, who have access to all types of new technologies and grow up using the Internet, which makes them natural users of the new media (Selwin, 2003). At the same time, they are also seen as particularly vulnerable to several risks that may appear on the Internet (Livingstone et al, 2014). One of these new risks is cyberbullying, which will be the focus of this paper. More precisely, the present paper will give an insight into the concept and prevalence of cyberbullying by describing the impact of the phenomenon on different aspects of children’s well-being and its connectedness with children’s rights to non-discrimination. Preventive measures that may diminish cyberbullying and its harmful consequences are presented in the conclusion of the paper.

"The protection of children from online off enses is a not a straightforward as one thinks as one needs to find the balance between the right to protection from all forms of violence and the right to information, freedom of expression and association, privacy and non-discrimination. That balance must be anchored in the best interests of children as a primary consideration, the right to be heard and taken seriously, and recognition of the evolving capacities of children and young people. It is unlikely ever to be possible to remove all the risks to children and young people that exist in the online environment." (Talves & Nunes, 2014, p. 231).