Barnardos say that 60% of children wouldn’t tell their parents if they had been bullied online.

One in two children say they’ve experienced some kind of cyber bullying at least once in their lives.

The survey by Barnardos found that almost one in five say online abuse impacts their ability to learn and feel safe at school.

The study surveyed 340 children aged between 8 and 12 years old and found 60% wouldn’t tell their parents if they had been bullied online.

Barnardos said the findings were concerning and highlighted the need for ongoing online safety workshops and for online safety learning to be an essential part of the school curriculum.

The charity said since the pandemic and the return to face-to-face learning, schools have reported an increase in cyberbullying among students.

CEO of Barnardos, Suzanne Connolly, say many were worried about how their parents would react:

“Almost two thirds of children say they would not tell their parents they are being cyber-bullied, while more than half say they’ve been victims of cyberbullies at least once.

“48% of children say they wouldn’t tell anyone because they are afraid that their device would be taken from them.

“They’re also afraid that their parents might interfere in some way that would come back on them.”

You can find more information about cyber safety on CyberSafeKids.