One in five school children today experiences cyberbullying.
This is shown by the new study "Cyberlife IV - Cyberbullying among schoolchildren", which was presented in Berlin on Wednesday.
More than 1.8 million children and young people in Germany are confronted with abuse, rumors and forwarded private photos on the Internet - four percent more than five years ago (from 12.7 to 16.7 percent of all school children).
"We don't see directly how children are maltreated"
Cyberbullying is even more widespread among adolescents in their teens: every third person aged 14 to 16 has been bullied online.
For the study, which the Alliance Against Cyberbullying eV carried out in cooperation with the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), 3011 students, 1053 parents and 355 teachers were surveyed online nationwide.
"On the Internet we don't see directly how children are abused," said Uwe Leest, Chairman of the Alliance Against Cyberbullying, at the press conference.
This also makes it more difficult to act preventively and to take action against the perpetrators.
The general overstrain in the corona pandemic has also further aggravated the situation.
"Schools have been busy organizing homeschooling," Leest said.
Measures to prevent cyberbullying fell by the wayside.
To do this, not only young people but also adults should be better trained in media skills and factual knowledge of possible criminal offenses.
The consequences of cyberbullying can be a drop in performance, frequent absenteeism, but also mental and physical illnesses.
24 percent of the students reported having suicidal thoughts.
In addition, there must be counseling centers that offer low-threshold services, as Hendrikje Schmidt, psychologist at the crisis chat counseling center, explained.
"You have to take everything seriously and convey to young people that they will not be left alone."
It is therefore crucial that you can be reached around the clock via messenger services - i.e. there where the problems arise.
Leest also calls for "sanctions" for the perpetrators.
Although cyberbullying is partly covered by criminal offenses, there are too many cases that are dismissed as "trifles" and too few police officers.