UNICEF addresses cyber bullying, a new demon for youth

Children must be protected from online bullying and harassment. The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) called for concerted action to tackle the problem and prevent violence against children and young people online in Bangladesh. 

On the occasion of Safe Internet Day, the organisation highlighted the dangers of cyber bullying for 32 per cent of the children aged from 10 to 17 years in the country.
This call was made after a recent Unicef survey of young people and suggestions from a series of student-led #ENDviolence Youth Talks held around the world.
More than a million youths from 160 countries participated in the survey conducted for five consecutive weeks.
A Unicef Bangladesh commissioned study titled ‘Online Safety of Children in Bangladesh’ surveyed 1,281 children (aged 10 to 17) from schools, colleges, and madrasahs who use internet and found that 25 per cent of them had access into the digital world below the age of 11.
As many as 10 per cent of them face provocative religious messages through internet.
Edouard Beigbeder,the Unicef Bangladesh representative said that they had heard from children and young people from Bangladesh and across the world and what they are saying was clear: The Internet has become a merciless desert.
However, the UNICEF session revealed that 63 per cent of the young internet users browse the internet in their own rooms, known as ‘bedroom culture’. This points to less monitoring of the children.
In Bangladesh, boys (63%) are ahead of girls (48%) in terms of high frequency online access and use.
Chatting and watching videos were found to be the two most frequent internet activities, with 33 per cent chatting online and 30 percent watching videos daily.
Online harassment and cyber bullying can be disastrous as it can easily spread and remain for extended periods of times. Children who are victims of cyber bullying are more likely to resort to drugs and bunk classes. Most of them cannot do well in exams and suffer from various illnesses and lose self respect.