Far too many children around the world experience violence – often in places where they should feel safe.
In a digital world, the violence that children face in their homes, schools and communities is often amplified through SMS messages, pictures, videos, email, chat and social media. The consequences of cyberbullying can be devastating... and youth is taking action to stop it! Discover stories from youth bloggers around the world and learn how to report abuse in our resources section below.
And check this UNICEF site to learn more about cyberbullying and how to stop it.
Want to share your voice and stories too? Have a project against cyberbullying and online safety in your school that you want others to know? Learn how to submit content on Voices of Youth here. And use the hashtag #VoicesOfYouth on your social media so more people in the VOY community can see it.
YOUR STORIES
A life broken by cyberbullying, by Yeshna
"It’s a beautiful day and you just woke up. The sun is shining outside, and the birds are chirping. It’s a Friday and you check out your phone to see Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. You are happy. Happy that you made it till Friday.
You start scrolling, and reading the comments people left you and there is that one comment that takes your breath away. You click on it and it’s from someone who keeps sending you hate comments everyday. You thought today would be different, but it was not..."
ONLINE KINDNESS MATTERS TOO, by ARTJOLA
"People rarely understand the importance that words have. I was only 14 years old the first time I experienced cyber bullying.
After being bullied at school for a few years the girls in my class started this rumour that I had talked about them behind their backs, of course what they needed was a reason not to look guilty in front of others. And so they confronted me. And I tried explaining myself but they were clearly not looking for an explanation..."
REPLACE HATE WITH KINDNESS, by Matthew
Cyberbullying is a pervasive problem on social media these days. If you are like me, you have probably scrolled through an Instagram feed, Youtube comment section, or online forum and seen people mocking others for their appearance, ethnicity, sexual orientation, personal beliefs -really anything can become the target of hate online.
Luckily, it doesn’t have to be that way.
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Art against bullying
This Safer Internet Day, Voices of Youth contributor Diana Rivera shares her vision for a kinder internet... through her art! Click on the images below to see Diana's artwork and follow her on Instagram to discover more illustrations.
Resources
