The dark side of the digital world: Cyberbullying
At the Congress on Child and Women's Health at Altinbas University, the issue of cyberbullying was discussed.
During a panel discussion held at Altinbas University, Dr. Süleyman Çakıroğlu, an Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Mental Health and Diseases at Altinbas University, highlighted that they have been encountering cyberbullying cases very frequently lately. Dr. Çakıroğlu noted that young adolescents, in particular, are experiencing various psychological problems due to the increasing incidence of cyberbullying.
Dr. Çakıroğlu reminded that cyberbullying is a form of bullying conducted using digital technologies and can occur on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, and mobile phones. He also emphasized the importance of addressing new types of cyberbullying emerging among youngsters, like confession pages, where children are targeted anonymously, and any content related to their peers in the same class is shared, creating an environment where everyone in the class can make anonymous comments, leaving the young individuals feeling trapped, facing numerous comments, bullying, and accusations.
Dr. Çakıroğlu noted that children have difficulties dealing with these issues psychologically, as they might lead to scaring, angering, or humiliating the person being targeted. This includes actions such as spreading lies about a person on social media, sharing embarrassing photos, sending hurtful messages or threats via messaging platforms, or sending negative messages to others on behalf of someone else, among others. He stressed the need for parents and schools to be more vigilant in such situations.
Furthermore, Dr. Çakıroğlu explained how the digital world eliminates boundaries and privacy and introduces various problems, particularly when it comes to security. He said that the age of the individual plays a crucial role in the level of danger. The younger the person, the more dangerous the situation. He emphasized that the loss of control over the boundary and security issues would lead to several unsolvable problems. The anonymity provided by these confession pages creates a very problematic situation for children, and they can easily encounter disturbing content.
Dr. Çakıroğlu recommended that children should be cautious regarding internet content, the people they interact with, and their behavior, taking into consideration their age and developmental stages. He emphasized that there is a need for children to be more careful with the content, the people they interact with, and the behaviors they exhibit, which should be in line with their age and developmental processes.
Finally, Dr. Çakıroğlu explained that one of the serious issues related to digital technology is its impact on children's cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and motor development, leading to delays in these aspects. He noted that excessive use of technological devices in early childhood negatively affects a child's impulse control, self-regulation, mental flexibility, and understanding of others' thoughts and feelings, which, in turn, leads to early cognitive difficulties. It is crucial for children to process numerical stimuli and, while children are sensitive to such stimuli, digital media slows down this sensitivity. This, in turn, affects their early numeracy skills negatively.