VIDEO. School bullying, cyberbullying: the infernal loop

School bullying or cyberbullying, the younger generations are increasingly confronted with these threats in their daily lives. In this context, how to protect them and how to prevent this phenomenon which seems to escape the adult world? In New Aquitaine, specialists are taking action and moving the lines.

Cyberbullying is defined as ” an aggressive and repeated act by digital means of communication against a victim who cannot easily defend himself alone“. Children and adolescents are the most vulnerable to this phenomenon. For the latter, it can be daily, occurring at school, in class, at recess, but also at home on screens.

According to the latest figures from national education12% of school children suffer from this school bullying.

A recent report from Senate details the figures for the different types of harassment, but specifies that the tools available do not “not measure the reality of the phenomenon, but only the way in which it is reported“.

Aware of the phenomenon, Nicolas Mazurier, Chief of Staff of the Rector of the Academy of Poitiers, specifies moreover: “The issue of bullying is strongly impacted by social networks and the lack of separation between school time and leisure time means that students experience bullying on a daily basis, hence the need to take care of it, to spot it and treat it”.

The treatment offered by the National Education can be summed up in one word – program: LIGHTHOUSE. This system is a bullying prevention plan for schools and colleges/high schools since the start of the 2021 school year. It has been built around 8 pillars:

Measuring school climate.
Prevent bullying phenomena.
Form a protective community of professionals and staff for students.
Respond effectively to bullying situations.
Involve parents and partners and communicate about the program.
Mobilize school democracy bodies and the health, citizenship and environmental education committee.
Monitor the impact of these actions.
Provide a platform dedicated to resources.

“The ambition with this program, explains from the Chief of Staff, is to form a protective community around the students”. Actions with high stakes which become essential in the face of a phenomenon with often disastrous consequences.

School bullying is now almost systematically accompanied by cyberbullying. With the permanent use of smartphones and social networks, bullying between students continues today outside the school premises.

Concretely, cyberbullying manifests itself in discussion groups created by students such as on Whatsapp, for example. The use of photomontage (fake), naked photos (nudes) or mockery will resonate in a particularly brutal way in the psyche of adolescents. “The logic of digital leads child bullies to unite other children around them without always realizing that by simply relaying a negative opinion simply for fun, it will do a lot of harm to the victim. Being mocked three times in a playground is fine, when it is relayed by 50 people you don’t know on the internet, it becomes a disaster“, explains Serge Tisseron, psychiatrist and member of the National Digital Council.

Disastrous psychological effects for children or adolescents who are not always identified or understood by parents or establishment staff. Thus, the adult world can feel overwhelmed by cyberbullying. “ The phenomenon of bullying is often hidden from the eyes of adults who often see things late or when the behavior of the child changes (…). In bullying victims, there may be isolation, withdrawal, behavioral changes in sleep, eating, mood changes, but in adolescents, these manifestations may appear for a long time. other reasons. So it’s tricky as an adult to be able to identify the problem.” explains the clinical psychologist, Elodie Benamghar who practices in Poitiers.

Workshops and materials

In addition to the actions developed by the National Education, associations and stakeholders are mobilizing in New Aquitaine to train and prevent cyberbullying.

The speakers develop in particular popular education tools, playful or emotional contents, in order to support spaces of freedom of speech. This is what Maximetoy proposes, author of the film I trusted you, shown in cinemas in the presence of children, parents and psychologist Elodie Benamghar.

Maxime Jeu points out the importance of support after watching this punchy film intended to raise awareness. “In the tour of France that I did with the film, many parents explained to me that they hadn’t really seen anything about the harassment of their child (…). For young people, when we talk to them and show them what bullying can do, they think they can help someone and pay more attention to their friends.”.

Anyone who experiences or observes a situation of harassment can call 30 20; for cyberbullying, dial 30 18. These numbers allow a listening ear and above all rapid support for the people concerned. Within the classes, young people can also become “sentinels”, informed referents of these mechanics.

Cyberbullying, revenge porn, webcam blackmail, identity theft, gender-based or sexual violence or even exposure to violent content, to put an end to the infernal loop of cyberbullying, there are also more applications for smartphones. So many ways to stop the mechanics, this infernal loop.