How a digital 'bullying button' can help social workers tackle cyber-bullying

Connecting bullied teens to 24-hour online support may help prevent tragic suicide cases such as that of Hannah Smith
  • Guardian Professional,
  • Jump to comments ()
Girls using a computer in a bedroom
Teenagers can face cyber-bullying at any time of the day or night, but it is difficult to find support outside professional office hours. Photograph: Alamy

As a social worker who works with children and young people, I read with sadness the news this week about the suicide of 14-year-old Hannah Smith. She reportedly took her own life after experiencing bullying online on the website, a site targeting young people and offering a platform to ask and answer questions and leave comments anonymously.

Hannah was the fourth young person to commit suicide after accessing this site since September 2012. The charity BeatBullying estimates one in three young people have been victims of cyber-bullying, with one in 13 experiencing persistent abuse. Of these, 5% resorted to self-harm and 3% reported an attempted suicide.

Bullying is not a new phenomenon, but in this digital age there are so many more channels for bullying to take place. Where previously a young person might have had a few hours of peace after leaving the school gates, now they can experience abuse any time of day or night, in their most private of surroundings through their mobile phone or laptop computer.

When young people are being bullied at school, we tell them to report it to professionals or parents when they get home. When they're being bullied in their own bedroom, it is often a lot harder for them to reach out for help.

As social care professionals, we aim to build trusting relationships with young people to allow them to open up about the abuse they may be experiencing. But even if they do want to reach out for help, there can be so many barriers to them doing so: shame, embarrassment, not wanting to worry their parents or carers, or fear of repercussions.

Preventing and reducing cyber-bullying is a complex task. Recognising the signs of online abuse is something that care and support professionals have already identified as an area they need further training in.

One potentially simple idea is to think again about how, and where, we offer our support. I've seen the way young people operate in that digital space, caught in the intensity of instant messaging, commenting and tweeting; I believe help should be available for them in the very same space.

Last week, Twitter changed its system to add a "one click" button to report abuse after the plethora of vile threats faced by campaigners such as Caroline Criado-Perez and the MP Stella Creasy. In a similar vein, I'd suggest adding an "I'm being bullied" button within all social media sites, which when clicked takes young people directly through to an online counsellor – the Childline 1-2-1 service, for example, or a bullying service that is specifically set up to provide out-of-hours support.

Blackberry's BBM and Whatsapp messaging might be able to offer similar buttons that can take young people through to a mobile site for Childline, or send them a message with a helpline number to call then and there.

This won't elimate the problem of cyber-bullying, but it might help those young people who don't feel they can wait until morning, or can't face leaving their bedroom to talk to someone about what's going on.

As a social worker, I'm very aware that my office hours rarely coincide with the hours that young people most need emotional support. Building a button into these websites plays into the digital mindset of instant gratification and immediacy. It might just help to break the spiral of online bullying that traps some young people and offer a way out, or at least some thinking space, at a critical time.

Danielle Adler is a social worker specialising in the support of children and young people. She blogs at From Media to Social Work


Today in pictures