The prevalence of cyberbullying among primary school children has increased significantly in the last six years - by 18 per cent for girls and 12 per cent for boys. According to this year's study, which was conducted by the Slovenian awareness centre Safe.si as part of the 2024 Safer Internet Day activities, 65 per cent of girls and 55 per cent of boys have experienced some form of cyberbullying in the last three years of primary school.

In the last similar study conducted by the Faculty of Social sciences in 2018, 55 per cent of primary school girls (10 percentage points fewer) and 49 per cent of boys (6 percentage points fewer) reported experiences of cyberbullying. These results are consistent with findings from focus groups with parents, teachers and other relevant professionals conducted in 2022 as part of the TRACeD project. Participants in these groups reported that the situation regarding cyberbullying among children and young people has escalated significantly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cyberbullying increasingly affecting younger teenagers

Cyberbullying is also becoming more common among younger teenagers. In the 2018 study, cyberbullying was more prevalent among high school students than among primary school students. This year, however, the rates among primary school students have caught up with and even slightly overtaken those of secondary school students. The proportion of secondary school students affected by cyberbullying has remained constant over the last six years. According to this year’s study, 63 per cent of secondary school girls (compared to 64 per cent in 2018) and 54 per cent of secondary school boys (as in 2018) are affected by some form of cyberbullying.

Confronted with violent behaviour

The most common forms of cyberbullying faced by young people include spreading false rumours about them (41 per cent in primary schools and 38 per cent in secondary schools), receiving messages with inappropriate content, including sexual content (35 per cent in primary schools and 39 per cent in secondary schools), receiving offensive or insulting comments about their appearance (31 per cent in primary schools and 25 per cent in secondary schools), the creation and distribution of their pictures or videos without consent (26 per cent in primary schools and 24 per cent in secondary schools) and threats (25 per cent in primary schools and 20 per cent in secondary schools).

A comparison of the data shows that those who experienced cyberbullying in the 2024 survey reported a wider range of harassment than in the 2018 survey. The percentage of teens who have experienced specific forms of cyberbullying has increased significantly, far outstripping the overall increase in those affected by cyberbullying. This trend is particularly evident among girls of primary school age, where rates of certain forms of cyberbullying have doubled, tripled or even quintupled.

Main differences between boys and girls

With a few exceptions, girls experience the more forms of cyberbullying and more frequently than boys. In addition, girls report that they are more affected by cyberbullying, while a larger proportion of boys say they either don’t care or even find it amusing. Primary school girls who were targeted by cyberbullying reported feeling stressed (42 per cent), 37 per cent felt angry, 35 per cent felt anxious and 28 per cent felt indifferent. Around a quarter felt either scared or angry. One in five had trouble sleeping due to cyberbullying, while the same proportion felt ashamed or powerless. Fourteen per cent of girls reported academic difficulties, including difficulty studying or anxiety about going to school. Eight per cent had experienced health or physical problems as a result of cyberbullying. In contrast, half of primary school-aged boys said they were indifferent to cyberbullying, 31 per cent found it amusing and 25 per cent were angry. Less than half as many boys as girls said they felt stressed (18 per cent). Significantly fewer boys felt anxious (one in five) and a similar proportion said they felt angry. Boys were 10 percentage points less likely than girls to report feeling anxious or having trouble sleeping. These results suggest that boys tend to normalise cyberbullying and see it as something normal.

Find more information about the work of the Slovenian Safer Internet Centre, including its awareness raising, helpline, hotline, and youth participation services, or find similar information for other Safer Internet Centres throughout Europe.