16 Oct 2014

‘I knew they were watching me’: inside online bullying

How would you cope with a bullying that followed you everywhere you went? For young people on social media apps, cyber-bullying is an ever-present menace.

A new report has revealed 62 per cent of people aged 13 to 25 say they have recieved nasty private messages via social media.

The statistics from the Ditch the Label charity are shocking reading. The survey of 2,732 young people found:

  • 42 per cent had recieved hate based comments (racism, homophobia etc)
  • 24 per cent turned to self-harm as a coping mechanism
  • 52 per cent never reported the bullying they recieved

Channel 4 News went to speak to young people working with the Anti-Bullying Ambassadors programme – a charity that educates young people about the impact of bullying (video, above).

Kieran Stanbridge, 18, talked about the abuse he recieved at school – how people said he should kill himself, and how, as he suffered in silence, he considered that as an option.

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