More than a quarter of Irish children have been targeted by cyberbullies during lockdown.
A joint study by the European Commission and Dublin City University found case rates here to be among the highest in Europe.
And younger children were the most likely to become victims.
Dr Tijana Milosevic described Ireland’s figures as “worrying” with results higher than in previous studies. The worst rates were found in Ireland, Italy and Germany.
The research also showed the problem to be particularly prevalent in boys.
Dr Milosevic, of the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, added: “Irish children are among the top frequency numbers in Europe that we have. That is worrying in and of itself.
“This was a survey that was done in 10 other European countries with children aged 10 to 18.
“We conducted research into their use of digital media but also their experience of risks and their exposure to different types of online harm, cyberbullying being one of those. We see a 28% increase in cyberbullying victimisation during the lockdown.”
The findings were presented to the Oireachtas Committee on Education to mark the UN International Day Against Violence and Bullying in Schools.
Overall, 49% of males had experienced significantly more frequent cyberbullying since lockdown.
About 66% of all teenagers between 14 and 16 experienced significantly more cyberbullying compared with pre-Covid on instant and private messaging services such as WhatsApp, Viber and Telegram.
Dr Milosevic said: “This is an increase compared to previous studies in Ireland, which have shown a cyberbullying victimisation rate of about 14% for primary schools and just under 10% for post-primary schools.
“There has been an increase, but it’s not as huge of a spike as we might have expected based on media reports we were seeing during the lockdown.”
She added social media platforms had to do more as the lines between in-school bullying and cyberbullying become increasingly blurred.
Dr Milosevic said: “It’s different now, especially in the context of Covid, when a lot of the schooling has happened online – the line between school bullying and out-of-school bullying will become ever more blurry. It is extremely important to have a way to report and engage the platforms to assist cases when it does happen.”
Seline Keating, a professor and research fellow in anti-bullying studies at DCU, called for a single anti-bullying programme to be implemented in schools nationwide.
She warned that current measures, adopted in 2013, were not being fully implemented – particularly in relation to identity-based bullying such as homophobia.
Ms Keating said: “Some schools may adopt an a la carte menu when dealing with bullying.
“They may not have the confidence or skillset to tackle the transphobia or homophobia elements.
“So they pick and choose which types of bullying to address.”
