By Luke Cullen
Internet safety should be receiving the same priority on the primary school curriculum as reading and maths according to the children’s charity CyberSafeKids.
This statement comes as there has been no drop off in the risk to our younger internet users, despite an increase in the awareness of the obvious dangers.
According to the Irish Independent, 25% of 8–12-year-olds have been upset or scared by something they have seen online and many kids in this age bracket will keep it to themselves, most of these being young boys.
Over 28% of kids have also experienced online bullying, such as being left out of group chats or being sent hurtful messages.
CyberSafeKids CEO Alex Cooney spoke on the findings, labelling them ‘’very worrying’ and how they highlight that online safety is an issue for everyone, not just parents.
In response to such findings like these, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said that a new online course for primary and secondary school teachers on addressing the topic of cyberbullying was also planned for some point this year.
