Parents see anger, but miss the pain: What hides behind a child's changed behavior?

Bullying affects roughly one in three children and adolescents in Lithuania, and the shift to online spaces has amplified the ease with which young people can harm one another. While both boys and girls experience bullying, their methods of defense and their requests for adult assistance differ significantly across various digital platforms.

Julija Markeliūnė, "Telia" digital inclusion lead, observes that parents often struggle to identify when their children are suffering from online harassment. This difficulty can lead to parents mistakenly punishing their children for behavior that is actually a response to being bullied.

The dynamics of online bullying mean that children may not always exhibit outward signs of distress that parents recognize. The anonymity and reach of the internet can exacerbate the problem, making it harder for adults to intervene effectively. Markeliūnė's insights highlight a critical gap in parental awareness and response strategies concerning cyberbullying.

Understanding these differences in how children experience and react to bullying is crucial for developing targeted support systems. It underscores the need for parents and educators to be more attuned to the nuances of online interactions and to foster open communication with young people about their digital lives.

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Parents may fail to recognize when children suffer online or punish them for perceived misbehavior.