Electronic bullying of children in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.. Here...

The results of the survey revealed that 40% of parents in the UAE and 48% in Saudi Arabia believe that their children have been bullied online during the pandemic. A quarter of these incidents were reported directly by children to their parents. The study showed that verbal bullying is the most common, with 36% of parents in the UAE and 32% in Saudi Arabia reporting that their children have been affected at some time. This was followed by “physical and psychological” bullying, as 17% of the participating parents in Saudi Arabia reported that their children had been subjected to “racist bullying”.

Mohamed Shiha, Head of Digital Marketing and Communications, WarnerMedia Middle East and North Africa, said: “It is clear from the survey results that cases of bullying continue to rise in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Bullying in childhood is a major public health problem and through our campaign titled “CN Buddy Network, we hope to raise awareness of the harmful effects of bullying – both in person and online – and educate parents and children to mitigate it.”

The study included other findings, most notably the contribution of social networking sites to the issue of online bullying with children increasingly using platforms to spread rumors or to frequently harass or ridicule someone online. UAE, with weak social skills emerging in the foreground in Saudi Arabia.

The great deterrent to reporting cases of bullying, especially for students in the Emirates, is the feeling of shame, followed by the fear of revenge from the bullies.