Schools are struggling to deal with anonymous online content such as fight videos. Photo/ John Borren
Schools are struggling to deal with anonymous online content such as fight videos. Photo/ John Borren
Anonymous videos of fights and revenge porn are sparking concerns among Whanganui schools about increasing online harassment.
Whanganui City College deputy principal Valerie Rooderkirk said schools were struggling to deal with Instagram pages that shared gossip and videos of students’ fights in school uniforms.
She said it was something thatneeded to be addressed by the community.
“It’s just horrendous.
“In my eyes, the people that have had the fight have done the wrong thing, but the people who have filmed it and shared it have done 10 times worse because they have encouraged this.
“You can never restore a relationship that keeps popping up and repeating itself every time you open your phone.”
Whanganui Collegiate School senior master of pastoral care and wellbeing Sjaane Simpson said the concerning age groups for device-related issues were mainly around years 9-11.
“There have been some restorative conversations we’ve had with students, where they get to see the implications of inappropriate material and what it’s done for other people.”
Simpson said adults needed to be good role models for children and provide healthy guidelines for devices.
“So many of our students are reporting sleep problems and we know the impact of their devices on their sleep.
“They also report more anxiety. Our mental health issues related to the amount of time spent online have certainly risen.
“I think it is important to monitor and one of our key researches said phones should not be allowed in bedrooms. You’ve got to be able to monitor what’s going on on your children’s screens.”
Rooderkirk said because the pages were anonymous, it made it difficult for schools to hold people accountable.
“You can never tell who’s running them because someone could have hacked a kid’s page and then taken over their profile and set it up.
“It could be anybody, it could be an adult who thinks it’s funny.
“We need some help from our families and the community so when their kids are talking about these videos, people get on there and report it so it gets taken down.”
An ex-student who had been the victim of revenge porn being leaked online had contacted her, Rooderkirk said.
“There’s been some pretty ugly porn of kids in town.
“They don’t think long-term or they aren’t posting it themselves - somebody else is.”
Cullinane College principal Tony McBride said schools were being asked to manage these issues, which occurred largely outside school time.
“The issue is not created at school or by the school, the issue is that tamariki have access to expensive phones, unlimited data and access to all websites. While children are provided with unmonitored access to digital technology the problem will continue to grow.
“The children spend large amounts of time during the evenings and weekends on their cellphones, participating in the incidents.
“Parents need to be provided with the knowledge, education and strategies to deal with the harm caused by cellphones and social media.”
Netsafe's Sean Lyons says online harassment can lead to student truancy issues.
Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons said online content posted anonymously could have a stark impact on its victims.
“Sometimes people might set these pages up for comedy or satire, but generally people use the anonymity to cause harm to individuals that they don’t have to stand behind.
“It can lead to kids not wanting to be at school, and truancy issues or social issues within friend groups.”
Lyons said social media platforms would be able to see the accounts linked to the pages and action could be taken against the content and individuals.
“It’s not a hopeless case for people that are suffering from the harm of these anonymous pages.”
He said the 2016 Harmful Digital Communications Act allowed civil and criminal action to be taken against severe cases, and people could use that legislation to approach Netsafe, the police or the platforms themselves to reduce harm.
What to do when harmful content is posted without your consent
Lyons said young people should not suffer in silence.
“The message is to reach out when they find themselves in these situations, or schools and parents can also reach out to us.
“It can feel like the world is caving in on them, which I know is often how people feel, but [it is important] to not feel paralysed in those situations into inactivity but to take action.
“That shame and embarrassment is unfortunately the thing that stops people acting.”
Lyons said the speed at which content was reported to Netsafe was vital, as it allowed them to apply pressure to platforms to remove content.
“The quicker stuff comes down, the less chance people have of seeing it and the less chance people have to share it, and of the network of who sees it to grow.
“We can talk to platforms with you and get that content removed, we can talk about options to reduce the harm they are experiencing.”
Victims could contact Netsafe on 0508 NETSAFE (0508 638 723) or email help@netsafe.org.nz.
