Naked photos, hate comments alarm specialists in Luxembourg

Teenagers posting naked pictures of each other on the internet, hate comments via social media and filmed physical aggression are all recurrent forms of cyberbullying among children and teenagers in Luxembourg.

According to psychologists at Kanner-Jugendtelefon, an anonymous counselling helpline for children, young people and parents, cyberbullying can start in primary schools with children as young as nine-years-old falling victim.

Two years ago, due to increasing requests from Luxembourg's English speaking community, the organisation set up an English language helpline in addition to its existing Luxembourgish, French and German services.

According to psychologists behind the organisation one of the most alarming forms of cyberbullying is among teenagers who, at the beginning of a relationship, send or take naked or revealing photos of each other – photos which, once the relationship has ended, can be found circulating online.

Most calls come from 10 to 15-year-olds

"The biggest concern is hate comments and pictures published on the internet without consent," Kanner-Jugendtelefon psychologist, Georges Knell, said. "They can be embarrassing or even naked pictures. There have been some cases in Luxembourg where a lot of children in a school receive naked pictures of girls or boys."

Most phone calls come from children aged between 10 and 15 and while each case is different, patterns show that bullying at primary schools tend to involve more verbal aggression, including among children from the age of nine on social media. And often videos of physical aggression circulate online.

Boys more often use physical aggression while bullying among girls are more likely to come from spreading rumours and verbal abuse, according to the psychologists.

"With social media they can't escape or close a door, it's continuous," Kanner-Jugendtelefon psychologist, Aline Hartz, said. "They also feel ashamed and don't dare to speak up."

'Parents are out of the circle of trust'

And getting children and teenagers to open up to a parent can prove to be more challenging than many parents might expect as from early teenage years, young people tend to prefer to confide in friends or an unknown person, in particular when the cyberbullying revolves around embarrassing photos.

"At 12 to 14 years old, unfortunately parents are out of the circle of trust," Knell explained. "Teenagers try to distance themselves from parents and have different opinions. Peers become more important in their lives during puberty or just before. It can be frightening for parents to think they are losing their kid but it's natural because they are starting to distance themselves."

Some of the telltale signs that a young person is being bullied online can include the child or teenager becoming protective of his or her device, showing a reaction when he or she receives a notification, not wanting to go to school, having regular headaches or showing signs of distress.

Knell and Hartz said parents should speak to their children to let them know they are there for them but that they can also speak to a specialist anonymously. Knell also warned that cyberbullying can have legal consequences for the instigators and that sharing pictures without consent is illegal.

(Heledd Pritchard, heledd.pritchard@wort.lu, +352 49 93 459)