Kolkata: One out of every three children is bullied online, a growing concern highlighted by experts during a seminar at Rotary Sadan on Friday. Education experts gathered to discuss ways to eradicate this social vice.The panel discussion, ‘Bullying in Educational Settings’, was organized by Anjali Education, in collaboration with the education department, Calcutta University. It brought together professionals from the fields of psychology, education and child advocacy organizations, working to address bullying at schools and colleges.Experts highlighted that the primary challenge was that most such cases went underreported. Most children refrained from revealing their harassments out of fear, guilt, shame or fear of punishment from parents and teachers, who, too, lacked awareness, said the experts. Sonali Patankar, CEO and founder of Responsible Netism, pointed out that parents must prioritise cyber well-being and digital literacy, as digital traps on social media and online gaming platforms were turning more dangerous every day. “Parents, adults, educators and caregivers often do not comprehend technology and fail to understand the magnitude of cyber violence,” she said.Patankar added that sharing personal information and photographs was a major risk, which led to compromise, bullying and entrapment. “Please understand technology through the children’s lens so that we can safeguard them better,” she urged adults.Recognising cyberbullying as a modern threat, several schools in the city hold awareness events to educate students on staying safe online. Bobby Baxter, principal of Rishi Aurobindo Memorial Academy, said, “We regularly hold such programmes to teach students about the potential risks associated with online activities, the importance of safeguarding personal information and how to be responsible digital citizens.”Manoshi Roychowdhury, co-chairperson of Techno India Group, said, “Being mocked on social media amounts to bullying. Social groups often make children feel excluded—sometimes through silence, and sometimes through direct exclusion. Quietly signaling to a child that they do not belong leaves a deep wound. We take behavioral changes in students seriously and try to get to the root of the problem.”Santoshi Haldar, a behavior analyst, said peaceful communication and reporting mechanisms must be integrated into school curricula to encourage individuals to express observations without judgement, communicate feelings and make respectful requests . She added that socio-emotional learning (SEL) was essential for teaching emotional regulation at a tender age.“Bullying exists everywhere, at colleges, universities and workplaces. The key to staying safe is building inner resilience and confidence to deal with mockery and bullying,” said CU vice-chancellor Asutosh Ghosh.
