Sinn Fein councillor Aileen Mellon
She was speaking after an EU-funded Blurred Lives project study found that more than one in five young people in the north had nasty or unpleasant experiences online.
Said Cllr Mellon: “The Blurred Lives project studied cyberbullying in schools and was designed to see how best social media providers can prevent and tackle cyberbullying.
“The report found that 22 percent of young people in the north had experienced nasty or unpleasant experiences online recently.
“Twenty-seven per cent of girls and 17 per cent of boys had experienced cyber-bullying.
“A further 11 percent of those questioned said they had done something nasty or unpleasant to others online.
“The online world has many positives, and it offers great educational and social benefits for children and young people.
“However, the rapid development of the online world comes with increasing risks including cyber-bullying, online exploitation, spending too much time online and accessing harmful content.
“Internet and social media providers must do more to monitor and tackle harmful content online and give children the information they need growing up in a digital world.
“Parents also have a role to play in educating their children about how to use the internet responsibly while keeping themselves safe.”
