CYBERBULLING IN TURKEY

With the development of technology, young people who grew up in environments where
phones, televisions and computers were available almost from childhood are taking a more
ac:ve role in the use of social media, but this also brings with it nega:ve aspects.
Mostly, the ac:ve social media use of Genera:on Y and Z brings with it some nega:ve
aspects, even though they can use electronic devices be@er than adults, and they are oAen
unaware of them and can ignore them. The photographs they take, the ar:cles they publish,
and the communica:on they establish with other social media users on any social plaCorm
puts them at great risk.

For example, when a photo we post on social media or any other social plaCorm gets into
the hands of other people, the image can be manipulated and shared by adding things that
are not actually in the photo, causing comments that harm that person's iden:ty, or even
forgery can be commi@ed by stealing that person's iden:ty in another way. And our young
people oAen ignore the consequences of this and post their posts where everyone can see
them, which causes that person to be threatened and insulted. In such incidents, the reason
why children generally do not share this situa:on with their families is that they are afraid of
them and therefore they can make the situa:on worse by trying to handle it themselves.
Likewise, families neglect their children's privacy without paying a@en:on to the plaCorms
where they share their children's photos or the content of the photo. As BTK President Ömer
Fa:h Sayan said ‘’Parents can have a domino effect when they think they are simply joking
around by sharing photos of their children without the la@er's permission.’’
This doesn't have to be just a shared photo or text. Just having a social media account is
enough. Unfortunately, young children are unaware of the dangers of people pretending to
be someone they are not on social media and trying to steal their private informa:on,
harassing them, ini:a:ng sexual conversa:ons, and even arranging mee:ngs in real life.
There are thousands of people who pretend to be someone they are not, open fake
accounts, pretend to be the other party's peer, and get their private informa:on from their
photos. And this is not the only reason, there are also many scammers who ask for money in
return and threaten to spread the photos and informa:on if they tell their families, and on
top of that, they also ask for money. According to the ar:cle published by the Ministry of
Na:onal Educa:on, for these reasons, the Ministry of Educa:on included this subject in the
curriculum to explain peer bullying and cyber bullying in schools. In fact, he made a very
logical decision by doing this, because bullying actually comes from our closest circle and the
people we call friends. It is very important that children who have not even reached puberty
and who act without even being aware of the consequences of their ac:ons and who behave
in a way that the other party does not want with their words and ac:ons, receive such
training and have knowledge about this subject. And in fact, one of the main reasons for peer
bullying is that this issue is not addressed within the family, or they are affected by the
situa:ons experienced in the family and want to apply the things they see to others and
express their anger. Families are not aware that they are affec:ng their children so much,
they are not even aware of how bad they are affec:ng them, and the child they raise treats
their friends in this way and does not take responsibility, but harms the other person and
they are not aware of the consequences of this. Thus, it would be a very useful study if the
Ministry of Educa:on actually provides informa:on about cyberbullying and peer bullying in
schools and includes it in the curriculum.

As a result, in order to prevent peer bullying and cyberbullying, it would be more beneficial
to have ac:vi:es outside the curriculum and even to inform families about this issue and to
start the real educa:on within the family. Because if we educate children before they
introduce them to the outside world, we will take precau:ons against possible dangers and
children will act with awareness of this and pay a@en:on. But at the end of the day, we
should not forget that they are children and they are curious, so no ma@er how conscious
they are, it will be beneficial for their families to pay a@en:on to these issues and take care
of them.

REFERENCES

h@ps://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/quarter-of-turkish-youths-exposed-to-cyber-bullying-
technology-authority-125045

h@ps://www.aa.com.tr/tr/egi:m/meb-siber-zorbalik-ve-akran-zorbaligini-mufredata-
aldi/3067620