Ms Niamh Donnelly:

It is very relevant, but bullying has moved past texting and is now on the Internet, which introduces the element of anonymity and is a whole new ball game. In years gone by if one was bullied in school at the end of the day one could go home and that was the end of it, but now cyberbullying gets into the home and one cannot get away from it. It can happen behind one's back before one even arrives in school the following day. It is also anonymous.

Comhairle na nÓg in Mayo discussed this at our AGM. We thought it would be helpful to educate parents. Young people experiencing cyberbullying find it difficult to go to their parents and explain that someone sent them a hurtful status. The parents would ask what a status was, because they do not know how to use these websites and neither do teachers. A girl was cyberbullied on Ask.fm and committed suicide, and most teachers and parents do not know what Ask.fm is. Parents and teachers must be educated about social networking sites so they can prevent such events happening and help when they occur.