President: We should weep over web bullies

It should “make us weep” that social media is being used to bully vulnerable young people who could become suicidal as a result, according to President Michael D Higgins.

Cyberbullying, suicide, and depression are growing problems in this country, he said, and urged every citizen to be aware of these issues and to speak up about them.

“I read last week the results of a survey which said that one in four Irish teenagers have been victims of cyberbullying, compared to one in five teenagers across the other 10 countries in the same survey. That should make us weep, the idea that a means of communication is being used in such a fashion and it has to be addressed,” he said at the Irish Association of Suicidology’s annual conference in Naas, Co Kildare yesterday.