School principal urges parents to be more vigilant over their children's smartphone use

Pupils at Presentation School Terenure, Dublin: 'We had advised parents if children came to them to say they had access to something online that frightened them, then to listen and help,' said principal Carmel Hume. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

A primary school principal has called for parents to be more vigilant with their children’s use of smartphones, saying the device “is being used by forces it was never designed for”. 

Carmel Hume from Presentation Primary School, Terenure, was speaking in the wake of a report on cyberbullying.

The survey by CyberSafeKids showed 25% of primary school children and 40% of secondary students face cyberbullying.

Higher Education Minister Simon Harris described the document as “alarming”.

Principal of Presentation Primary School Carmel Hume: 'Apps like TikTok are new and we are all trying to catch up. But I am not at all surprised by these findings in this week’s report.' Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos

Ms Hume’s school in south Dublin, which has 480 girls, carried out its own research as part of its anti-bullying policy last year, and one of the main findings was that children felt unsafe online.

“It shocked a lot of the parents, and it shocked me,” she told the Irish Examiner.

“Children were being added to these large chat groups and then they felt they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to. They were afraid to say anything in case the group turned on them and it became toxic.

The main message of our own findings was children wanted the adults in the room to be more vigilant and to put in more rules for them.

“So, if someone said ‘I messaged you at 1am and you didn’t answer’ that the child could say their parents take their phone at night. It gives them a way out.

“We had advised parents if children came to them to say they had access to something online that frightened them, then to listen and help.

“Apps like TikTok are new and we are all trying to catch up. But I am not at all surprised by these findings in this week’s report."

The annual trends and usage report by CyberSafeKids, which was published on Tuesday, involved a survey of more than 5,000 eight to 16-year-olds between September 2022 to June 2023.

Almost two-thirds of teachers dealt with online safety incidents and 31% of eight to 12-year-olds said they were allowed online whenever they wanted.

Posting unwanted images online without consent, fake profiles, and being left out of group chats were also reported forms of cyberbullying.

From left: Ella Branagan, Ava Allen and Tegan Duffy. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins

Another key finding showed girls were more likely to be bullied online than boys.

Ava Allen, 11, from sixth class in Presentation Primary School told the Irish Examiner that: “Everyone thinks boys are supposed to be stronger and they get into fights more. I think personally it is girls who are nastier.

“Fake profiles on Minecraft and other games can happen too. A fair few people that I know were asked by fake friends to talk to them.

“People can get your details and con you. I just say to my friends, tell someone if that happens to you. For me, I just block them.” 

Her classmate Ella Branagan, 11, said she was “picked on” last year for her height.

“I had to block them from everything and have no contact anymore. My mam said she knew something was up because two girls started picking on me for my height, so I just blocked them”.

Teegan Duffy, 11, added “rumours are a huge part of bullying”.

“You could say the sky is green online and it will just go everywhere. You can’t trust anything on the internet, either, check everything.

“For people who are afraid, confidence is key, speak up always."