Supporting Bullying No Way: National week of action 2024

Optus is supporting Bullying No Way: National week of action (12 to 16 August) and its theme “Everyone belongs” by highlighting its multi-award winning Digital Thumbprint Program and the workshops and resources it offers families and young people to counter online bullying.

Bullying can affect many people in society but perhaps the most impacted are younger people through cyberbullying.

Launched in 2013, Optus Digital Thumbprint is one of the longest running digital safety and wellbeing education programs in Australia, educating over 620,000 primary and secondary students to date.

According to Helen Maisano, Senior Director, Group Sustainability at Optus, cyberbullying can be extremely distressing for those being targeted by bullies and can have impacts on an individual’s mental health and wellbeing which is why we need to raise awareness and help with prevention through our Digital Thumbprint program.

“Cyberbullying is unlike traditional bullying, which is confined to a location, cyberbullying can be relentless and occur 24/7 through digital platforms such in apps, games, social media, or text messages and voice calls.

“For example, it could be a mean message, a false rumour that’s spread online to damage someone’s reputation, sharing photos online without the person’s permission to embarrass them, posting offensive and insulting comments to provoke an argument or emotional reaction or even threatening violence,” Ms Maisano says.

“It can create a distressing situation, especially for young people who can become anxious whenever they go online as they’re worried about what they’ll find has been said or shared about them online.

“This is the reality many young people are facing while online. The Digital Thumbprint Program aims to change the way young people interact online to create more positive behaviour patterns through education.

“The Digital Thumbprint workshops and guide help young people and their families to recognise cyberbullying for what is it is – bullying - and provides information on how to best respond and report the incident.

“It’s important for parents to understand that they have an important role to play in keeping their kids safe online. By having an open conversation with their kids about cyberbullying and what to do about it, can give kids the confidence to say, ‘this is not ok’ and do something about it.,” Helen says.

In a survey¹ of over 1,000 students across Australia, Optus uncovered several themes relating to cyberbullying.

“The survey showed the number one challenge for almost 36 per cent of students being cyberbullied is understanding why they are being targeted,” Ms Maisano says.

“And more than 34 per cent of students ranked their second biggest challenge as knowing how to protect themselves from cyberbullies.

“Students revealed through Digital Thumbprint workshop evaluation that there is a great deal of mental stress that they suffer as a result of cyberbullying as victims can be targeted anywhere and anytime making it very difficult to escape, she says.

The Digital Thumbprint Program has a range of resources that can assist like the Cyberbullying guide that outlines what cyberbullying is and what to do when things go wrong.

“Our recent evaluation findings show the positive outcomes for many aspects of digital safety including the impact of respectful relationships online. Digital Thumbprint workshops resulted in the following outcomes:

• 94 per cent saying they would try to use social media in a positive way as a result of the workshops.
• 93 per cent said they will be more respectful of others when online
• 93 per cent said they are more likely to seek help or take action if they or their friends experience cyberbullying or image-based abuse
• 83 per cent learnt what to do to get help against image-based abuse
• 74 per cent felt more in control to take action if they experience or witness image-based abuse.

What can you do if you’ve been cyberbullied?

• Tell a trusted adult, parent or teacher
• If it’s safe, respond to the bully and let them know that what they’re doing is not OK
• Avoid reacting with mean comments yourself
• Don’t forward or share offensive or harmful content
• Block, unfriend or unfollow the bully
• Delete your account and start another that has trusted contacts, be sure to collect evidence before deleting your account

“To help families speak to their child about this important issue, Optus Digital Thumbprint has created the Cyberbullying: what to say when things go wrong guide.  

“In addition, we have also created interactive activities for children such as the Cyberbullying quiz which helps children to test their knowledge to see if they understand what is and isn’t cyberbullying,” Helen says.

Optus Digital Thumbprint supports digital safety and wellbeing with educational workshops, guides and resources for young people and families.  The program includes free, curriculum-aligned workshops that are fun and interactive. These workshops are delivered face-to-face by one of our facilitators or via digital interactive workshops.

In addition to the facilitator-led sessions hosted in schools, a dedicated website has free resources for young people, families, and teachers.

The Digital Thumbprint program, fully funded by Optus, has reached over 620,000 primary and secondary students across Australia since launching in 2013. The program has been endorsed by the eSafety Commissioner as a Trusted eSafety Provider.

For young people

1. Blocking unwanted contact guide
2. Cyberbullying quiz
3. Cyberbullying: what to do when things go wrong guide
4. Digital Balance quiz
5. Fake friends and fake profiles quiz
6. Hackers, scammers and fake friends guide
7. Lifehacks for a balanced time online guide
8. Passphrases, passwords and MFA guide and quiz
9. Protecting personal information quiz
10. Scammers and fake friends quiz

For Families

• Balancing time online guide
• Blocking unwanted contact for your child guide
• Cyberbullying: What to say when things go wrong online guide
• First Phone Readiness guide and quiz
• Passphrases, passwords and MFA for your child guide
• Recognising hackers, scammers and fake friends guide
• Safeguard your child’s privacy on popular apps and games guide
• Stay ahead of scams through family discussions guide

eSafety Commissioner to report cyberbullying, image-based abuse, and illegal and restricted content

Australian Cyber Security Centre - Auto report cybercrime, including online threats and abuse, scams and hacks, data breaches, identity theft and fraud.

Scamwatch to report scams.

Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation to report online grooming and inappropriate contact

IDCARE to get identity theft, data breach, scam and cyber security support.

If your child needs to talk to someone about their feelings or worries, they can contact:

Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 for free, private and confidential 24/7 phone and online counselling services.

13YARN on 13 92 76 (24/7) for a free, private and confidential talk with an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Crisis Supporter.

¹ Findings drawn from students completing evaluation surveys post participation in Optus Digital Thumbprint workshops.

Optus Digital Thumbprint supports digital safety and wellbeing for young people and families. Find out more at www.digitalthumbprint.com.au