For many young people, the internet is where friendships are built, creativity is shared, and identity is explored. But it’s also where harassment, bullying, and predatory behavior thrive. Unlike schoolyard bullying, online harassment is relentless, borderless, and often anonymous.
How It Manifests
Cyberbullying: Insults, rumors, or exclusion amplified through group chats or social media.
Harassment: Targeted attacks, threats, and repeated unwanted contact.
Exploitation: Predators exploiting gaps in youth awareness and platform safeguards.
Amplification: Screenshots and viral sharing make harm nearly impossible to contain.
The Impact on Youth
Mental health toll: Anxiety, depression, and feelings of isolation are common outcomes.
School performance: Victims often experience falling grades or disengagement.
Trust erosion: Youth may lose confidence in adults or institutions that fail to protect them.
Long-term scars: The permanence of online content can retraumatize survivors years later.
Canadian Context
Legal tools: Laws against cyberbullying exist, but enforcement is inconsistent.
School role: Provinces differ in their approach to digital safety education.
Platform responsibility: Canadian youth are still largely at the mercy of global companies’ policies.
Marginalized youth: LGBTQ+, racialized, and Indigenous youth often face disproportionate targeting.
The Opportunities
Stronger protections: Age-appropriate safety by design in apps and platforms.
Digital literacy: Teaching youth how to recognize, block, and report harassment.
Peer support: Empowering young people to look out for each other online.
Clear accountability: Ensuring parents, schools, and platforms share responsibility.
The Bigger Picture
Online harassment and bullying aren’t just “kids being kids.” They’re a structural failure of digital spaces to protect the most vulnerable. Addressing them means reshaping the culture of platforms and holding adults and institutions accountable.
The Question
How can Canada build a digital environment where youth feel safe, supported, and respected — and what consequences should exist for platforms, institutions, or individuals that fail to protect them?
Online Harassment, Bullying, and Safety
The Digital Playground Isn’t Always Safe
For many young people, the internet is where friendships are built, creativity is shared, and identity is explored. But it’s also where harassment, bullying, and predatory behavior thrive. Unlike schoolyard bullying, online harassment is relentless, borderless, and often anonymous.
How It Manifests
The Impact on Youth
Canadian Context
The Opportunities
The Bigger Picture
Online harassment and bullying aren’t just “kids being kids.” They’re a structural failure of digital spaces to protect the most vulnerable. Addressing them means reshaping the culture of platforms and holding adults and institutions accountable.
The Question
How can Canada build a digital environment where youth feel safe, supported, and respected — and what consequences should exist for platforms, institutions, or individuals that fail to protect them?