Snapchat abuse: 1 in 3 Australian kid suffers abuse on the app

A new study reveals the extent of online hate against children, revealing one app is particularly risky in Australia.

Snapchat has emerged as the online epicentre of cyber-bullying for Australian children, with a new study revealing the country leads the world in harassment on the social network.

More than one in three Aussie kids have suffered abuse on Snapchat, according to the McAfee research, with one expert describing its disappearing messages as “a bully’s dream”.

The study, conducted across 10 countries, also found almost two in three Aussie kids had been targeted by online bullying in Australia, with name-calling, exclusion and false rumours prevalent, and most parents felt tech giants should provide greater support and tools to block bullies.

McAfee cyber safety ambassador Alex Merton-McCann. Picture: Supplied

The findings come just weeks after Snapchat released new safety tools to help parents monitor their children’s friends on the platform.

The McAfee cyber-bullying Pulse Survey quizzed 11,687 parents and children in July 2022, and found 64 per cent of children had been bullied online, with the highest rates on Facebook (37 per cent), Snapchat (34 per cent) and Instagram (30 per cent).

But an alarming trend had emerged in Australia, McAfee cyber safety ambassador Alex Merton-McCann said, as rates of bullying on Snapchat were 10 per cent higher in the country than worldwide.

France followed Australia, with 32 per cent of children reporting harassment on the platform.

“(Snapchat) it’s a bully’s dream. Let’s be honest. You send a mean message and it evaporates before you’ve got time to show your Mum or your teacher,” she said.

Ms Merton-McCann said bullying on Snapchat was made more hurtful by the fact contacts on the network were often close friends.

The McAfee study also showed 56 per cent of children reported bullying from people they knew, and almost one in three children deleted their social media accounts to avoid cyber-bullying.

Almost two in three Australian children reported being bullied online in the McAfee study.

More Australian parents also called for tech giants to do more to help them tackle cyber-bullying than in other nations, with 73 per cent calling for more tools to block harmful messages and 67 per cent asking for platforms to identify perpetrators.

Snapchat said the safety of its community, especially its younger users, was top priority.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying, harassment and intimidation and encourage our community to report any interactions or accounts that are concerning through our confidential in-app reporting tools,” a Snapchat spokesperson said.

“We remain committed to our ongoing efforts to combat any form of bullying on our platform.”

On August 9, Snapchat launched new parental controls for its network, including a Family Centre app that lets parents see who their teenage children are speaking to on Snapchat but will not reveal the content of their messages.

Ms Merton-McCann welcomed the addition, but warned parents also needed to take action in educating and reassuring their children even before they joined social media.

“As soon as your kids have got a phone in hand or they can use a computer even if you don’t think they’re on social media, they probably are,” she said.

“You’ve also got to talk to your kids about what happens they receive a nasty message: they need to block the perpetrator but also take a screenshot.

“You need to reassure your kids that if they have a problem with Snapchat or TikTok or whatever it is that they’re not going to be in trouble and you’re not going to take away their device.”

Children who are being bullied online should report incidents to the social network on which they appeared, and can escalate issues with the eSafety Commission at esafety.gov.au.

Originally published as Snapchat abuse: 1 in 3 Australian kid suffers abuse on the app