Azerbaijani MP says cyberbullying harms children"s emotional health

Insults, humiliating comments, threats and targeted psychological pressure on social media negatively affect children's emotional health, Arzu Naghiyev, chairman of the Milli Majlis Committee on Defense, Security and the Fight against Corruption, said at public hearings in parliament, Report informs.

The hearings were held on the topic "Digital development, artificial intelligence and protection of children from the harmful effects of social media platforms."

Naghiyev said cyberbullying can in many cases lead to lower self-confidence, social isolation, depression and other serious psychological consequences among children.

"Access to harmful and age-inappropriate content - violence, hate speech, disinformation, manipulative advertising and other unsuitable materials - can negatively affect children's psychological development. In addition, the security of personal data is also a serious problem. Children often carelessly share their personal data, photos and location. This can be used by cybercriminals to create fake accounts, commit fraud and carry out other illegal activities. Technologies that create fake photos, videos and audio recordings, automatically generated manipulative content and fake profiles can make it difficult for children to distinguish reliable information from false information," he said.

According to him, solving these problems is not the responsibility of a single institution alone.

"The state, schools, families, technology companies and civil society must act together. Parents should actively participate in children's digital lives, build open dialogue with them, explain the rules of safe internet use and show interest in their online activity. Control should be based not only on restrictions, but also on trust and education. Schools need to pay more attention to cybersecurity. Students should learn not only how to use a computer, but also how to verify the accuracy of information, protect their personal data, behave ethically on social media and recognize internet risks. Social media platforms, in turn, must ensure faster detection of harmful content using artificial intelligence and improve safety features for children," Naghiyev said.