UAE: 9-year-old mentors peers on cyber safety, bullying in student-led govt programme

With the large-scale usage of social media, online bullying has become widespread in educational settings, particularly in schools

Nasreen Abdulla

Published: Fri 27 Sep 2024, 6:00 AM

On Wednesday morning, nine-year-old Abdurrahman Ali Al Mulla stood in front of over 25 students of the Blossoms Nursery to tell them about safe practices while browsing the internet.

“I talked to them about how they should not click on any suspicious links or ad pop-ups when it comes,” he said. “I explained how to put strong passwords for their online accounts. I also tried to tell them about bullying in age-appropriate terms, but they were too young to understand how that works. They could not understand why someone would be mean to another person online.”

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Abdurrahman is one of the several children who have been trained as Digital Safety Ambassadors by the Sharjah Government Social Services Department, Sharjah Media and Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) – Dubai. Since undergoing the 5-day training in January, he along with his friends, have delivered over 17 sessions to students of various ages across Sharjah.

Abdurrahman Ali Al Mulla

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Several government agencies and educational institutes are recognising the importance of student-led safety programs to keep children safe online. Earlier this week, a 11-year-old Emirati student was admitted to ICU after she faced intense bullying online for her participation in a reality show.

Abdurrahman said that he changed his mode of delivery depending on the age of the people he was speaking to. He said that some of their participants confided in them. “One of the boys in my last session said that because he wore glasses, he was picked on and called 'the boy with four eyes',” he said. “So, we spoke to him about how upsetting it was and how he could respond to these people by ignoring them. When people don’t respond, bullies get bored and move on.”

Peer-led programs

According to Noona Nafousi, founder and lead coach at Neo Noor, peer-led programs are not just important but “essential” to getting messages across to youngsters. “Kids listen to kids. It’s that simple,” she said. “They are their biggest influencers. These programmes empower young people to step into leadership roles, building their confidence while supporting others."

"Yes, other interventions have their place, but nothing compares to the impact of peer-led initiatives in mental health. They create a sense of community, take away the stigma, and help participants feel seen, heard, and understood by someone who truly 'gets it'. Someone who is at their level," she added.

Many schools have sought to capitalise on this community feeling by recruiting several students as mental health ambassadors. “We appoint anti-bullying and well-being secretary as a part of the students’ council,” said Deepika Thapar Singh, CEO and Principal of Credence High School. “They focus on digital well-being and organise sensitisation sessions to stand up against bullying and report bullies.”

Deepika Thapar Singh

She said that with the large-scale usage of social media, online bullying has become widespread in educational settings, particularly in schools. “It typically manifests in several forms: verbal bullying, characterised by name-calling, teasing, or threats; social or relational bullying, where students are excluded, gossiped about, or humiliated to damage their social standing,” she said. “This causes significant emotional, psychological, and sometimes physical harm, affecting a student’s well-being, academic performance, and social relationships.”

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