The presentation of the book “Cyberbullismo” by Paolo Siani, organized by the Network for the safety of minors and adolescents, is scheduled for Monday, May 26 at 18:33 p.m. in via Giacinto Gigante XNUMX in Naples (at the height of via Confalone). The following will be in conversation with the author: sociologist Lello Savonardo, journalist Barbara Tafuri, Nelide Milano and Ilaria Puglia for the Network for Safety.
The Network for the Safety of Minors and Adolescents was born in Naples in 2021 from the meeting of citizens, associations and committees to ask for urgent interventions in the field of education, training and safety of young people, aiming at regulatory and cultural interventions that concern the entire country.
"Cyberbullying is an increasingly widespread and dangerous phenomenon that primarily affects minors and adolescents, " say Nelide Milano, Ilaria Puglia, and Barbara Tafuri of the Network. "It is essential to raise public awareness of this issue and provide effective prevention and response tools. Paolo Siani's book represents an important contribution in this regard, offering in-depth reflection and concrete proposals for addressing the problem. The Minors and Adolescents Safety Network is committed to promoting a culture of online safety and supporting victims of cyberbullying, working with institutions, families, and communities to create a safer and more respectful digital environment for all."
Cyberbullying
Bullying and its cyber version in our country are quite widespread and now represent a real emergency. According to the WHO Europe Report of March 2024, 15% of adolescents have suffered acts of cyberbullying. An increase compared to 2018, from 12% to 15% for boys, from 13% to 16% for girls. And it is likely an underestimation. The internet today has profoundly changed traditional bullying, amplifying its scope, both in time and space, with serious consequences also on health. In fact, an unaware use of the internet can cause physical and psychological damage, even serious. Furthermore, what is worrying is the increasingly early use of smartphones, if we think, for example, of the possibility of delegating to artificial intelligence the reading of fairy tales to put children to sleep, even at a very young age. A hypothesis, the latter, needlessly harmful considering that no technological tool, however sophisticated, will ever be able to replace the role played by the mother's voice in the growth of children. It is therefore necessary to find a common cultural ground for a new approach to digital education, a difficult task, certainly, but necessary, because there will be, in a not too distant future, other technologies, more powerful and more invasive that will influence the daily life not only of adolescents, but also of younger children.§
Paolo Siani pediatrician, is head of pediatrics at the Santobono hospital in Naples, was a member of parliament in the 18th legislature and vice president of the bicameral commission on childhood and adolescence, was president of the cultural association of pediatricians. He is part of the board of directors of the Giancarlo Siani foundation and is the head of the childhood table of the Municipality of Naples.
It is important that if you talk about cyberbullying and that there are initiatives like this to inform and raise awareness. I hope that more people will attend the event on Monday, so that more can be done for young people.