Rising Adolescent Cyberbullying... Sex Crimes Using Deepfake Technology on the Rise

Cyberbullying Experience Rate Among Adolescents
More Than Three Times Higher Than Adults

Lee, a 15-year-old middle school student, was a victim of cyberbullying by classmates last year. She said, "I don't know what I did wrong, but they tagged me on social networking services and uploaded strange photos. They also created a group chat to insult me," adding, "The boys even made sexual remarks, which made it extremely difficult for me."

A survey found that 4 out of 10 internet users in the United States suffer from distress caused by swearing and criticism online.

As the forms of school violence have expanded from physical violence to cyberbullying using electronic devices, the number of students reporting harm is increasing. There are growing calls for practical prevention measures in addition to existing education about cyberbullying.

According to a cyberbullying survey by the Korea Communications Commission released on October 22, the rate of cyberbullying experience among Korean adolescents increased from 40.8% in 2023 to 42.8% last year. This figure is more than three times higher than the cyberbullying experience rate among adults, which stands at 13.5%.

Among adolescent victims, 42% responded by blocking the perpetrator online or changing their ID and email address, but 32.8% took no action at all. Some of these victims experienced negative psychological states after the violence. This has led to concerns that teenagers are left defenseless against cyberbullying.

Some victims report that even after contacting investigative authorities, they did not receive appropriate measures. Kim, a 15-year-old middle school student who operates a support group for victims via open chat, said, "Even when we report to the police, there are many cases where they downplay the matter and send us back, saying they cannot investigate. I hope there will be more attention to cyberbullying, and I think there should be ways to handle cybercrimes while maintaining anonymity."

An even greater concern is that cyberbullying targeting adolescents can escalate into sex crimes, such as those involving deepfake technology. According to a school violence survey released in May by the Blue Tree Foundation, a school violence prevention organization, the proportion of sexual violence among cyberbullying cases surged from 2.8% in 2021 to 13.3% last year. Furthermore, 24.7% of cyber sexual violence cases involved the misuse of deepfakes.

Experts argue that as the rate of electronic device use among adolescents rises, cyberbullying has become the dominant form of school violence, making effective education tailored to this trend essential. Kwon Ilnam, a professor in the Department of Youth Guidance at Myongji University, said, "If teenagers do not perceive the issue as their own, the effectiveness of education may decrease, and new students join every year, which is another challenge. Rather than simple rote education, we need to actively implement experiential learning that allows students to directly experience the perspective of others."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.