Two of New Zealand's biggest internet stars have thrown their support behind a campaign to educate teenagers about cyber bullying and internet privacy.
Caito Potatoe (Caitlin Davidson), who has nearly 30,000 YouTube subscribers, and Liam WaveRider (Liam Martin), who has more than 2 million Instagram followers, including J'Lo and Ariana Grande, have both been targets of trolls and cyber bullies.
"I didn't expect it would happen in the amount it did; it was a lot larger than I expected...it's quite concerning that so many people are using social media for the wrong reasons," Mr Martin says.
Ms Davidson believes cyber bullying is one of the worst forms of bullying because it's often anonymous.
NetSafe receives more than 800 reports of cyber bullying and more than 1000 reports of privacy breaches every year.
The internet watchdog has partnered with Google to launch a Web Rangers programme in New Zealand. It's aimed at promoting a safer online environment and will get teenagers developing their own web campaigns to educate their peers about cyber bullying and privacy issues.
Workshops will also be held around the country to offer training in social media and online safety.
For more information, visit the NetSafe website.
3 News
source: newshub archive
