Northland parents are being urged to take a more active approach regarding their children’s social media usage as schools see more antisocial behaviour.

Principals say children as young as 11 are using social
media to plan fights and post them online, and students are being bullied on TikTok and Instagram.

Netsafe says while bullying and fights have been occurring within schools for years, social media has amplified the issue.

Te Mānihi Tumuaki Northland Secondary Principals’ Association chairwoman Natasha Hemara, who is also the principal of Kamo High School in Whangārei, said schools are running digital citizenship programmes and doing “everything [they] can” to educate, prevent and demonstrate how harmful the issue can be.

But she acknowledged it can be difficult to manage once students leave school grounds.

The level of removal social media brings means many young people don’t seem to realise the impact of their actions when posting about others, until it happens to them, she said.

“A level of anonymity allows for a disconnect.”

“Social media and devices allow for people to not actually see and hear the impact of things being said.”

Schools are now having to navigate complex issues such as consent, privacy, technology and access, she said.

Whangārei Intermediate School principal Hayley Read recently appealed to parents in a newsletter, asking them to take a more active approach toward their children’s social media usage.

“Unfortunately, we are seeing undesirable behaviours outside our school gates that are starting to affect our school environment and students’ learning.

“These behaviours, often stemming from interactions on illegal TikTok accounts, are becoming a distraction from core learning activities.”

The school has also encountered bullying on both school and CityLink buses, something Read said parents need to help with in order to continue upholding school values.

Students were using social media to find out venues and dates for planned fights, she said.

Two fights had already occurred, but Read also noted it was a countrywide issue.

Her main concern was managing the “event of violence” and the reasoning behind it, such as reputation or revenge.

“[For them to think] this is okay is a worry for me,” she said.

She agreed students did not realise the full extent of harm until they experienced such behaviour themselves.

Kamo Intermediate School principal Kim Sloane said she recently employed another deputy principal last year in order to manage student behaviour at her kura.

“We want the teachers to focus on teaching and learning, not behaviour.”

She said most of the issues the schools deal with regarding social media occur after school hours.

“It often comes to our attention when posts are of a threatening nature. The time involved in dealing with these issues is huge.”

Sloane believed the number of issues had decreased slightly since the Government’s ban of cellphone usage in schools. However, Read believed the ban had little bearing on the issue as students could still access social media via other devices.

She instead questioned what parents were doing to monitor their children’s usage.

Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons said bullying and fights have been occurring without social media for years – but its presence had made the issue more visible.

In some ways that was a blessing, because it enables schools to quickly remove content and deal with it, he said.

He noted young people are often drawn into antisocial worlds due to peer pressure and a desire for notoriety.

Schools and parents often take a zero-tolerance approach to online bullying – but he also noted it was important to strike a balance between managing the issue and taking away a big part of their lives.

“If we remove that technology, then we run the risk of cutting access to some of those safe spaces,” he said.

Lyons said it was a difficult issue for schools to manage because there was often no particular “location” where the issue would occur.

Occasionally conflict happens online and leads to students being disruptive when they meet at school.

He encouraged parents to call Netsafe if they are ever concerned about their child’s social media usage.

If you’re concerned about the immediate safety of you or someone else, please call 111. If you want help or expert incident advice, you can contact Netsafe. Their service is free, non-judgemental and available seven days a week.

Brodie Stone is an education and general news reporter at the Advocate. Brodie has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.