AN ONLINE SURVEY of students in Ireland has shown 66.5 per cent know someone who has died by suicide.

Additionally, over half of those surveyed said they had witnessed bullying online, while just under 30 per cent admitted they would say things to people online that they would never say in person.

Over 1,400 people took part in the online survey, carried out by student website oxygen.ie.

Amongst the other main findings:

• 1 in 7 admitted that they had been bullied online.
• 30.9 per cent said they had posted pictures or information about a person online without their consent.
• 9.6 per cent admitted they had posted lies and rude comments about people online.

Additionally, two out of three students said they would turn to their friends for support if they encountered bullying online. 34 per cent said they would report the bully to the site, with only 13 per cent saying they would talk to their parents about the issue. Just under 10 per cent said they would tell no-one.

In terms of time spent online, 14 per cent of those who took part in the survey said they spend over six hours on the internet every day, with 3 per cent spending over ten hours online.

Helplines:

• Samaritans 1850 60 90 90 or email jo@samaritans.org

• Teen-Line Ireland 1800 833 634

• Console 1800 201 890

• Aware 1890 303 302

• Pieta House 01 601 0000 or email mary@pieta.ie

• Childline 1800 66 66 66

Read: One in seven children subjected to cyber bullying in last three months

Read: Time to act on bullying before tragedy hits primary schools, says expert

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