Although you may believe online risks are facilitated by the anonymity provided by the internet, unwanted experiences online often involve people the victim knew, including family or friends, according to the Microsoft Digital Civility Index (DCI) 2017. That percentage of people who knew their hoaxer, scammer, fraudster or other ‘negative online interaction’ (such as trolling or sexting, or hate speech) was 29 for the UK, compared to 36pc globally. About one in three, 32pc of those polled in the UK had met their perpetrator in real life, a 14-point drop since 2016 and 21 points below the global average (53pc). Among those who had met their perpetrator, over nine in ten (94pc) met before the risk occurred – highest among the 23 countries surveyed. Familiarity with the perpetrator in real life was related to an increased exposure to online risks.
The IT firm did see some encouraging signs; as people begin to evolve their approaches towards the challenges of negative online interactions. Generally, the survey found that the baby boomer generation (those aged 50 to 74) had the highest exposure to online risks but the lowest consequences. And those consequences from online risks were higher for females than males.
Jacqueline Beauchere, Chief Online Safety Officer for Microsoft, said: “Technology companies large and small, law- and policy-makers, educators and school officials, parents, young people and members of civil society all have a role to play in fostering online experiences that start with empathy and highlight inclusion and respect.” Beauchere said she was “surprised” that the majority of victims globally knew the perpetrators.
As for the effects of ‘negative online interaction’, the survey found feelings of depression, and 29pc of people in the UK becoming “less trusting of people online” (up six percentage points from the previous year).
Released to mark Safer Internet Day on February 6, the Index surveyed people in 23 countries. It found that the UK was the second-most civil country online, ahead of Australia but behind Japan. Peru, Colombia and South Africa were the least civil of the 23.
Beauchere suggested four guidelines that will lead to “safer, healthier online interactions”:
– Act with empathy, compassion and kindness in every interaction, and treat everyone you connect with online with dignity and respect
– Respect differences, honour diverse perspectives and when disagreements surface, engage thoughtfully, and avoid name-calling and personal attacks
– Pause before replying to things you disagree with, and don’t post or send anything that could hurt someone else, damage reputations or threaten someone’s safety
– Stand up for yourself and others by supporting those who are targets of online abuse or cruelty, reporting threatening activity and preserving evidence of inappropriate or unsafe behaviour.
Beauchere added: “These actions are the building blocks for the kind of online communities we want to engender and the type of positive and inclusive online movement we want to create. We thank our partners and collaborators that have taken up the digital civility banner and are launching their own initiatives and programs rooted in this universal message of treating each other with respect and dignity.”
Anyone in the UK who believes they have been a victim of online scams should contact the police reporting centre Action Fraud.
