A/HRC/31/20 move easily from the mobile platform onto social networks, which can result in cyberbullying and online abuse on those platforms. Impact of cyberbullying 69. Characterized by an imbalance of power, cyberbullying can cause profound harm. Although the impact depends on the character and circumstances of the victim, the particular type of cyberbullying and the degree to which it violates a child’s integrity and dignity, victims commonly experience anxiety, fear, distress, confusion, anger, insecurity, lowered self-esteem, a strong sense of shame and even suicidal thoughts. Children’s performance at school may suffer due to psychological distress or they may play truant to avoid being bullied. School dropout rates can also be higher among victims. Cyberbullying, children’s perceptions and images generated by young people 70. It is important to examine the phenomenon of cyberbullying in the context of how children themselves perceive and use ICTs. This is crucial in promoting the immense benefits of cyberspace while reducing and mitigating the risks of online abuse. 71. Social engagement through ICTs is now a fundamental part of children’s lives, but the manner in which children and young people engage with ICTs is significantly different from that of the previous generation. Children now shift easily between real and virtual worlds, and they regard the online/offline distinction as ever less relevant. 72. Young people may feel inclined to share personal details without taking into account the consequences of their online actions or fail to identify online dangers. For example, children may not appreciate that information or images they share online may be disseminated in ways they do not anticipate; equally, they may not realize that once they share such material they lose control over it. This can be especially problematic when young people produce revealing images or videos of themselves engaging in sexual activity and intentionally share it by any electronic means. 73. Young people may produce sexually explicit material as a result of peer pressure or as part of an “intimate” relationship. In both cases there is a real risk of the material being viewed by people for whom it was not intended. When such material falls into the wrong hands it can be used to blackmail children and young people into engaging in further risky behaviour, a criminal strategy commonly referred to as sextortion. 74. There are many reasons why images intended for private consumption may be more widely disseminated. There may be an explicit intention to harm the individual in question, or those involved may be unaware of the implications of their actions, or the perceived anonymity of the online environment encourages adolescents to act in ways they would not in face-to-face interactions. In any case, once online, such images or material are particularly difficult to delete. 75. Recent research10 on this topic has revealed a number of significant and worrying developments: (a) Of the images and videos surveyed, 17.5 per cent depicted children 15 years of age or younger and 85.9 per cent of this content was created using a webcam rather than a mobile device; 10 14 Internet Watch Foundation in partnership with Microsoft, Emerging Patterns and Trends Report No. 1: Youth-Produced Sexual Content, 10 March 2015.