Most Portuguese Teens Hide Cyberbullying, Psychologists Warn Parents

Barely audible to older generations, online taunts and threats are echoing through Portuguese teenagers’ phones with growing frequency. The country’s leading body of mental-health professionals now warns that most children and adolescents never alert an adult when they are targeted, leaving parents, teachers and policy-makers scrambling to catch up.

A Problem Adults Rarely See

Officially classified complaints remain low, yet psychologists report that TikTok cliques, WhatsApp groups and gaming chats have become fertile ground for humiliation campaigns that can last for weeks. According to data released by the Ordem dos Psicólogos Portugueses (OPP), more than 60 % of victims choose silence even when insults escalate into death threats or image-based abuse. The finding mirrors trends observed by EU Kids Online but stands out in Portugal, where family ties are traditionally tight and where digital literacy programmes have multiplied in recent years.

The Psychology Behind the Silence

Clinicians describe a vicious loop: young targets fear losing access to their devices, dread social retaliation and assume that reporting will only make things worse. In some cases, aggressors are also classmates, forcing the victim to face them daily in corridors or on the school bus. Dr. Marta Gonçalves, a child psychologist in Porto, says the overwhelming feeling is shame rather than anger, which keeps teenagers from seeking the protective role adults could play. Compounding the issue, many parents still regard the internet as a harmless extension of the living room, unaware that a single meme can destroy reputations overnight.

Digital Classrooms Under Pressure

Education officials introduced mandatory Citizenship and Development sessions in secondary schools four years ago, but teachers argue the curriculum offers only a brief window—often one hour per term—to tackle complex online dynamics. Meanwhile, public-school counsellors routinely juggle caseloads of 800 students, limiting one-on-one interventions. The Ministry of Education insists that its €9 M "Escola Digital" programme, which provided tablets and connectivity during the pandemic, included funding for safeguarding measures, yet a recent audit by the Tribunal de Contas found that content-filtering software remains absent in 37 % of classrooms.

Legal Framework and Enforcement Gaps

Portugal criminalised harassment and threat-making in 2015, but the statute does not explicitly refer to digital behaviour. As a result, prosecutors still rely on broader penal-code articles that demand a high burden of proof. Meta, X (formerly Twitter) and Discord all maintain Portuguese-language reporting tools, yet local NGOs argue that content takedown times can stretch beyond 48 hours, far longer than the psychological damage window. The OPP urges lawmakers to adopt France’s “cyber-harcèlement aggravé” model, which triggers faster court injunctions and mandates platform-level transparency reports.

Lessons from Our Neighbours

Across the border, Spain rolled out a 24/7 helpline (017) that logged 25 000 calls in its first year, while Germany obliges social-media firms to remove hate speech within 24 hours or face multimillion-euro fines. Portuguese campaigners believe replicating such measures could dovetail with existing Linha Internet Segura, a national hotline that received just 1 800 contacts in 2024—proof, they say, of the awareness gap rather than a lower incidence rate.

Pathways to Support

The OPP is now working with telecom operators on an opt-in feature that would allow parents to receive an automatic alert when their child blocks more than five numbers in a week—a simple proxy for potential harassment. Schools in Braga and Setúbal are piloting peer-to-peer mediation circles, betting that teenagers might confide in trained classmates before approaching adults. For families, psychologists recommend creating "digital check-ins": five-minute evening conversations focused solely on online experiences, with no risk of phone confiscation. Above all, experts stress that early disclosure is the strongest predictor of recovery, making adult vigilance a decisive factor in whether cyberbullying becomes a passing ordeal or a lasting trauma.