Aunty Helen advises teens on social media
"Don't tolerate it and don't think in some way you're at fault."
Helen Clark
Former prime minister Helen Clark has offered her advice to youngsters around New Zealand who are concerned about cyber bullying.
She urges young people to block and report those who make personal attacks.
Speaking in Nelson yesterday at a Young Enterprise Scheme gathering at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology, Clark said bullying had always been a fact of life.
‘‘Social media has given them new licence to be unpleasant,’’ she said. ‘‘It can be so extreme, it may well be a factor in youth suicides, it’s probable.’’
The former United Nations Development Programme administrator said her advice was to ‘‘get these people out of your life’’.
‘‘You have blocking and reporting functions on these sites,’’ Clark said. ‘‘Don’t tolerate it and don’t think in some way you’re at fault or that any of the things they say about you are right.’’
She drew laughter when she outlined a ‘‘really ridiculous’’ news flash she received on Wednesday evening ‘‘where a fella I’ve never heard of, who’s now apparently a presenter on The Project on TV3, did a direct appeal saying: ‘Helen Clark blocked me from Twitter and I’ve never abused her and please, Helen, let me back on’.’’
Clark was likely referring to comedian Guy Williams, who appeared on The Project as the fourth host on Wednesday evening where he said Clark had blocked him on Twitter.
Williams said he had never tweeted Clark or anything about her.
‘‘I just think she finds me annoying in general, I’m not sure why,’’ he said before pleading with her to unblock him.
Clark told the audience in Nelson that she did not block many people.
‘‘I do mute some who are a bit annoying,’’ she said to more laughter. ‘‘They don’t know that you’ve muted them but they do know when you’ve blocked them and sometimes they get little campaigns, like this one, to get you to have them back.’’