For years, we've been telling our kids the same things: don't post personal details, be careful with photos, don't talk to strangers online. That advice is still sound, but some of what happens to our kids online is no longer in our hands, or theirs.
Around the world, new cyberbullying risks are a concern. In Singapore, a question was recently raised in Parliament: Whether there is a growing problem of students creating and circulating fake obscene images of their peers in schools, generated using AI, and whether guidelines are in place to handle such cases.
The government has also said it is studying whether safeguards for AI chatbots are needed.
AI tools can turn any ordinary photo, video, or recording of your child into fake bullying content.
The person behind it may be a stranger or someone who barely knows your child.
Fake content does not need to look realistic to spread through a group chat.
Once shared, bullying content can reappear elsewhere even after the original post is deleted.
Parents can prepare children in advance with a clear response plan.
Here's what has changed: AI tools are now widely accessible, and any image, video, or voice recording of your child can be turned into fake content, whether that's a manipulated photo, a meme, a fake audio clip, or something far more serious.
Innocent photos, videos, or recordings can be misused
We've all told our kids not to share private photos of themselves, and it's still good advice.
But what you need to realise now is that any photo of your child can be misused. With AI tools, it takes little effort to edit an ordinary photo and make it look as though someone did something they never did.
The same goes for video and audio: A short voice recording can be turned into a fake clip. A video can be edited, captioned, and placed in a completely different context, making a child appear to have said something rude, behaved badly, or taken part in a humiliating scene.
One of the more serious risks is nudification, where AI tools are used to alter a clothed image or video so that a person appears nude or sexualised. This can happen even when the original photo was completely ordinary, and the child targeted does not need to have shared anything remotely private.
Cyberbullies may not know your child personally
We tend to assume cyberbullying comes from within a child's circle: a classmate, a school friend, someone they know. That's still where most of it comes from.
However, AI tools have lowered the barrier so much that someone who has seen your child's photo online once, or photographed them in a public space, may have enough material to work with.
Fake content does not need to look real
As adults, we can usually tell when something looks "off," and children can too.
But in a group chat, content doesn't need to be convincing to travel. It just needs to provoke a reaction, and it will take on a life of its own.
This is especially true when the content touches on something children already feel sensitive about: their appearance, their body, or how their peers see them.
It's hard to make bullying content disappear
If you have ever seen a meme or screenshot travel through your group chats, you already know how this works. The reality is that deleting an offending post doesn't undo or stem the damage.
Just like adults, children can save things and share them elsewhere. Content disappears from one platform, and turns up in another group chat or account.
For the child at the centre of it, knowing that a post has been removed may not provide much comfort. They will still have to go to school, see their classmates, and wonder who has seen what.
Can parents do anything?
We can't control every photo taken, every group chat, or every cruel thing that gets shared online. But we can take some steps that make a real difference.
Create a response plan in advance
If your child is targeted, their first instinct will probably be to argue back in the group chat, confront whoever shared it, or beg others to delete it. These reactions make complete sense, but they usually make things worse.
Instead of waiting till something bad happens, having a plan in place beforehand gives your child something to hold on to when things feel chaotic.
Talk through these steps together when things are calm:
Do not argue in the group chat.
Do not forward the content.
Do not retaliate.
Save evidence, for example screen captures with names, dates, and timestamps.
Report the post or account.
Tell a trusted adult quickly.
Teach children not to pass cruel content on
A lot of cyberbullying spreads because other children keep passing it along.
Your child may not have created anything, but forwarding it, saving it, reacting with laughing emojis, or even asking "Is this real?" in a group chat all help it grow.
It's worth being direct with them about this. If something is clearly meant to embarrass or humiliate someone, the right move is not to engage. Tell a trusted adult instead.
The example we set matters
Children watch what parents do, more than they listen to what we say.
When adults make cutting remarks about someone's appearance, laugh at a stranger being mocked online, or share a post that piles on, kids notice.
We may not call it "cyberbullying" when adults do it, particularly when the target is a public figure. But the tone we set at home is the one our children learn from.
Help children feel steady, not afraid
Let's be clear: we don't want to raise children who are afraid of the internet.
Parents can't make the online world entirely safe, any more than they can control everything that happens in a school corridor.
But children can be taught how to protect themselves, when to ask for help, and how to avoid making another child's situation worse. If something does happen to your child, the most important thing they can know is that it is not their fault, and you are on their side.
Digital S.O.S.
A free workshop by Fei Yue Community Services for parents and primary school children aged 7 to 12.
📅 Date: 25 July 2026, Saturday
🕒 Time: 2pm to 4pm (includes tea break)
📍 Venue: Enabling Village, 20 Lengkok Bahru, Playground Block, #03-02, Singapore 159053
🚆 Nearest MRT: Redhill, 5-minute walk
👪 Format: Parent-child attendance preferred, with activities to do together
👥 Capacity: 40 participants
📝 Registration: https://go.fycs.org/
Download Fei Yue's Digital S.O.S. Conversation Starters toolkit, which covers topics like scams, cyberbullying, inappropriate content, and online grooming.
Fei Yue's Digital S.O.S. workshop can be tailored for different groups like parents, preschoolers, and teenagers. It can be brought to schools and community touch points such as community clubs.
Let them know your needs: https://go.fycs.org/DigitalSOS
This article is brought to you in partnership with Fei Yue Community Services.
