Security software company, McAfee, released a study of teen online behavior. My last two Eric Notes shared statistics about teens online and then what parents should do about it.
This week I want to focus on what the study revealed about cyberbullying.
It is a significant part of the lives of our teens. 87% have witnessed cyberbullying.
The subject of the cyberbullying is usually appearance (72%) but race or religion (26%) or a person's sexuality (22%) is also targeted.
The result of the cyberbullying is
- anger (53%)
- a fight (52%)
- getting in trouble (50%)
- deletion of social media account (47%)
Despite this prevalence and seeing these consequences, cyberbullying is not a big concern among our teens. Only 12% fear being cyberbullied. A significant number (24%) said they would not know what to do if they were cyberbullied.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services teaches teens to
- Not respond,
- Keep evidence
- Block the cyberbully
- Report it to parents, teachers, police, social media sites.
McAfee gives 5 tips for parents:
- Connect with your kids. Talk to them about the risks of all online connections and make sure the communication lines are open.
- Gain all passwords for teen social media accounts and devices.
- Learn the technology of the devices your kids use.
- Stay knowledgeable about the social networks.
- Make sure your kids are aware anything they post online does not have an expiration date.
(McAfee, Inc. (2014, June 3). Cyberbullying Triples According to New McAfee "2014 Teens and the Screen study". Retrieved from Press Release: http://www.mcafee.com/us/about/news/2014/q2/20140603-01.aspx)
(Siciliano, R. (2014, June 3). Teens' Online Behavior Can Get Them in Trouble. Retrieved from McAfee Blog Central: blogs.mcafee.com/consumer/teens-and-screens)
(U. S. Department of Health & Human Services. (N.D.). Report Cyberbullying. Retrieved from www.stopbullying.gov: http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/how-to-report/index.html)
