By Trevor Maimann
Created: May 27, 2011
The top three channels children are using to cyberbully are social media (63 percent), e-mail (25 percent), and phone (19 percent), according to a new survey. (Photos.com)
Although social networking sites have become a popular platform for youth to stay connected, they are also being used by some teens and tweens to engage in cyberbullying, according to a new survey.
Conducted by Norton Canada, the Norton Cyberbullying survey found that 26 percent of the 507 parents polled said that their child had been involved in a cyberbullying incident.
A staggering 66 percent claimed that their child had been a victim of a cyberbullying attack, while 16 percent admitted that their child was the bully.
In addition, 32 percent of parents said they’re not entirely sure what their child does when on theInternet, and 44 percent feared their child’s behaviour online could involve coming into contact with an online predator.
Girls are more often involved in cyberbullying incidents than boys, with 86 percent of parents revealing their daughters were victims of cyberbullying, compared to 55 percent of sons, the survey found.
Lynn Hargrove, director of consumer solutions for Symantec Canada, the software company that makes a program called Norton Antivirus, said the most victimized is the 8 to 12-year-old age group.
“The message that we (Norton Canada) are sending is that if you are a parent and you are allowing your child to be on social networking, you really need to get involved,” says Hargrove.
“Ask kids ongoing questions about what sites they like to visit online, what are your friends doing—not only as a one-time check, but as an ongoing thing.”
The age requirement for users of networking sites like Facebook and MySpace is 13, but there’s no verifiable way of checking the age of those who sign up. A recent Consumer Reports survey found that as many as 7.5 million kids under the age of 13 are using Facebook—more than 5 million of them under the age of 10.
The survey found that Facebook has exposed a million U.S. children to bullying.
In the Norton survey, 43 percent of parents polled said that they were comfortable with tweens—children between the ages of 8 and 12—having an account as long as they were supervised by parents.
Although bullying in many forms has always existed, the dynamic has changed with the advent of new technology and digital networking. Bullying attacks now occur outside of regular face-to-face interaction, and rumours spread much more quickly.
There have been several incidents in which victims of cyberbullying were driven to suicide, one of the more high profile being that of U.S. teen Megan Meier who hanged herself three weeks before her 14th birthday. The suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through MySpace.
Conducted by Norton Canada, the Norton Cyberbullying survey found that 26 percent of the 507 parents polled said that their child had been involved in a cyberbullying incident.
A staggering 66 percent claimed that their child had been a victim of a cyberbullying attack, while 16 percent admitted that their child was the bully.
In addition, 32 percent of parents said they’re not entirely sure what their child does when on theInternet, and 44 percent feared their child’s behaviour online could involve coming into contact with an online predator.
Girls are more often involved in cyberbullying incidents than boys, with 86 percent of parents revealing their daughters were victims of cyberbullying, compared to 55 percent of sons, the survey found.
Lynn Hargrove, director of consumer solutions for Symantec Canada, the software company that makes a program called Norton Antivirus, said the most victimized is the 8 to 12-year-old age group.
“The message that we (Norton Canada) are sending is that if you are a parent and you are allowing your child to be on social networking, you really need to get involved,” says Hargrove.
“Ask kids ongoing questions about what sites they like to visit online, what are your friends doing—not only as a one-time check, but as an ongoing thing.”
The age requirement for users of networking sites like Facebook and MySpace is 13, but there’s no verifiable way of checking the age of those who sign up. A recent Consumer Reports survey found that as many as 7.5 million kids under the age of 13 are using Facebook—more than 5 million of them under the age of 10.
The survey found that Facebook has exposed a million U.S. children to bullying.
In the Norton survey, 43 percent of parents polled said that they were comfortable with tweens—children between the ages of 8 and 12—having an account as long as they were supervised by parents.
Although bullying in many forms has always existed, the dynamic has changed with the advent of new technology and digital networking. Bullying attacks now occur outside of regular face-to-face interaction, and rumours spread much more quickly.
There have been several incidents in which victims of cyberbullying were driven to suicide, one of the more high profile being that of U.S. teen Megan Meier who hanged herself three weeks before her 14th birthday. The suicide was attributed to cyber-bullying through MySpace.
The top three channels children are using to cyberbully are social media (63 percent), e-mail (25 percent), and phone (19 percent), the poll found.
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