Bullying Beyond the Playground

Washington, DC – New research shows bullying is no longer just a playground problem.  Many teens have embraced bullying tactics in the “virtual world.” This problem is called cyberbullying and more than four in ten teens reported being victims of it in the past year.  What’s even scarier is that only 10 percent of those victimized ever tell their parents about it.

In a study commissioned by the National Crime Prevention Council and conducted by Harris Interactive, teens also reported their parents think they know what they do online, but really don’t.  This relaxed supervision can lead teens to misuse online technology and hide behind its anonymity.  Cyberbullying is the use of the Internet, cell phones, or other technology to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. Teens who experience cyberbullying express a wide range of emotional responses, including anger, shame, embarrassment, and fear, and may want to seek revenge.

Cyberbullying has also resulted in such serious consequences as teen suicide, school violence, and depression—facts that led the National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC), U.S. Department of Justice, Crime Prevention Coalition of America, and The Advertising Council to launch a new cyberbullying prevention public education campaign this week. In fact, four out of ten (39 percent) of teens in the Harris survey said that an effective way to prevent cyberbullying would be to have messages on TV, radio, and online.  Volunteer advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi created attention-grabbing viral videos, radio ads, and web banners to help teens 11 to 13 years old understand the important role they play in stopping cyberbullying. 

The goal of the advertising is to help stop crime prevention before it peaks at 15-16.  The ads use the proven tagline, “If you know you wouldn’t say it in person, why say it online.” Teens are also encouraged in the ads to “Delete cyberbullying.  Don’t Write it. Don’t forward it.”
 

To help parents deal with this new threat to their teens, NCPC has created a brochure for parents that is available for downloading on www.ncpc.org .   Outlined below are a few tips from the brochure.

• Set guidelines:   Set rules for Internet use and monitor your teen’s use of technology (Internet, cell phones, and other devices).  As teens get older, they believe their parents should be more concerned with what they see and hear online.
• Select a central location: Place your home computer in a central place in your home, such as your kitchen or living room. It is easier to monitor your teen’s Internet use this way.
• Discuss the issue:   Set expectations for online behavior and discourage your teen from posting others’ personal information or contributing to slam sites.
• Save the evidence:  If your teen has been cyberbullied, make sure that you copy all messages and websites—you may need them for reporting purposes.
• Encourage positive behavior:  Make sure your teen is not sending or posting text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.
• Block cyberbullying messages:  Learn how you and your teen can ask to block cyberbullying messages through the Internet service provider (ISP), social network site, or chat room moderator. Seventy-one percent of teens believe this is the most effective way to prevent cyberbullying.

To view the advertising, visit www.ncpc.org and click on cyberbullying under current campaigns.

To view the executive summary of the research or full report, visit http://www.ncpc.org/media .

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