Cyberbullying is more prevalent than I thought

Working in a residential school, I have not really had any experience with cyberbullying because our students do not have free use of cell phones or computers. I decided to research some statistics on just how prevalent cyberbullying is in schools. I was shocked to find out just how serious of a problem this is and just how early it occurs. Even scarier is that only 15% of parents are “in the know” about their kids’ social networking habits, and how these behaviors can lead to cyberbullying. Below are some statistics that I found and thought I would share.

Cyberbullying Statistics From I-Safe.org
42 percent of kids have been bullied while online. One in four have had it happen more than once.
35 percent of kids have been threatened online. Nearly one in five have had it happen more than once.
21 percent of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages.
58 percent of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than four out of 10 say it has happened more than once.
58 percent have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online.
Data based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 students in grades 4 to 8.

As a future school administrator this is definitely a topic that I plan on continuing to research. I will be sure to keep you posted as I gain a greater understanding of cyberbullying and its impact in our schools.