One in 10 children falling prey to cyberbullying, survey reveals

Parents must establish rules regarding online activities: researcher

Ten per cent of Canadian parents believe their children have fallen victim to cyberbullying, according to an Angus Reid survey done recently for the Mayo Clinic.

Four in five of those parents say they have rules in place for their children’s online activities, but parents need to play a bigger role in preparing their kids for and protecting them from the negative sides of digital life, according to a researcher.

Approximately 1,000 randomly selected Canadian Angus Reid Forum panelists with children aged 10 to 17 were asked if they believed their kids had been cyberbullied. Seventeen per cent of parents with girls thought their daughters had been exposed to online bullying while only seven per cent of those with boys believed the same.

Those surveyed with children between the ages of 14 and 17 were also more likely to believe their child had been cyberbullied compared to parents who have kids in the 10 to 13 age bracket.

“It’s difficult to know what your child is experiencing online if you’re not involved,” said Dr. Peter Jensen, vice chairman for research for the Mayo Clinic Department of Psychiatry and Psychology.

More than 80 per cent of the parents in the August survey discussed what is and what isn’t acceptable to post online with their kids, but only around 60 per cent occasionally kept track of what their sons and daughters were up to on the Internet. Almost 20 per cent of respondents admitted to not monitoring their child’s online habits at all.

Parents were called on to identify what social media accounts their children had and the survey found more than 80 per cent of 10- to 17- year- olds had a Facebook page and nearly all had access to email.

“In the age of social media, what kids say and do online can be unforgiving and unforgettable,” Jensen said. “It’s key to set social media rules and to help kids understand the implications of their actions.”

He urged parents to take proactive steps to teach safe Internet practices at home. His recommendations include instructing children on social media etiquette like never using abusive or threatening language online and implementing control and security measures such as setting time limits on social network use and enabling privacy features on services like Facebook.

Jensen also suggested parents “friend” and “follow” their kids on various social networks to monitor their activity.

Online victimization through cyberbullying can have consequences on mental health, developmental well- being and academic achievement and may result in suicide in extreme cases, according to Jennifer Shapka, an associate professor in UBC’s Faculty of Education.

Shapka presented a study on cyberbullying earlier this April at the American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting in Vancouver.

“An open and honest relationship between parents and children is one of the best ways to protect teenagers from online risks related to cyberbullying,” she said in a statement.