- Almost one in four of teens claimed to be targets of cyber bullying and two-thirds of all teens have witnessed cruel behavior online.
- Only one in ten parents is aware that their teens could be targets of cyber bullying.
- Facebook has become the new school yard for bullies with 92.6% of teens saying that cruel behavior takes place on Facebook, with only 23.8% on Twitter, 17.7% on MySpace and 15.2% via Instant Messenger.
- When witnessing others being attacked, 40% of teens have told the person to stop, 20.7% have told an adult and 6.3% joined in.
- When being attacked themselves, 65.8% of teens responded to the attacker (with 35% responding in person) an unsettling 15.4% avoided school, and an alarming 4.5% have been in a physical fight with their attacker.
As parents get ready to send their kids off to school, they need to empower themselves and be aware of back to school technology-related risks, including bullying and cheating. The proliferation of technology and children’s increased use of multiple devices can increase the likelihood of engaging in unsavory behaviors that are not in their best interest.
According to McAfee’s 2012 Teen Internet Behavior Study, kids are engaging in and witnessing cyber bullying and cheating due to their classroom access to mobile phones and other Internet connectivity. These are some of the study’s key findings.