TrueCare Blog

While some people may consider bullying to be a normal part of growing up, today’s form of bullying has become something quite different. Cyberbullying takes hurtful comments and actions beyond the school grounds through cell phones and the Internet, making kids vulnerable 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The potential dangers of cyberbullying are very real, ranging from low self-esteem to suicide. In February of 2010, the Cyberbullying Research Center surveyed a random sample of 4,441 children and teenagers between the ages of 10 and 18 from 37 different schools in the southern U.S. Below are just some of the statistics from the study regarding technology and cyberbullying.

Use of Technology

• 83% of the kids use cell phones
• 47.1% use cell phones at school
• 40.5% take pictures with cell phones
• 31.5% go online with cell phones
• 50.1% use Facebook
• 37.7% use MySpace
• 11.5% use YouTube
• 6.5% use Twitter

Cyberbullying Victimization

• 20.8% of the kids have been cyberbullied in their lifetime
• 17% have been cyberbullied at least once in the previous 30 days
• 13.3% have been cyberbullied by rumors online
• 14.3% have been cyberbullied by mean or hurtful comments online
• 7.2% have been threatened online

By understanding the reality of cyberbullying and its potential dangers to kids’ mental health and well being, you can start protecting your children. For more statistics about cyberbullying, visit the Cyberbullying Research Center’s research page.

For more information on online safety and effective Internet protection software, visit TrueCare.net today. Get news and updates on Twitter by following @TrueCareOnline, or become a fan on Facebook.