School is in session for most everyone and I am sure you are worried about what it’s store for your kids this coming school year. With kids sharing more online, it is increasingly important that they are learning – primarily about how content they are sharing online can make them even more prone to cyberbullying.
McAfee’s 2014 “Teens and the Screen study: Exploring Online Privacy, Social Networking and Cyberbullying” examines the online behavior and social networking habits of preteens and teens. I wasn’t surprise at their findings, if anything it has made me more fearful as my daughter enters middle school.
5 Highlights from the survey include:
- Cyberbullying has tripled within the last year with 87% of youth having witnessed cyberbullying versus the 27% of youth who witnessed cruel behavior online the year before.
- 50% of youth have been involved in an argument because of something posted on social media
- 24% of youth would not know what to do if they were harassed or bullied online
- 52% of youth do not turn off their location or GPS services across apps
- One in three youth feel more accepted on social media than they do in real life
Top 5 Cyberbullying Safety Tips for Parents to Help Educate Your Kids:
- Connect with your kids. Casually talk to them about the risks of all online connections and make sure the communication lines are open.
- Gain access. Parents should have passwords for their children’s social media accounts and passcodes to their children’s devices to have full access at any given moment.
- Learn their technology. Stay one step ahead and take the time to research the various devices your kids use. You want to know more about their devices than they do.
- Get social. Stay knowledgeable about the newest and latest social networks. You don’t have to create an account but it is important to understand how they work and if your kids are on them.
- Reputation management. Make sure your kids are aware anything they post online does not have an expiration date.
For more information on the survey, visit mcafee.com. Join the discussion on Twitter @McAfeeConsumer using #TeensNScreens
Disclosure: NYC Single Mom was not compensated for this post. Quantitative Methodology – The Futures Company conducted a survey among 1,502 young adult men and women ages 10 to 18 in the United States. The survey was split evenly among age and gender. The interviews were conducted from April 2, 2014 through April 14, 2014.