One in Three Teens are Victims of Cyber Bullying

With the approaching new school year, the issue of internet safety among teens was raised by Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett. Corbett released the results of a nationwide survey of teens and preteens about cyber bullying. The results were disconcerting.

According to the poll, commissioned by Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, one in tree teens (ages 12-17), and one in six preteens (ages 6-11) have been victims of cyber bullying. The poll also revealed that more then two million of the victims never told anyone about the incidence.

"Bullying has gone far beyond a whisper in the hall or a push on the playground," Corbett said. "Like everything else, bullying has met the information super highway. With nearly three-quarters of this country's kids online, bullies now have the Internet at their fingertips to electronically assault other children."

Cyber bullying is defined as the use of electronic devices and information, such as e-mail, instant messaging, text messages, mobile phones, pagers and Web sites, to send or post cruel or harmful messages or images about an individual or a group. Unlike standard bullying, the perpetrator can be anonymous, and there is no refuge for the victim since cyber bullying can go on 24-hours a day for the world to see.

Key findings of the poll of 1,000 kids nationwide were:

• One-third of all teens and one-sixth of children have had mean, threatening or embarrassing things said about them online
• 10 percent of the teens and four percent of the younger children were threatened online with physical harm
• 16 percent of the teens and preteens who were victims told no one about it
• 17 percent of preteens and seven percent of teens said they were worried about bullying as they start a new school year

"Schools should be safe havens of learning - not places where children fear for their safety and well-being," Corbett continued. "We are calling upon all Pennsylvania schools to adopt a comprehensive anti-bullying program ... As the new school year begins, we ask all parents in Pennsylvania to arm themselves against this threat to children's safety." There are several proposed pieces of legislation before the Pennsylvania General Assembly that would help schools address bullying, including legislation that would require bullying prevention programs in all school districts.

Pennsylvania State Director of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids Bruce Clash said, "The extent of cyber bullying is clear - with the growing number of kids online, and many equipped with cell phones, millions of kids in the coming school year will be assaulted on the Internet highway both in school and at home." Fight Crime: Invest in Kids is a national, nonprofit, bipartisan organization of more than 3,000 police chiefs, sheriffs, prosecutors, other law enforcement leaders and violence survivors.