Technology Leads to Teens Experiencing Cyberbullying at Higher Rates

By Christian Gomez

With the rising use of smartphones and social media interactions among

American teenagers, a new poll shows that 59 percent of U.S. teenagers have experienced

at least one of six types of abusive online behaviors.

Bullying is nothing new for many teenagers, but the way in which kids are getting

bullied and its landscape has been altered, due to increased cell phone usage among

teenagers, according to the poll by the Pew Research Center.

The center’s online and telephone surveys ran from March 7 through April 10, in

which 743 teens and 1,058 parents throughout the United States were polled.

Pollsters found the most common form of harassment teenagers reported is online

name-calling, as 42 percent of respondents experienced being called offensive names

online. About 32 percent of teenagers also claim someone has spread false rumors about

them on the internet.

Additionally, the poll found that 25 percent of U.S. teenagers reported receiving

explicit images they didn’t ask for, and 7 percent had explicit images of them shared

without their consent.

With three-fourths of teenagers in the U.S. relying on smart phones for their

internet consumption, it has opened the door for increased instances of nonconsensual

sexual encounters. A separate survey of parents showed 57 percent admit to worrying

about their teens receiving or sending explicit images.

 Nearly 21 percent of teenage respondents also reported harassment from someone

other than a parent routinely invading their privacy, while 16 percent have been recipients

of online physical threats.

Cyberbullying is an increasing problem, evidenced by the 90 percent of teenagers

who believe that online harassment is a growing issue among people their age. About 63

percent of respondents believe it is a major problem.

Experts say a more collective effort between teachers, social media companies

and politicians could improve and reduce the effects of teenagers being bullied online as

teenagers continue to turn to technology.

NORC AmeriSpeak, a national, probability-based panel that represents U.S.

households, conducted sampling and interviewing for the survey. The teenagers involved

in the survey range in age from 13 to 17, and parents and legal guardians were polled as

well.

For the full sample of 743 teenage respondents, there is a margin sampling error

of plus or minus 5.0 percentage points, while it is 4.5 percentage points for the full

sample of 1,058 parent respondents.

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