New Cyberbullying Study

A new study out of UCLA finds cyberbullying is more common than previously thought. Almost 75% of teens reported some cyberbullying during the prior 12 months. The most common type of bullying was name calling. That didn't surprise me, but the second most common type did. The second most common tactic was password theft. If someone steals or guesses your password they can send email in your name, visit websites and make it look like it was you, or edit an online profile and post untrue and unflattering information.

We have to teach our kids to use strong passwords, and to keep them private!

Even though nearly 75% reported bullying, only 10% reported it to their parents. The most common reason for not telling was the teens felt like they just "need to learn to deal with it." The second most common reason was that they were afraid if they told, their parents would limit their access to the Internet.

We need to develop relationships that allow our children to tell us what is going on in their lives without fear of us overreacting.

You may also want to listen to the APM Future Tense podcast on this report.