Keeping you connected to today’s youth audience Volume 6 | Issue 4 | April 2007

E D I T O R

Chris MoessnerResearch Director Youth and Education Research

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Our TakeOn It

E D I T O R I A L

Chris MoessnerResearch Director, Youth and Education Research

We all know that kid. Big and burly, with meathooks for arms. Not the brightest bulb in the lamp.Part “duh”, part “anger”… add it up and it forms“danger.” Yes, with your lunch money now jinglingin his front pocket, it’s your neighborhood bully.

Or maybe you know that girl. The “Mean Girls”clone who uses social prowess to belittle. Or theperson whose pointed turn of a phrase can twistlike an emotional knife.

Those are common profiles – or at leastperceptions – of a bully. Indeed, bullying oftendescribes a form of harassment perpetrated byan abuser having more physical and/or socialpower and dominance than the victim possesses.The victim of bullying is sometimes referred

Teens, aged 13 to 17, arean online population –and they spend a lot oftime online. They usethe Internet to talk tofriends, gather informa-tion for a report, checkout sports scores, andpractice their own socialskills on a larger popula-tion. Their access to theInternet can be found inmany different places, including at home,at school, and at friends’ houses. Unlikeyounger tweens and children where par-ents are quite vigilant about protectingtheir kids from specific sites and putlimits on the amount of time spentonline, teens are largely unsupervisedby their parents while online. However,as teens get older, they believe that theirparents should be more concerned withwhat they see on the Internet.

This access leads to new opportunitiesfor teens to interact, and opens the doorto both positive and negative experi-ences. One unfortunate outcome hasbeen an increase in cyberbullying – use of the Internet, cell phones, or other technology to send or post text or imagesintended to hurt or embarrass anotherperson. The National Crime Prevention

Council (NCPC) commissioned a studywith Harris Interactive Inc. to explorethe issue of cyberbullying among middleschool and high school-aged students inthe United States. A nationally represen-tative sample of 824 middle and highschool students aged 13 through 17 participated in the online survey in February 2006.

Cyberbullying is not an uncommonoccurrence among teens in this agegroup. Slightly more than four in tenteens (43%) report that they have experi-enced some form of cyberbullying in thepast year. The incidence of cyberbullyingis higher among females than males; andis most prevalent among 15- and 16-year-olds, with more than half of theseteens reporting at least one cyberbullyingincident in the past year.

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Cyber-bullying

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YouthConsumer

Preferences

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Ask aQuestion

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CyberbullyingBy Chris Moessner, Research Director, Youth and Education Research

13 Year-Olds

14-year-Olds

15-Year-Olds

16-Year-Olds

17-Year-Olds

36%

% Ever Experienced Cyberbullying

41%

54%

52%

33%

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to as a target. The harassment can beverbal, physical or emotional.

Times have changed and while the classic bully still roams the school yard, a new bullyhas emerged. You probably know this kid too– the bubbly 13 year-old with the laptopcomputer and the text messaging device; nice to your face and “burning” you online.Bullying has morphed into a new form – onethat has no borders and whose audience isglobal. This is the cyberbully, wreaking emo-tional pain on her victim through her writingson her blog. Sometimes he anonymouslysends emails containing lurid and embarrass-ing photoshopped pictures of his target toeveryone in school. Other times she’ll beupfront and own her statements, taunting thevictim to stand up and disprove the rumors.

All you need to be a cyberbully is a computer,web access, text messaging device, an audi-ence and a target. Game on!

Some teens are not bothered by this. They tell us it is funny and harmless and often forwardthe messages on to others for a good laugh.Others are hurt deeply by these actions andfeel helpless to stop them. Cyberbullyinghurts just as hard as the physical punch from Brutus and most youth don’t know how to stop the cyberbully.

Teen suicide, school shootings, and physicalbullying incidents are only a few ways someteens have chosen to handle the problem.Still others never say anything, sinking into adepression that affects their grades, relation-ships, and self-esteem.

NCPC has worked hard to understand thisissue – from all perspectives. NCPC presidentand CEO Alfonso Lenhardt: “Cyberbullying canhave the same debilitating effects on a youngperson as face-to-face bullying – depression,a drop in grades, loss of self-esteem, suicide,and other violent acts. We simply must dosomething to stop this devastating problem.”

NCPC has brought forward a series of goodtips for youth (and adults) to help them ward

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Base: All Respondents (n=824)

Angry

Hurt

Embarassed

Scared

Not bothered

How did these experiences make you feel?(By Grade Level)

58%

Middle School High School

56%

37%

32%

24%

34%

18%

11%

48%

58%

Base: Experienced cyberbullying (n=380)

Immediately following a cyberbullyingincident, victims are likely to take animmediate action, like asking the personto stop, using electronic means to blockthe person from communicating withthem, or simply talking to a friend.Teens are twice as likely to talk to afriend about the incident rather thananother adult or their parents.

Teens are likely to experience a widerange of emotions as a result of experi-

encing cyberbullying, from anger toembarrassment to indifference. Over half of cyberbully victims claim to havebeen angry (56%), one-third report feel-ing hurt (33%) and embarrassed (32%),and one in ten said they felt scared(13%). Females are more likely thanmales to report all of these emotions;especially females aged 13 to 15. Manyteens, however, report that the cyberbul-lying incidents did not bother them.

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off the cyberbully. Many of these ideas aresimple common sense extensions of how tofight off the classic bully. (See inset box). The message is simple: Refusing to write it;Refusing to forward it; Simply deleting it.

Michelle Boykins, NCPC Director ofCommunications, said “The cyberbullyingcampaign is so visually and emotionallypowerful because the research was superblyexecuted. We gained insight into teens’ viewson the issue, their emotions, and what actionsthey believed would be effective. In fact ourtagline comes directly from the responsesobtained in the research.”

Harris Interactive is proud to have worked with NCPC and the Ad Council to learn more about tweens’ and teens’ perceptions aboutCyberbullying. We invite you to view theadvertising developed by NCPC and the AdCouncil that pounds home the devastatingpain caused by cyberbullies.

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Angry

Hurt

Embarassed

Scared

Not bothered

How did these experiences make you feel?(By Gender)

48%

Males Females

63%

26%

38%

29%

35%

12%

13%

61%

52%

Base: Experienced cyberbullying (n=380)

In most situations, teens claim to know the person who cyberbullied them.Often, this is a friend, somebody theyknow from school, or another personthey know. Less than one in four teens(23%) who have experienced some formof cyberbullying was bullied by someonethey don’t know. This “unknown” cyber-bully was generally found in a chat roomsaying mean or vicious things or by send-ing cruel or threatening emails, IMs andtext messages.

Most teens believe that people cyberbullyeither because it’s funny (81%) or thatthey simply don’t like the person (64%)and view the victim as a loser (45%).Nearly six in ten teens (59%) said thecyberbully probably didn’t see the actionas a “big deal.” Similarly, nearly half ofteens said that cyberbullying happensbecause the cyberbully doesn’t perceivethere to be any tangible consequences(47%) or they wouldn’t get caught (45%).

Teens believe that cyberbullying preven-tion needs to occur at three different

To help parents deal with this new threat to their teens, NCPC has created a brochure for parents that is available for downloading on www.ncpc.org. Outlined below are a few tips from the brochure.

• Set guidelines: Set rules for Internet use andmonitor your teen’s use of technology (Internet,cell phones, and other devices). As teens getolder, they believe their parents should be moreconcerned with what they see and hear online.

• Select a central location: Place your home com-puter in a central place in your home, such asyour kitchen or living room. It is easier to moni-tor your teen’s Internet use this way.

• Discuss the issue: Set expectations for onlinebehavior and discourage your teen from postingothers’ personal information or contributing toslam sites.

• Save the evidence: If your teen has been cyberbullied, make sure that you copy all mes-sages and websites – you may need them forreporting purposes.

• Encourage positive behavior: Make sure yourteen is not sending or posting text or imagesintended to hurt or embarrass another person.

• Block cyberbullying messages: Learn howyou and your teen can ask to block cyberbullyingmessages through the Internet service provider(ISP), social network site, or chat room modera-tor. Seventy-one percent of teens believe this isthe most effective way to prevent cyberbullying.

To view the advertising, visit www.ncpc.org and click on cyberbullying under current campaigns.www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying

About the National Crime Prevention Council

The National Crime Prevention Council (NCPC) is a private, nonprofit organization whose primary mission is to be thenation’s leader in helping people keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe from crime. NCPC managespublic service advertising under the National Citizens’ Crime Prevention Campaign – symbolized by McGruff the CrimeDog® and his “Take A Bite Out Of Crime®” slogan – and acts as secretariat for the Crime Prevention Coalition of America,more than 300 national, federal, state, and local organizations representing thousands of constituents who are committedto preventing crime. NCPC is funded through a variety of government agencies, corporate and private foundations, anddonations from private individuals. For more information on crime prevention issues, visit www.ncpc.org

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CyberbullyingContinued from page 3

same technologies to propagate lies,deceptions, half truths and out-and-outattacks to make others miserable.

More action is needed at all levels toturn the tide against the cyberbully.We need to encourage our kids toreport cyberbullies to the appropriateauthorities. Schools, community centersand youth clubs might develop andenforce rules of online and emailconduct regarding online behavior andrestrict those who break those rules.

levels – individual, online institutions,and parents – but most notably, at anindividual level. According to teens, themost effective way to prevent cyberbully-ing is to be able to block people whocyberbully from communicating withthem (71%), simply refusing to pass alongcyberbully messages (62%), and tellingtheir friends to stop cyberbullying (56%).Slightly more than five in 10 teens (56%)believe that online groups/ISPsshould have the moderators whocan block cyberbullying mes-sages. Slightly more than fourin ten teens believe parentsshould tell their kids thatcyberbullying is wrong(45%) or thatthey shouldreport cyber-bullying eventsto an adult(43%). Unlike face-to-face bullying,teens do not viewcyberbullying as an issuethat should be addressed by the schooland report that school intervention wouldbe largely ineffective.

ConclusionI recently talked with a police officer whois a school resource officer in a rural highschool. His description of the Internet –and the supporting technology tools likeemail, texting blogs and websites – wasquite colorful and poignant.

“Imagine you lived in a city in whichthere was no police force, no rules, crimeis rampant, you can say what ever youwant to whomever you want, everyonelies and no one is too worried about it.”

Ultimately, Cyberbullying is an issue thatwe all face. It doesn’t matter if you are atween, teen or an adult, we are all strug-gling with how to deal with so manycommunications avenues – and howto use them correctly without hurtingothers. The Cyberbully is using these

People should always be ableto block people who bully online.

*Refuse to pass along cyberbully messages.

Online groups should have moderatorswho can block cyberbullying messages.

*If a friend cyberbullies, tell them to stop.

Parents should tell all their kidsthat cyberbullying is wrong.

*Report any cyberbullyingyou know about to an adult.

Messages should be on TV, radio,and online about not cyberbullying.

All schools should have rulesagainst cyberbullying.

Schools should educate students in classroomsor small groups about not cyberbullying.

Teach adults how to helpyoung people stop cyberbullying.

*If you see cyberbullying online, send a messagetelling the person it is wrong to do that.

Schools should hold assemblies to educatestudents about not cyberbullying.

*If you know a cyberbully victim,tell them you are sorry it happened.

None of these.

71%

Which do you think would be an effective way to prevent cyberbullying?

62%

56%

56%

45%

43%

38%

37%

33%

32%

31%

25%

24%

10%

Base: All respondents (n=824)

*Self-Action

Lastly, more must be done to make parents, teachers and school counselorsmore aware of the situation AND placein their hands some easy-to-use tips forhow to talk to youth and other parentsabout online behavior.

Volume 6 | Issue 4 | April 2007

For more information, please contact us at:877.919.4765 or visit our website at www.harrisinteractive.com

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Tracey McNerney 585.214.7756tmcnerney@harrisinteractive.com

©2007, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.Reproduction prohibited without the express writtenpermission of Harris Interactive. Other product and/orcompany names used herein are trademarks of theirrespective owners. EOE M/F/D/V 04.07

Contact UsTo make suggestions regarding this newsletter or to discuss a business issue involving youth or the peopleand issues that influence today’s youth, please contact us at 877.919.4765 or info@harrisinteractive.com.

It’s 8 a.m.–do you know whatAmerican kids are doing?

YouthPulseSM Released

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To learn more about AutoYOUTH, contactus at 877.919.4765.

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Ask a Question……Get an Answer

Have a burning question you would liketo ask kids and teens? Here’s your chanceto submit a free question for our upcom-ing YouthQuery SM youth omnibus. Justsend us an email (HI_youth_research@harrisinteractive.net) with your sugges-tion. We will pick one question eachmonth and then publish the results in the next issue of the newsletter.YouthQuery is your chance to ask one or a series of questions of 1,100 youngconsumers nationwide, and get accurate,projectable answers within days. To learnmore about YouthQuery, contact us at877.919.4765.

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