CYBER-BULLYING, the abuse of one young person by another using the internet or other technology, is rife according to the results of a new study.

A report out to mark the start of Anti-Bullying Week today reveals some startling statistics on children’s online activity and the cruelty it can subject them to.

The study commissioned by McAfee and the Anti-Bullying Alliance, part of children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau, finds most children’s internet use takes place away from the watchful eye of a parent.

Research suggests some parents may be unintentionally exposing their children to inappropriate behaviour and cyber-bullying through lack of controls and by setting up children’s access to social networks.

Cyber-bullying behaviours are commonplace, with nearly one in five (17 per cent) of London children experiencing mean or cruel behaviour online and a quarter of kids in the capital witnessing the cyber-bullying of a classmate or friend.

Other standout London findings are:

  • Only 15 per cent of parents think that their child is safe online
  • Almost half (47 per cent of parents are concerned about their child being bullied online
  • Half of parents think their child may have been bullied online, 15 per cent know this for certain
  • Nearly half (44 per cent) of parents think their child may be a cyber-bully themselves, 13 per cent have been told that their child is a cyber-bully
  • Nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of children often go online without any parental supervision
  • The same percentage of parents have set up their children’s social profile, while 39 per cent of children had a social network profile before they were 13 years old

Nationally, children and teens are prolific users of the internet, with 26 per cent spending four hours or more online every day.

More than half (53 per cent) of children go online in their own room, 46 per cent on a games console and 66 per cent on a personal smartphone.

A third of parents admit to not having had any conversation with their children about online safety and less than one in five (19 per cent) parents has set parental controls across all internet-accessible devices at home including mobile devices.

The findings reveal some parents actually disagree with current social media site age restrictions, with more than 10 per cent claiming the rules are too limiting and that younger children should be able to join social networks.

Less than a quarter (23 per cent) of children who have directed a comment with cruel or abusive language to someone online consider it ‘mean’ to the person it was directed at, and just nine per cent consider that behaviour to be cyber-bullying.

In addition, 15 per cent think if someone was upset by a mean comment directed at them online, they would be ‘over-reacting’, with a quarter (24 per cet) saying they would be shocked to have their comments perceived as cruel.

More than half (53 per cent) of parents put the onus on education, saying that knowing their child is learning about e-safety in school would make them feel better equipped to help keep their child stay safe online.

But nearly a third (32 per cent) of parents admit better parental personal knowledge of the internet and social networks would help.

Luke Roberts, national co-ordinator of the Anti-Bullying Alliance, said: “Cyber-bullying is increasingly an accepted part of online-culture. We know that young people are struggling to understand what is appropriate online behavior and how to keep safe, and that parents are struggling to know how best to protect their children from potentially harmful online experiences.

“The Anti-Bullying Alliance are calling for a national debate on children and young people’s use of the internet and their online safety in the 21st century, focusing specifically on cyber-bullying.”

Anti-Bullying Week is an annual event set up by the Anti-Bullying Alliance which has been running scince 2006, to give people all over the country a chance to think about bullying and help come up with new ideas on how to prevent it with the aim to create safer environments where children and young people can live, grow, play and learn.

Go to www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk for more details.

How bad do you think the problem of cyber-bullying is? Have you ever experienced it? What do you think should be done to make the internet safer for everyone but especially young people? Add your comments below.