Technology makes bullying easier in schools: Harris Poll
A new Harris Poll survey of 2, 219 adults showed 86% of US adults felt that technology makes it easier for bullying to exist among students; 60% of those currently aged between 18 and 24 experienced bullying in schools, compared to just 10% of the “Baby Boomers.” However, 61% also agreed that overprotecting school children from bullying would not help them to deal with real world problems later in life.

A new survey from the Harris Poll asked adults what they think about bullying in today’s schools- and most agreed that it is a growing problem thanks to technology.

The survey asked 2,219 U.S. adults their thoughts about bullying in K-12 schools between February 17 and 22, 2016.

According to the results, 9 in 10 adults or 86 percent agree that technology makes it easier for students to be bullied- which further survey answers support.

"Unsurprisingly, Millennials are much more likely to have experienced cyber bullying than any other generation (39% vs. 14% Gen Xers, 10% Baby Boomers, and 8% Matures). This number jumps to an astounding 60% when looking at younger Millennials ages 18-24,” the report said.

The adults surveyed were torn on how to handle bullying in schools. 61 percent of adults said overprotecting school children against bullying will not help them deal with real world problems later, but only 26 percent said the best approach to bullying is to ignore it.

A study from researchers at the University of New Hampshire last year found that thanks to the Internet, children are being exposed to bullying both in-person and through technology.

31 percent of students who were bullied said they were bullied through both forms. The study found that students exposed to both forms of bullying felt no relief from the harassment, making the combination far more distressing and perhaps one of the reasons why bullying is an increasing problem for today’s school children.

Overall, 60 percent of adults believe that bullying is more prevalent in today’s schools than it was when they were in school.

Read the full report.

Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor

4/8/2016