Study: Cyber Bullying a Growing Threat in Texas Schools

All the talk about fighting cyber bullying doesn't seem to be making it to the cyber bullies.

News Radio 1200 WOAI reports that a new Pew Research Center study found that nearly six in every 10 teens in Texas have been targets of on line bullying.

90% of teens say cyber bullying is a 'problem' for people their age, and two thirds say it is a 'major problem.'

Maureen Molak of Alamo Heights, who is co-founder of the David's Legacy Foundation, which works to stop cyber bullying in honor of her son David Molak, who killed himself due to on line bullying, isn't surprised.

"There is clearly a huge need for education," she said.  "We are having to turn away schools which are wanting us to come out and do presentations."

According to Pew, the most common types of cyber bullying are, in order of frequency:

Offensive name-calling: 42 percent

Spreading of false rumors: 32 percent

Receiving explicit images they didn't ask for: 25 percent

Constant asking of where they are/what they're doing/who they're with, by someone other than a parent: 21 percent

Physical threats: 16 percent

Having explicit images of them shared without consent: 7 percent

And teens say in the old days, when bullying was done face-to-face in the school yard, a student could simply walk away and be safe in his or her home or with friends.  Considering that today's teens live on social media, the bullying follows them everywhere.

"We hear it all the time," she said.  "We have parents who reach out to use and tell us what their kids are going through, and then we hear it from principals."

IMAGE; GETTY


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