A new poll confirms what too many people already know – the web can be a mean, nasty place. A survey by the Associated Press and MTV of youth in their teens and early 20s found that 56% of respondents had been the target of online taunting, harassment or bullying. A full three-fourths said they considered digital abuse a serious problem. Young people who frequently saw people being mean on social networking sites jumped to 55%, from 45% in 2009. However, compared to 2009, young people now are significantly more likely to intervene, with a majority now saying they would step in if they saw someone being mean online. According to the poll, 15% of young people had shared a nude photo of themselves online, and almost a fourth said they’d been exposed to sexting in some way, while 37% had some experience with sexting images.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Digital Abuse
A new poll confirms what too many people already know – the web can be a mean, nasty place. A survey by the Associated Press and MTV of youth in their teens and early 20s found that 56% of respondents had been the target of online taunting, harassment or bullying. A full three-fourths said they considered digital abuse a serious problem. Young people who frequently saw people being mean on social networking sites jumped to 55%, from 45% in 2009. However, compared to 2009, young people now are significantly more likely to intervene, with a majority now saying they would step in if they saw someone being mean online. According to the poll, 15% of young people had shared a nude photo of themselves online, and almost a fourth said they’d been exposed to sexting in some way, while 37% had some experience with sexting images.
