What to do About Teen Sexting
Over six years ago I wrote a post where I offered advice to teens who receive a sext. “Sexting” is when someone takes a naked or semi-naked (explicit) picture or video of themselves, usually using their phone, and sends it to someone else. We are mostly concerned with these behaviors as they occur among middle […]
New Teen Sexting Data
As regular followers of this blog know, Sameer and I recently collected data from over 5,500 middle and high school students from across the United States. We asked 12 to 17 year-olds to tell us about their experiences with a variety of online problems, including sexting. I thought it would be useful to share some […]
New Bullying Data—and Definition—from the National Crime Victimization Survey
The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) is a large-scale data collection effort led by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. A nationally-representative sample of approximately 90,000 households is selected, and a survey is administered face-to-face or via telephone twice a year for three years to 160,000 persons within those households who […]
Millions of Students Skip School Each Year Because of Bullying
Over five years ago I saw a statistic that jumped out at me: “160,000 students stay home from school every day because of bullying.” This is a compelling and frankly unacceptable number. I thought about including it in a book that Sameer and I were working on at the time. As I started to dig […]
2016 Cyberbullying Data
This study surveyed a nationally-representative sample of 5,700 middle and high school students between the ages of 12 and 17 in the United States. Data were collected between July and October of 2016. Click on the thumbnail images to enlarge. Teen Technology Use. Cell phones and other mobile devices continue to be the most popular […]
New National Bullying and Cyberbullying Data
Here at the Cyberbullying Research Center, we use data to better understand what teens are thinking, doing, and experiencing at school and online. We promote evidence-based and research-inspired policies, procedures, and programming. And given the frequently-changing nature of technology use and misuse, we find it necessary to collect our own data on a regular basis […]
The “Trump Effect” on Adolescent Bullying Behaviors at School
American presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton recently remarked that: “Parents and teachers are already worrying about what they call the ‘Trump Effect.’ They report that bullying and harassment are on the rise in our schools, especially targeting students of color, Muslims and immigrants.” (August 25th, 2016, Reno, NV) But is this accurate? It came out of […]
Ignore, Unfollow, or Unfriend? Managing Facebook Connections in Conflicted Times
We all have them: Facebook friends who post something annoying, inappropriate, inaccurate, or upsetting. It could just be accidentally misspelled words or misused vocabulary. Or debating whether slaves helped to build the White House. Or it could be something much worse. Sometimes these posts stem from carelessness, naiveté, or ignorance. Other times they are clear […]
Review of “UnSelfie”
Parenting expert and educational psychologist Dr. Michele Borba released a new book last week. This by itself isn’t newsworthy (she has, after all, published roughly a book a year for the last quarter of a century). But this latest contribution has the potential to have a significant impact on parents and their children. I’ve followed […]
Bald Eagle Bullying: Power Differential and Vulnerability in the Animal World
The other day I was exiting an academic building on my campus when I noticed a large bald eagle flying low above the lot where my truck was parked. Eagle sightings have become relatively routine in the last few years here in western Wisconsin, but I nevertheless always stop what I am doing to watch […]
