Surveys Say Online Bullying is on Rise

By MIKE STOBBE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA As many as one in three U.S. children has been ridiculed or threatened through computer messages, according to one estimate of the emerging problem of cyber-bullying.

Another new study found the problem is less common, with one in 10 kids reporting online harassment.

But health experts said even the lower estimate signals a growing and worrisome public health issue.

"I wouldn’t consider something that 10 percent of kids report as low," said Janis Wolak, a University of New Hampshire researcher who co-authored the second study.

Wolak and other researchers, though, found that in many cases the incidents of online harassment were relatively mild.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is trying to draw attention to how U.S. adolescents are affected by e-mail, instant messaging, text messaging, blog postings and other electronic communications.

Last year, CDC officials convened a panel of experts to focus on the topic. They also funded a special issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health to publish more research on the subject. The journal released the articles Tuesday.

It’s difficult to say how severe online harassment is as a public health issue, because a posting or e-mail that might upset some children is shrugged off by others, CDC officials said.

And the result of surveys can differ depending on how questions are asked.

But the issue has attracted the attention of lawmakers in New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and other states that have introduced bills or instituted programs designed to reduce cyber-bullying. Last week, officials in a Missouri town made Internet harassment a misdemeanor, after public outrage over the suicide of a 13-year-old resident last year.

The parents of Megan Meier claim their daughter, who had been treated for depression, committed suicide after a teenage boy who flirted with her on MySpace abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he heard she was cruel. The story gained national prominence this month when it was revealed the boy never existed it was a prank allegedly started by a mother in the girl’s neighborhood.

The schoolyard continues to be a source of in-person bullying: Studies indicate roughly 17 percent of early adolescents say they are victims of recurring verbal aggression or physical harassment.

Some kids suffer both in-person and electronic harassment, but it’s more often one or the other. A study by California-based researcher Michele Ybarra found 64 percent of youths who were harassed online were not also bullied in person.

The new studies made conflicting estimates of the size of the problem. The largest estimate came from Ybarra, president of Internet Solutions for Kids, a non-profit research organization.

One Ybarra study was based on an online survey of 1,588 children ages 10 to 15. It found 34 percent were victims of Internet harassment at least once in the previous year, and 8 percent said they were targeted monthly or more often.

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