Once again, an urgent call goes out to parents to know what their children are doing online.

For example, I had to intervene in a texting war between my youngest daughter and a school chum. They were calling each other “bitches.”

I phoned the girl’s parents and the mother agreed that this behaviour had to stop (because we all know what cyberbullying can do).

The latest study by the McCreary Centre Society says youth who are cyberbullied are 10 times as likely to bully others.

The report surveyed 30,000 BC students and found that over a fifth of students who had been cyberbullied in the past year had attempted suicide.

And wrap your head around this one: My oldest daughter, age 13, said girls who “cut” (cut themselves) were seen as popular in school and were sought after by the boys. Is that insane or what? Sadly, it’s the only way these girls can get attention, and the boys flock to them because they see their vulnerabilities.

The report tries to untangle the web of online safety and sexting among youth.

It found that about one in five female students and one in 10 males had met someone online who made them feel unsafe.

Students who had met someone unsafe online had been cyberbullied, and were more likely to report poorer mental health.

The executive director of the society says youth are looking to the adults in their life to support them through this. But they often feel that adults don’t know what to do either, other than telling their kids to turn their computers off, which is not realistic for most teenagers.

Many of us parents are guilty of this same behaviour. That’s why we have to do more than just yell, “Get off that damn thing!”

The report found that victims of cyberbullying were more likely to skip school or leave school before graduation.

Eleven per cent of youth who engaged in one online activity after their expected bed time reported being a victim of cyberbulling.

A whopping 36 per cent of 13 year olds who had sexted also had oral sex. (Don’t tell me that.)

Youth who reported receiving support from family, school and their peers were less likely to experience online safety problems.

So parents, do you know what your kids are doing online?

I leave you with an excerpt from a very troubling song by Rihanna, who should know better than to expose our children to such harmful attitudes:

“Bitch better have my money

Y’all should know me well enough

Bitch better have my money

Please don’t call me on my bluff.”

 

Lyonel Doherty, editor