Cyber Bullying

Survey
Revised March 2009

Funded by Bell

Professor Faye Mishna

Margaret & Wallace McCain Family Chair in Child & Family

Professor Robert MacFadden

Professor Tahany Gadalla, Joanne Daciuk, Steven Solomon, Charlene Cook

 CYBER BULLYING SURVEY: SCHOOL SUMMARY REPORT
Revised March 2009

INTRODUCTION

The Internet has created a whole new world of social communications, particularly for young people
whose use of e-mail, websites, instant messaging, web cams, chat rooms and text messaging is
exploding worldwide. While these new tools of electronic communication are widely used for
positive purposes, they can also be a means through which children and adolescents bully and are
bullied by their peers. There is little existing research on cyber bullying. In response to this
knowledge gap, we conducted a study on cyber bullying in order to gain an understanding of the
nature and impact of online bullying. This research was generously funded by Bell.

In order to systematically examine the phenomenon of cyber bullying we administered a survey on

cyber bullying of children and adolescents. Student participants in the study were drawn from
schools within two school boards within the Greater Toronto Area; the Toronto District School
Board (TDSB) and UJA Board of Jewish Education (BJE). Twenty-eight schools (18 secondary and
10 elementary/middle) in the Toronto District School Board participated and five schools (2
secondary and 3 elementary/middle) in the UJA Board of Jewish Education participated. A
representative sample of children and adolescents in grades 6, 7, 10 and 11 was surveyed once we
received parental consent and student assent.

The survey questionnaire was developed with the help of an advisory group, including personnel
from both participating school boards and a number of other organizations. Two age-appropriate
survey instruments (one for grades 6 & 7 and one for grades 10 & 11) were used to collect
information on students’ experiences with cyber bullying.

The survey used a random, multistage, stratified, and cluster sampling design in order to ensure
heterogeneity of the sample, and to provide a more complete representation of the range of
experiences related to cyber bullying. Within this design, all the classrooms within the grade range
of the selected schools were chosen to complete the survey instrument.

In addition, a convenience sample of parents, teachers, educational assistants and school

administrators was surveyed regarding their knowledge of and experience with cyber bullying of
students. Surveys for parents were translated into the appropriate languages.

The information collected from these surveys will be instrumental in informing education, and
intervention programs in order to prevent and intervene with cyber bullying.

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STUDENT SURVEY
Student Demographics

ƒ 2186 students participated in the study from 33 schools in the GTA

ƒ 2038 students (93%) participated from 28 schools in Toronto District School Board (TDSB)
ƒ 148 students (7%) participated from 5 schools in the UJA Board of Jewish Education (BJE)

Grades

Schools in Total
# students % students
Grade 6 & 7 1019 47%
Grade 10 & 11 1167 53%

Gender

Schools in Total
# students % students
Girls 1191 55%
Boys 987 45%

Place of Birth

Schools in Total
# students % students
In Canada 1351 66%
Outside Canada 692 34%

Primary Language Spoken at Home

Schools in Total
# students % students
English 1212 56%
Other 970 44%

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 Family Structure

Schools in Total
# students % students
Biological parents 1667 76%
Single parents 366 17%
Other 148 7%

Home Ownership Status

Schools in Total
# students % students
Owned 1363 63%
Rented 664 31%
Don’t know 141 6%

Reported Grades

Schools in Total
# students % students
Mostly A’s 992 43%
Mostly B’s 995 46%
Mostly C’s 237 11%

Use of Computers and Cell Phones

ƒ 99% of total students have a computer in their home and 67% have 2 or more computers

ƒ 2/3 (67%) of total students spend 2 or more hours a day on a computer

ƒ 2/3 (65%) of total students communicate via the Internet with a friend once a day or more

ƒ 29% of total students report playing Internet games once a day or more

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How Long Information/Pictures Stay on the Internet

Schools in Total
# students % students
When I delete it 540 25%
Up to a year or more 207 10%
Forever 523 24%
Don’t know 887 41%

Location of Home Computer

Schools in Total
# students % students
My bedroom 987 45%
Public space 1060 49%
Other 123 6%

ƒ Web sites most frequently visited by students in total include: sites for homework (57%),
social networking sites (54%), internet game sites (52%), and entertainment sites (42%)

ƒ 1/3 (32%) of total students have given their passwords to a friend

ƒ 1/2 (53%) of total students have a cell phone

ƒ 55% of total students talk on cell phone once a day or more

ƒ 38% of the students text message once a day or more

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Experienced Being Cyber Bullied

ƒ In the past three months 50% of total students have been bullied online
Some of these students were bullied more than once. The frequencies of the following tables
will therefore add up to the total number of bullying incidents rather than the total number of
students.

Schools in Total
# incidents %
Was called names/made to feel bad 585 27%
Had rumours spread about them 470 22%
Had someone pretend to be them online 386 18%
Was threatened 230 11%
Was sent unwelcome sexual words/photos 205 10%
Was asked to do something sexual 181 9%
Had someone send their private picture to others 150 7%

How

Schools in Total
# incidents %
MSN Messenger 570 40%
Email 372 25%
Internet game sites 182 12%
Social networking sites 142 10%

By Whom

Schools in Total
# incidents %
A friend 973 36%
A student from school 590 22%
A stranger 342 13%
A student from another school 310 11%
Don’t know 298 11%

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 How Did Students Feel

Schools in Total
# incidents %
Nothing, it didn’t bother me 971 21%
Angry 744 16%
Embarrassed 373 8%
Sad 328 7%
Scared 240 5%

What Did Students Do

Schools in Total
# incidents %
Nothing 522 52%
Confronted the person 200 20%
Told a friend 130 13%
Told a parent 77 8%
Told a teacher 27 3%

Bullied Others

ƒ In the past three months 34% of total students have bullied other kids online
Some of these students bullied others more than once. The frequencies of the following
tables will therefore add up to the total number of bullying incidents rather than the total
number of students.

Schools in Total
# incidents %
Called someone names/made them feel bad 473 22%
Pretended to be someone else online 295 14%
Spread rumours about someone 241 11%
Threatened someone 106 5%
Sent someone’s private pictures to others 72 3%
Sent unwelcome sexual words/photos to others 49 2%

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Watching Others Being Bullied

ƒ In the past three months 28% of total students watched someone being bullied online

Schools in Total
no yes % yes
Watched, but didn’t participate 566 265 32%
Tried to get the person to stop 658 173 21%
Objected to the person bullying 716 115 14%
Left the online environment 736 95 11%
Joined in 757 74 9%
Tried to befriend the person being bullied 772 59 7%
Reported the bullying to someone 775 56 7%
Objected, but not to the person bullying 805 26 3%

Students’ Views of Parents’ Knowledge about Internet

Parental Supervision of Internet Use

Schools in Total
# students % students
No 1324 62%
Yes 512 24%
Don’t know 307 14%

Feelings of Internet Safety

Schools in Total
# students % students
Very safe 1057 51%
Somewhat safe 923 44%
Not at all safe 94 5%

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Views about Cyber Bullying

Reasons Students are Bullied Online

Schools in Total
no yes % yes
Appearance 1761 222 11%
Race 1865 118 6%
Performance in school 1866 97 5%
Gender 1931 52 3%
Sexuality 1937 46 2%

Reasons Students Bully Online

Schools in Total
no yes % yes
Appearance 1843 108 6%
Performance in school 1894 56 3%
Race 1895 57 3%
Performance in school 1894 56 3%
Sexuality 1911 29 2%
Gender 1930 40 2%

Seriousness of Cyber Bullying

Schools in Total
# students % students
It is serious 711 39%
It is not serious 473 26%
Don’t know 638 35%

Link with Traditional Bullying

ƒ 36% of students who bully/get bullied online report bullying/being bullied in real life
ƒ 21% of students who were bullied online report being bullied in real life
ƒ 26% of student who bullied others online report bullying others in real life.

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PARENT SURVEY

156 parents participated in the study (convenience sample)

Demographics

ƒ Sample consists of 76% women and 24% men

ƒ Parent age: 30-39 (23%), 40-49 (64%) 50-59 (13%)

ƒ 51% born in Canada

ƒ 59% English is their first language

ƒ 72% employed full time

Computer Use

ƒ Time parents spend online in a week: 15% none, 45% 1-4hr, 22% 9hrs, 18% over 10hrs

ƒ Time their child spends online in a week: 2% none, 39% 1-4 hr, 29% 5-9hr, 27% over 10hrs
and 3% don’t know

ƒ Considers their level of expertise when using the Internet: 59% proficient or expertise, 26%
minimally competent, 14%, novice,

ƒ Considers their child’s level of expertise when using the Internet: 76% proficient or
expertise, 16% minimally competent, 4% novice, 5% don’t know

Internet Safety

ƒ Almost all of the parents (96%) discussed Internet safety with their children

ƒ 89% feel they know some or a lot of what child does online

ƒ Two thirds (66%) of time parents feel they can protect their child from what is on Internet

ƒ One third (33%) of parents are concerned about how much time child spends on Internet

ƒ Three quarters (73%) of parents have set limits on time children use the Internet

ƒ 84% of parents feels their child follows their rules concerning the Internet

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Cyber Bullying

ƒ Almost all parents feel cyber bullying is a problem (94%)

ƒ 84% feel their child would tell them if they were cyber bullied

ƒ 18% say their child has been cyber bullied, 9% don’t know

ƒ 7% think their child has bullied others online, 17% don’t know

ƒ 77% of parents feel real life physical bullying and cyber bullying are equally serious

EDUCATORS (TEACHERS, TEACHERS AIDS, & PRINCIPALS) SURVEY

313 teachers participated in the survey (convenience sample)

Demographics

ƒ 77% female and 27% male

ƒ Age: 20-29 (14%), 30-39 (26%), 40-49 (31%), 50-59 (25%), 60 or older (4%)

ƒ Sample consisted of teachers (87%), administrators (6%), educational assistants (2%), other
(6%)

ƒ 53% have taught for 10 years or more

Internet Safety

ƒ 19% of teachers have felt threatened or harassed online

ƒ 47% of teachers feel their ability is good at school to monitor and shelter students from
inappropriate Internet material

Cyber Bullying

ƒ 98% of teachers agree that cyber bullying is a problem

ƒ This term, 74% of teachers have heard about more than one incident of cyber bullying

ƒ Teachers’ view of grade level participating in cyber bullying: 35% - Grades 4-7, 58% -
Grades 8-10, 27% - Grades 11-12

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ƒ 33% of teachers felt students would tell them if they were cyber bullied, 37% of teachers
have had a student tell them about a case of cyber bullying

ƒ 54% of teachers think their students would tell a friend if they were cyber bullied

ƒ 7% of teachers felt students would tell them if they were cyber bullying other students

ƒ 40% of teachers think their students would tell a friend if they cyber bully other students

ƒ 83% of teachers feel real life physical bullying and cyber bullying are equally serious

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