Click here for updates on this story
Miami, FL (WFOR) — The pandemic has turned school into a virtual experience for millions of kids. Researchers say cyberbullying is still happening and it’s not just among teenagers.
COVID-19 forced Shellen White’s son to take classes at home. She says that’s when remote learning became a lesson in cyberbullying for her son Jaylen.
“Once he started logging into Zoom for his classes, we started to receive messages,” she says.
Someone apparently hacked the sixth grader’s computer and sent messages like “I will find and kill Jaylen.”
“He can’t understand why somebody would want to bully him, and he really doesn’t understand why somebody would want to kill him,” White says.
New research from the Cyberbullying Research Center finds more than 14% of tweens, nine to 12 years old, have experienced cyberbullying.
“It affected their feelings about themselves, it affected their friendships,” says professor Dr. Justin Patchin, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center.
He says it’s not clear if online bullying is increasing now that kids are spending more time on devices.
But a report from L1ght did find a 70% increase in hate speech between teenagers during online chats when the pandemic started.
“The vast majority of kids who are cyberbullied are also being bullied at school,” Patchin says.
He says it’s important to make sure kids can protect themselves.
“Work with them to understand the tools that the app, or the game, or the site have to kind of thwart online abuse. So, do they know how to block somebody? Do they know how to report somebody?” Patchin says.
He adds that it’s also important for kids to feel comfortable enough to talk to their parents about cyberbullying when they experience it.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.