Tech Shout!

A new study conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project, has concluded that around one-third of online teens have stated that have been harassed on the internet. Amongst those harassed, girls and participants of social-networking sites were more likely to be targets.

On the other hand, two-thirds of teens say bullying and harassment take place more often offline.

As per the study the most common forms of cyberbullying are publicly disclosing someone else’s private e-mail or messages, sending threatening or aggressive messages and spreading rumors online.

Furthermore, Pew also regards it as cyberbullying when prankster uploads an awkward picture of someone else without permission.

“Bullying has entered the digital age,” Lenhart mentioned. “The impulses behind it are the same, but the effect is magnified. Now, with a few clicks, a photo, video or a conversation can be shared with hundreds via e-mail or millions through a Web site.”

While 32 percent of online teens admit that they have been victims to at least one of such acts, the proportion went up to 38 percent among online girls and 39 per cent among users of social-networking sites like News Corp.’s MySpace and Facebook.

The Pew study took place from Oct. 23 to Nov. 19, where a telephone study of 886 U.S. Internet users age 12 to 17 was conducted. The study has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

For a fact, the internet is become an increasingly place, especially when it includes dealing with social-networking sites. And it’s best that one remains cautious about his or her safety and thinks twice before revealing any sort of info about him or herself, cause it surely is a big bad world.