{"id":92520,"date":"2024-05-01T16:21:11","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T20:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/?p=92520"},"modified":"2024-05-01T16:25:44","modified_gmt":"2024-05-01T20:25:44","slug":"cyberbullying-on-the-rise-teen-violence-decreasing-says-brock-co-authored-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brocku.ca\/brock-news\/2024\/05\/cyberbullying-on-the-rise-teen-violence-decreasing-says-brock-co-authored-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Cyberbullying on the rise, teen violence decreasing, says Brock co-authored report"},"content":{"rendered":"

While violence among children and youth has decreased around the world since 2018, cyberbullying is on the rise, according to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report co-written by a Brock researcher.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can celebrate the trend that many of the traditional forms of adolescent violence are going down, but our report issues a word of caution about the uptick in cyberbullying,\u201d says Professor of Health Sciences William Pickett, one of the lead authors of “A focus on adolescent peer violence and bullying in Europe, central Asia and Canada.”<\/a><\/p>\n

These forms of violence include indicators like bullying, aggression, physical altercations, psychological abuse and cyberbullying.<\/p>\n

Using 2021 and 2022 data on adolescents ages 11, 13 and 15 from 44 countries, the researchers examined the role of gender, age and social inequality in adolescent peer violence along with changes in adolescent bullying and physical violence over time.<\/p>\n

They found that the experiences of boys and girls have become more similar over time as virtual forms of violence have increased while \u201cface-to-face\u201d forms of violence in boys have decreased.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn these countries, including Canada, there have been a lot of effective policies and programs to address violence at the school and societal levels,\u201d he says. \u201cAlso, I think this type of behaviour is less socially acceptable and common compared to the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there is still much to learn about why the gap between boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 violent behaviours is narrowing, says Pickett.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe world is changing for kids. They\u2019re living in a world that is more and more engaged in social media made by adults. We’re finding out just how profound that is on the health and development of kids,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The researchers found cyberbullying is on the rise, with one in six school-aged children experiencing cyberbullying in the countries examined. Pickett says this trend is not unexpected given young peoples\u2019 lives \u201care more virtual,\u201d particularly following COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.<\/p>\n

Key findings in the report include:<\/p>\n