A new national poll shows that bullying is seen as more of a problem for young Americans today than ever before – and that parents are seriously conflicted when it comes to teaching kids how to appropriately respond.
The poll, commissioned as a joint project between Workplace Options and the Tyler Clementi Foundation, found that 64 percent of American adults believe bullying to be more prevalent among young people today than it was during their own childhood. With the proliferation of social media, text messaging and other forms of instant communication, the threat and reach of bullying has expanded.
“Youth bullying is not an issue that only impacts kids,” said Alan King, president of Workplace Options, an integrated employee well-being provider. “Nothing happens in isolation. It’s a serious concern that affects parents, businesses and the community, too. The results of this poll show that as a whole, we have a long way to go to curb this problem.”
Respondents were split on how to teach kids to best handle bullying situations that involved either online or in-person threats. According to the poll:
– 53 percent of respondents said children should be taught to notify an authority figure when faced with bullying
– 24 percent said direct confrontation was the best response
– Males (31 percent) were much more likely to recommend direct confrontation than females (13 percent)
– And 8 percent said ignoring the problem was the best way to handle bullying
“Parents and educators need to regularly check in with youth about bullying behavior,” said Sean Kosofsky, executive director for The Tyler Clementi Foundation, a national organization working to end online and offline bullying. “Young people need to be taught respect, empathy for others and to resist the temptation to use technology to be cruel. Youth and adults should not be bystanders to bullying; they should be ‘upstanders’ and report abuse.”
“The key to progress is education and intervention. Bullying can leave emotional scars for decades. Adults should not assume bullying is innocent teasing” he added.
The bystander dilemma
One of the most difficult decisions for adults is when to intervene in a youth bullying scenario. Results of the poll show that when family is not involved, most adults are keen to turn a blind eye:
– 69 percent of respondents said they would intervene if a bullying situation involved a family member or someone they personally know.
– But just 44 percent said they would intervene if they saw a scenario that did not involve a personal acquaintance.
Other results of the poll include:
– 50 percent of respondents have experienced or witnessed bullying in their workplace
– More minority respondents (75 percent of Hispanics; 74 percent of African-Americans) than white respondents (60 percent) believed that bullying is a more serious problem for youth today than in the past
– Bullying is largely seen as a “not in my backyard” issue – 64 percent of respondents believe bullying is more of a problem today than in the past, but just 12 percent believe it is a serious problem for youth in their own county.
The poll was conducted from January 16-19 among a national sample of working adults by Public Policy Polling. The margin of error is +/- 4.1 percent.
For more information on the poll results, visit WorkplaceOptions.com. For more information about the Tyler Clementi Foundation, click here.
From Workplace Options