The number of children subjected to cyber bullying doubled from last year, according to new research in the U.K.
McAfee, an internet security firm, surveyed 2,000 children, between ages 11 and 17, and 2,000 adults who had at least one child under the age of 18 about their experiences with cyber bullying.
Out of the children surveyed 35 percent reported falling victim to cyber bullying, doubling the 16 percent of children who reported the same thing last year.
"As a mother myself, it is worrying to see that parents are setting up social profiles for their kids and, as a consequence, unknowingly putting them at risk online," Samantha Humphries-Swift, of McAfee, said to The Guardian.
The survey found that children are also spending a lot of time on social apps including Tiner, an app targeted at adults to help with hook-ups and dating (you only have to be 13 to sign up), and Snapchat, an app where you can send a picture for a few seconds before vanishing forever.
More parents are having discussions with their children this year about online safety, although they are less worried that their children are actually going to fall victim to the epidemic.
"While it is encouraging to see that these conversations are happening, there are areas in which parents may not be completely aware of their children's online behavior," Andy Phippen, professor of social responsibility in IT at Plymouth University, said to The Guardian. "It's now time for parents to take the conversations to the next level and become further educated on the social platforms that exist, what ages they are suited for and what type of behaviour they encourage. Cyberbullying happens across all platforms and children's use of social media is transient."
