Anti-Bullying Week.

Over at Intuitive Media they have been busy looking at the problem of bullying. The difference is that the team have been working for many years to reduce the problem. Here Bob Hart reports on the success of IM’s safe social networking sites in creating a cyberspace where young people are less likely to experience the trauma of bullying.

In his piece, Extending Horizons: It’s Anti-Bullying Week – EVERY WEEK , Bob says:-

Recent research into bullying worryingly reveals that 70% of children suffer some form of bullying and that cyber bullying is dramatically increasing. Children are more likely than ever to suffer nasty or aggressive texts, emails, and messaging, as well as bullying in chat rooms.

However, a recent survey of 3,000 children aged 6 to 14 carried out by Intuitive Media reveals that members of its safe social learning networks are far less likely to be bullied than other children.

The survey asked members of SuperClubsPLUS.com and GoldStarCafe,net, aged 6 to 13 if they had suffered any bullying and found that less than 1 in 6 children had suffered any form of bullying. Half of these 500 children had experienced face-to-face verbal abuse, a quarter suffered physical abuse and a negligible proportion had experienced any cyber-bullying.

Quite an achievement and one that demonstrates the effectiveness of facilitated online communities.

Check the link above for more information.