The Cybersurvey is an online survey tool being used in different local authority areas to gather information from young people on cyber abuse and e-safety education. The aim is to use a standard questionnaire and develop baseline data, after which the survey can be repeated from time to time. This will help frontline practitioners in these authorities and schools to evaluate interventions and e-safety education and compare responses between areas.
The advantages of the internet, but also the possible dangers, grow with the increased use of smartphones and other devices e.g. tablets.
There have been a number of well publicised issues surrounding cyber bullying, some with tragic consequences affecting children and young people through social media sites.
The results of this survey, together with other data collection will inform ongoing development of our anti-bullying strategy, policy and procedures and training provision.
Here are some of the highlights from the latest survey conducted for Dudley MBC:
When asked if students had come across certain types of websites or content without searching for it
On the subject of cyber bullying, the survey revealed that of those who had been cyber bullied, two thirds did report it, but 34% told nobody. 66% of those who told someone did get help. But the bullying stopped in only 49% of cases, it reduced slightly in 31% of cases and stayed the same for 13% and actually worsened for 8%.
The survey also explored online risks (eg gambling sites, illegal downloads and personal data security), activities surrounding sexting, and also exposure to homophobic material, along with general media consumption and attitudes to e-safety education.
These are just a few of the statistics available from the survey. For the full results and also results from other geographical areas, please visit the Youthworks website.
The Cybersurvey questionnaire was designed by Adrienne Katz and there were 1130 valid responses (47% boys, 53% girls) in the Dudley survey.
