iCyberSafe.com starts 2012 with some rather depressing news about cyberbullying in Australia. A report by the Ipsos Social Research Institute states that Australia currently ranks 5th in the world for cyberbullying but 1st for cyberbullying specifically in social networking, using sites such as Facebook.

The report is based upon a survey of parents carried out in 24 countries. 87% of Australian parents said that their children or children in their community had experienced some sort of harrassment on social networking sites.

Ipsos Director, Ryan Williams, said “Cyberbullying is when a child or children (under the age of 18) intentionally intimidate, offend, threaten or embarrass another child or group of children specifically through the use of information technology.  While 15 years ago this phenomenon was virtually nonexistent, awareness of cyber bullying is currently quite high right around the world. Two thirds of respondents were aware of the phenomena, with awareness in Australia coming in at 87% – ahead of all other nations with the exception of Indonesia.”

The report also shows that in Australia traditionally held views that chatrooms are the biggest danger is now not the case, with Australia ranking 22nd out of 24. This mirrors the research that iCyberSafe carried out in 2010 when this site was first established.

Cybersafety continues to be one of the most important issues facing our children, and it is vital that parents stay in tune with the dangers and aware of their childrens’ online activities.

Sites like iCyberSafe.com and www.cybersmart.gov.au are invaluable sources of information for parents.