According to the recent research, the number of children being bullied online has doubled over the past year, and now there are more than one in three victims. The poll covered 11- to 17-year-olds, where more than 1/3 reported that they have become victims of cyberbullying. This can be compared with 16% registered back in 2013. 40% said they became witnesses of others being picked on the Internet – this also almost doubles the 22% recorded last year.

The same research also revealed that thousands of teenagers admitted they are using messaging service Snapchat and dating app Tinder on a daily basis. Moreover, some parents encouraged their use, helping them set up the accounts.

McAfee carried out the latest research, polling 2,000 children and the same number of adults with at least one child aged 18 and compared the results with the last year study. It turned out that many parents don’t realize the risks posed on the Internet, with only 27% saying they were worried about cyberbullying, while 2/3 of children are allowed to surf the web without supervision. Still, as many as 77% of parents claimed they had conversations about online safety.

As you can see, there is a real gap between parental concern and the reality of what children can face on the Internet. Maybe parents should be further educated on the social platforms that exist and what ages they are suited for. The security experts warn that cyberbullying today happens across all platforms and children’s use of social media is transient. For example, 17% of the children said they are using dating app Tinder every day, and half the respondents are aged 15 and under. In addition, 37% of children also said they are spending up to ten hours a day on Snapchat, a photo-sharing app. This is despite the recent reports that explicit images taken with this app leaked online.

Maybe parents should also know that the recent report from the Health Select Committee provided evidence that sexting, cyberbullying and inappropriate Internet material directly influenced the increase in mental health problems in children, such as stress and anxiety.

Another research by the charity’s ChildLine service investigated the use of dating apps and websites, revealing that almost half of all kids and young people believe that dating apps can be risky, and 30% feeling they are unsafe. 1/3 of those who have used a dating service have been asked to meet offline, and 38% agreed.