Many of us probably assume that when cell phones are allowed in school, cyberbullying is more common. However, according to the U.S. Department of Education National Center for Education Statistics, this is not the case. A recent data point mentioned that schools who allow cellphones had less reports of cyberbullying.
NCES asked principals about the rules of the public schools in a 2016 survey on crime and safety. The survey found that 66% of schools had rules in place where students could access their phone during school.
Schools who didn’t allow cell phone use during school had a higher rate of daily or weekly cyberbullying.
When looking at how race differentiated with cyberbullying, the report found schools with majority of white students had higher rates of cyberbullying when phones weren’t allowed. Schools with majority of nonwhite students didn’t have a large difference in cyberbullying with phone usage.
All-in-all, cell phone usage hasn’t been found to directly impact cyberbullying. However, schools should still be taking precautions to prevent cyberbullying. DSC has a solution to help teachers monitor students online. Reach out to your account manager to learn more today.
Source: THE Journal
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