“BULLYING is now the number-one issue troubling school kids across Australia.
New analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census at Schools survey shows a dramatic rise in both the level of concern Aussie kids have about bullying and the number of hours children are spending in front of a computer screen.
Experts warn this is no coincidence, with smartphones, tablets and social media sites, giving kids fewer opportunities to go home and escape playground bullies.
In 2006, when Australian schoolchildren were spending an average of just three hours a week on a computer, their primary concern was tackling pollution in the country’s waterways.
But with average weekly computer use soaring fourfold to 13 hours in 2013, primarily driven by the popularity of social media sites, kids across every state and territory now nominate bullying as the key issue affecting their daily lives.”
See the live dashboard for CensusAtSchool 2023-2024
