Washington — it happened to sarah ball when she was 15 and a sophomore at hernando high school in florida. she was bullied online.
a friend posted something on facebook. it said: "i hate sarah ball, and i don't care who knows."
a facebook group called "hernando haters" asked people to rate her looks. somebody called her a "waste of space" in an email. she also received a very mean text. it came on her 16th birthday.
sarah didn't tell her mom about any of it until her mother saw the messages. then she told her everything.
seeking at home
more young people are telling their families about being treated badly online. it's . a poll released thursday found there is still a lot of "digital abuse." but it is happening a little bit less.
abuse that happens online is called cyberbullying. teenagers and young adults are more aware about the harm it causes, the poll showed. a few more people are also willing to tell a parent or sister or brother about it.
"it was actually quite embarrassing, to be honest," remembers ball. now she is an 18-year-old college freshman. but "really, truly, if it wasn't for my parents, i don't think i'd be where i'm at today."
the survey's findings come a week after two florida girls, ages 12 and 14, were arrested for serious bullying.
the poll found that almost half of young people ages 14 through 24 in the u. s. said they have had at least one brush with some kind of online bullying. that is down from about 56 percent in 2011. how did those victims react? more than one-third went to a parent. only 27 percent did that just two years ago. and 18 percent asked a brother or sister for . only 12 percent did two years ago.
more girl victims than boys
"i feel like we're making progress," said sameer hinduja. he is co-director of the cyberbullying research center. "people should be encouraged."
when asked what , 72 percent of those who faced online abuse said that they changed their email address, screen name or cell number. meanwhile, 66 percent who talked to a parent said it too. less than one-third of people who tried to get revenge said that . just as many said it had no effect. in fact, 20 percent said getting revenge actually made the problem worse.
girls were more likely than boys to be the targets of online meanness. they also were more likely to reach out for .
the poll also showed that young people are more aware what cyberbullying can do. some 72 percent said online abuse was a problem that society should address. that is up from 65 percent in 2011. people who think it should be accepted as a part of life declined from to 24 percent. the number was 33 percent two years ago.
it's cool to care about others
hinduja credits school programs that are making it "cool to care" about others. adults are more aware of the problem, too, he said.
that was the case for ball. her parents encouraged her to fight back by speaking up. "they said this is my ticket to other people," she said.
ball sent copies of the abusive emails, texts and facebook pages to school authorities, reporters and politicians. she also organized an anti-bullying rally. she still maintains a facebook site. it is called "hernando unbreakable." she also works with local kids identified by the schools as victims of cyberbullying.
but many kids fear making it worse, ball said. that was one reason jennifer tinsley, 20, said she didn't tell her parents about a problem in the eighth grade. another student used facebook to threaten to stab and beat her.
"i didn't want them to worry about me," tinsley, now a college student in fort wayne, ind., said of her family. "i just didn't want the extra attention."
what is the main idea? 2 details?