A recent poll of Internet users shows that 50 percent of teenagers have been subjected to harassment or intimidation online. The poll, carried out by MTV and the Associated Press, says 56 percent of 14-24 year olds have been mistreated digitally online. This percentage is up from 50 percent in 2009. The most common types of harassment include sending disgusting emails and making anonymous posts on social web forums. The alarming poll also found that 33 percent of respondents engaged in “sexting”, i.e. sending and receiving naked pictures or videos of a sexual nature. Some 10 percent of respondents said that they exchanged in sexual messages with people they know. The results of the study relied on interviews conducted with 1,355 teenagers and adults last August. Ahmad Al-Qadhi, Social Consultant at the Social Counseling Center in Riyadh, said, “The number of online sexual harassment or intimidation complaints is increasing with the growing number of social websites.” Teenagers are more susceptible to online sexual harassment when they enter chat rooms and exchange instant messages. Al-Qadhi advised parents to put the computer in the living room if the user is a child. “Teenagers should know that practicing intimidation and harassment is a crime punishable by law,” he added. __
