Cyber bullying has continued to be a problem in our schools and I think parents should take notice.

Nearly 35 percent of kids have been threatened online, according to dosomething.org, and almost one in five have had it happen more than once. Among this percentage, being ignored and disrespected were the most common forms of cyber bullying.

This can be preventable if parents take notice and check what their children are texting on their phones and look at what they are saying on their social networks.

Four out of 10 middle school students have had their passwords stolen and changed by a bully who then locked them out of their own accounts, according to dosomething.org. Four out of 10 is too many. As a community, we should do something about this.

Also, according to dosomething.org, the psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to real-life bullying outcomes, except for the reality that with cyber bullying there is often no escape. School ends at 3 p.m., while the Internet is available all the time. Kids on vacations or during the weekends can’t get away from online bullies in their own homes.

I hope everyone knows how severe cyber bullying is in our community and around the United States. Some teens have committed suicide because of cyber bullying.

Vaughn Sawyer, Auburn

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