HIGH POINT -- A recent HPU Poll finds that majorities (54 percent) of North Carolinians have seen someone try to socially or physically intimidate another person through the use of social media. About one-third (36 percent) said that they have not seen this type of behavior, and 10 percent are not sure.

When asked if you add up all the advantages and disadvantages of the internet, half of the respondents (50 percent) said it has been mostly a good thing, and almost two in five (38 percent) said some of both a good thing and a bad thing. A firm 10 percent said that the internet has been mostly a bad thing.Save

Almost two-thirds of poll respondents (63 percent) said that they strongly disagree or disagree when asked if they have felt a reduced sense of self-worth due to things that have been said to them on social media. North Carolinians (44 percent) strongly agree or agree that people who are being bullied on social media should just unplug.

The poll asked how good a job different groups are doing when it comes to addressing online harassment and bullying. Respondents said that parents (37 percent), law enforcement (37 percent), and teachers (35 percent) are doing an excellent or good job. They also said that social media sites (63 percent), elected officials (59 percent) and other users witnessing harassing behavior (55 percent) are doing only a fair or poor job.

While two in five (40 percent) poll respondents indicated that they have been called offensive names online or on their cell phone, majorities did not experience someone sending explicit images (65 percent), someone other than a parent constantly asking where they were, who they were with, or what they were doing (70 percent), someone spreading false rumors (70 percent), being physically threatened (79 percent), and someone sharing explicit images of them without their consent (85 percent).

Four out of five (80 percent) of our poll respondents told us that they use social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Snapchat.

“A large percentage of our poll participants told us that they use social media, and 50 percent said that all things considered, the internet has been mostly a good thing,” says Brian McDonald, associate director of the HPU Poll and adjunct instructor of survey research methods. “When it comes to being bullied or harassed, poll participants think that parents, teachers and law enforcement are doing an excellent or good job. But overall, elected officials, social media sites and other users who witness behavior get lower marks.”