Social media is a great way to interact with the public. It’s a great way to leave a review for a product or service, a way for artists to keep in touch with fans, businesses to update their customers with new products and services, but it is also a way for users to abuse others, sometimes anonymously by saying things online they might not necessarily say in real life.This is the sad reality and according to the NASUWT (National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers), it seems that the abuse teachers are facing online on social media platforms is on the rise. Not only are students found to have been abusive to teachers, but their parents as well. In a recently conducted poll, it was found that 60% of the 1,500 teachers polled have faced abuse.
This is an increase from last year’s poll which was at 21%, which was still pretty high but to jump to 60% in a year is shocking. 48% of teachers said that the insults posted against them were done by students, 40% said they were by parents, and the remaining 12% said that both the parents and students were to blame.
According to Chris Keates, the union’s general secretary, “It is deeply worrying to see that the abuse of teachers has risen by such a huge margin this year. Equally concerning is that it appears that more parents are the perpetrators of the abuse. The vile, insulting and personal comments are taking their toll on teachers’ health and well-being, and undermining their confidence to do their job.”
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