Are Montana’s Kids Safe Online? Here’s What One Study Says

I'm a member of a shoulder generation. They call us "geriatric millennials" or my preferred term coined by Iliza Shlesinger, "(NSFW) elder millennial." We are the generation that remembers the times before the internet and are fully steeped in the times after.

Even though I don't have kids, I can appreciate the conversations about the need to be safe online because I've heard it since I was a tween long, long ago. Of course, back then the advice wasn't very thorough or nuanced. Mostly we were told, "Don't go in chat rooms. You don't know who's in there."

But online safety is so much more than that now: cyberbullying, mental health, cyber crime--there is a lot to worry about, and I applaud the work parents, guardians, teachers, and others do every day to keep kids safe online.

Montana Online Safety and Kids: How Safe Are They? 

Using information from sources like the CDC, the Cyberbullying Research Center, Psychology Today, and others, Cloudwards.net looked at online safety across the country to determine which states were the safest for kids. As they said, "no state has a perfect approach" but overall, unfortunately, Montana does worse than average. Let's take a look at the specific findings. These are the categories where Montana was ranked for online safety (a rank of 1 was the best).

Crimes & Threats: Montana ranks 7th which is the highest ranking for Montana for any category of online safety.

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Cyberbullying: Montana ranks 28th.

Cyberbullying & Safety Legislation: Montana ranks 34th.

Mental Health Support: Montana ranks 13th.

Taking these aspects of online safety together, when compared to other states, Montana ranks 31st overall.

If you're looking for tips on how to prevent cyberbullying in schools, here are nine recommendations:

Given that our worst ranking was for the legislation of cyberbullying and safety, this may be an issue you want to write your Montana Senators about.