BULLYING is now the number-one issue troubling school kids across Australia.

New analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Census at Schools survey shows a dramatic rise in both the level of concern Aussie kids have about bullying and the number of hours children are spending in front of a computer screen.

Experts warn this is no coincidence, with smartphones, tablets and social media sites, giving kids fewer opportunities to go home and escape playground bullies.

In 2006, when Australian schoolchildren were spending an average of just three hours a week on a computer, their primary concern was tackling pollution in the country’s waterways.

But with average weekly computer use soaring fourfold to 13 hours in 2013, primarily driven by the popularity of social media sites, kids across every state and territory now nominate bullying as the key issue affecting their daily lives.

Child psychologist Michael Carr-Gregg said the results should serve as a “clarion call to Australian parents, to stop using screen time as a babysitter”.

“The research shows very clearly that there is a correlation between access to technology, and cyber-bullying, that has been very clearly established,” he said.

Dr Carr-Gregg said it was critical that parents “find their digital spine” and crack down on the amount of time children spend online.

He said kids were at greater risk of more intense and frequent bullying, as well as psychological problems including anxiety and depression, the longer they stayed glued to a computer screen.

Cyber bullying expert Susan McLean said bullying had historically affected a smaller number of children, but modern technology has enabled it to become a much more widespread problem.

“There are millions of people, more connected than ever before, almost every child has a smartphone, and the ability to connect to a bully or to a victim has increased as well,” she said.

Ms McLean said parents should be discussing their children’s daily activities online in the same way they would inquire about what happened in the playground.

But she said Aussie kids should be spending less time online.

“Far too often I see, in the work that I do, young people spending an inordinate amount of time online, it is mentally and physically unhealthy and we have to get back to a balance,” she said.