Bullying

Harassment is harassment, whether at school. The playground, on the job, or online. But online bullying is downplayed by many parents and adults. Most victims are stigmatized and mocked as an oversensitivity to a joke. Many people are unwilling to accept that a victim can seriously be hurt by this behavior Internet harassment is not only real and damaging, but it also represents a threat to the most vulnerable, children and adults. Cyberbullying statistics show high costs of online harassment. From increased depression and suicide rates to social anxiety and alienation. The pain and consequences of cyberbullying are as severe as they are undeniable. I’ve chosen just a few percentages to look at:

• 95% of teens are internet users (Cyberbullying Research)
• 45% of teens say they are constantly connected to the internet (Pew Research)
• Only 25% of teens say they spend time with friends in person outside of school (Pew Research)
• 15% of teens admitted to sexting (Jaca Research)
• 35% of girls aged 15-17 say they have received unwanted explicit images (Pew Research)
• 88% of teens admit to sharing too much personal information online (Pew Research)
• More than 59% of US teenagers have experienced bullying or harassment online (Pew Research)
• 38% of teens troll online daily (Statista)
• 90% of US teens believe online harassment is a problem (Pew Research)
• 6% of US teens admit to cyberbullying someone in the past 30 days (cyberbullying research center
• 19% of teens were involved in online aggression in the past year (Intl Perspectives on Cyberbullying)
• 80% of teens say that cyberbullying is funny (Pew Research)
• 15% of teens being bullied in the US keep it a secret (Report Linker)
• More than 21% of American girls in middle and high school reported being cyberbullied through text messages (US Department of Education)
• 15% of children between the ages of 9-12 have been cyberbullied (Cyberbullying Research Center)
• Nine out of ten tweens use apps and websites that allow users to interact and share content with others online. YouTube is the favorite, with 66.9% of tweens using it (Cyberbullying Research Center)
• More than 85% of LGBTQ students in the US experience verbal harassment in school (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network)
• The most common cyberbullying message to an adolescent victim is about dating partners. (Journal of Adolescent Health)
• Instagram is the social media platform with the HIGHEST rate of cyberbullying (Ditch the Label)
• 64% of students who were victims of cyberbullying said that it affected their ability to learn and feel safe at school
• More than half the children observe cyberbullying online, and yet 95% of them ignore the behavior (Yellow Brick)
• 37% of bullying victims develop social anxiety (Ditch The Label)
• Cyberbullying increases suicide attempts by 8.7% (Journal of Health Economics)
• Suicide rates among teens aged 15-19 rose by 57% between 2017-2022
• Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for people aged 15-29
• Students are almost twice as likely to attempt if they have been cyberbullied
• Victims of bullying and cyberbullying can suffer from depression, have academic difficulties, and attempt or think about suicide.