Below are a number of concerning cyberbullying statistics<\/strong> that show the scope of this rising problem, and the need for an effective solution. <\/p>\n\n\n The most interesting cyberbullying facts<\/mark><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019ve ever seen the TV host Jimmy Kimmel\u2019s segment \u201cCelebrities Read Mean Tweets,\u201d you will have an idea of what it means to cyberbully someone. Although this segment is humorous, the reality of the situation is very different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyberbullying is any type of harassing, threatening, demeaning language<\/strong>. It can also involve embarrassing another person online. Typically, this is done through mean comments, online rumors, and even sexual remarks. They\u2019re usually connected with appearance, intelligence, race, or sexuality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Essentially, anything that is posted online that\u2019s intended to hurt or upset someone else, regardless of what the topic is, is considered to be cyberbullying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apart from spreading rumors (33.2%<\/strong>), posting mean comments online (28.7%<\/strong>), and posting sexual remarks (12.1%<\/strong>), cyberbullies among US students<\/strong> commonly use aggressive and pejorative words, threats, profile hacking, and photo-sharing without consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Cyberbullying.org<\/a>)<\/mark><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when they personally know their victims, perpetrators often resort to annoying, upsetting, and embarrassing them online, mostly by mocking their photos or status updates in group chats (35%<\/strong>). Perpetrators can also troll victims in an online game (25%<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Verywellfamily.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n 18% of teens<\/strong> aged 15-17 and 11% of younger teens<\/strong> have experienced their bullies sending their private messages to others or sharing them on public channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Pewresearch.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n Personal appearance (61%<\/strong>) seems to be the most common reason for cyberbullying, followed by intelligence (25%<\/strong>). Racism (17%<\/strong>) and sexual discrimination (15%<\/strong>) are also frequent tools for discrimination, as well as mocking someone because of their financial difficulties (15%<\/strong>) and religion (11%<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Nveee.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s easier to bully someone weaker. Someone who can\u2019t fight back. That\u2019s why bullies often harass someone who is dealing with a mental illness or has a disability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 2007 and 2016, the number of teens experiencing cyberbullying had remained almost the same (32%+-<\/strong>). In 2019 cyberbullying statistics<\/strong>, nearly 43% of teens<\/strong> (mostly girls and LGBTQ community members) had experienced some form of online harassment. Close to half of US adults (41%<\/strong>) who use the internet have dealt with cyberbullying, with 27%<\/strong> reporting severe online harassment, including physical threats (18%<\/strong>), sexual harassment (12%<\/strong>), stalking (13%<\/strong>), and sustained harassment (12%<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Statista.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n This definitely doesn\u2019t come as a surprise, given that Facebook is the dominant social media platform, counting nearly 2.85 billion monthly active users<\/a>, 1.8 billion of whom are US users. While cyberbullying is mostly associated with school children, they aren\u2019t the only targets, and many adults experience cyberbullying themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most common target for cyberbullies are children, young adults (especially girls), students, and members of the LGBTQ community<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As far as the bullies themselves are concerned, they come from all walks of life. Studies show that children with less involved parents and those suffering from depression or anxiety tend to display bullying behavior, but nothing\u2019s conclusive as of yet. To better illustrate these trends, the following cyberbullying graph provides an insightful visual representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only 6% of boys<\/strong> reported being bullied online, compared to 15% of girls<\/strong>, particularly older girls aged 12-17. 41% of older girls<\/strong> reported experiencing some form of online harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Dosomething.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s 45%<\/strong> of young and older teens (especially girls and members of the LGBTQ community) who have been victims of cyberbullies. It\u2019s an alarming percentage that seems to be only increasing. Although a great number of young people (60%<\/strong>) had witnessed their peers aged 12-17 (37%<\/strong>) being bullied, they didn\u2019t bother to try and stop the bullying. Most people don\u2019t want to intervene to avoid becoming victims themselves. This statistic was uncovered by the Florida Atlantic University, in a study of surveys conducted over the past decade. The study also found that 73% of middle and high-school students<\/strong> had experienced bullying on school grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: ScienceDaily.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n This same Florida Atlantic University study found that 12% of respondents<\/strong> confessed that they had bullied someone online at some point in their life. The perpetrators were most commonly boys. LGBT cyberbullying statistics<\/strong> show that LGBT teens are more likely to be bullied than heterosexual teens. More than 12%<\/strong> of LGBT teens reported being cyberbullied, with 58%<\/strong> dealing with hate speech and 35%<\/strong> receiving online threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Netsanity.net<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n There isn\u2019t a single platform where all of the cyberbullying takes place, and no online space is completely free of cyberbullying. Since most children and young adults access the internet via their mobile devices, this is the most common medium through which they experience this type of harassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyberbullying statistics<\/strong> show that Instagram<\/a> is the most common platform for cyberbullying, closely followed by Facebook<\/strong> and Snapchat<\/strong>. Many people experience cyberbullying while playing online multiplayer games as well. While YouTube is among the online platforms with the highest number of users<\/a>, only a tenth of users have so far reported experiencing cyberbullying there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the growing use of mobile devices<\/a>, the problem of cyberbullying in the US has increased<\/strong>. Teens have internet access pretty much everywhere, which makes it very easy for them to bully people online. A recent survey shows that Facebook (37%<\/strong>) and Snapchat (31%<\/strong>) don\u2019t lag far behind Instagram (42%<\/strong>), while there are fewer cases of cyberbullying on WhatsApp (12%<\/strong>), YouTube (10%<\/strong>), and Twitter (9%<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Enough.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Statista research, 38% of online trolls<\/strong> target people on social media, while 23%<\/strong> prefer trolling people on YouTube<\/strong> and other video-sharing platforms. They also often operate on forums, chat rooms, and blogs. 79% of respondents<\/strong> reported their child receiving physical threats while playing games online, while 41% reported<\/strong> their child receiving sexist or racist remarks or experiencing name-calling through mean online comments. According to a Cyberbullying Research Center survey, gamers who prefer MMORPGs (26.8%<\/strong>) are more likely to engage in cyberbullying, followed by those who prefer third-person shooter (24.5%<\/strong>), first-person shooter (14.2%<\/strong>), and sports games (11.9%<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Source: Cyberbullying.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n With over 500 million blogs on the internet<\/a>, it\u2019s no wonder that bloggers are, in fact, one of the most common targets for cyberbullies. While the comment section is usually reserved for discussions and questions for the author, you\u2019ll notice hateful and hurtful comments sometimes tend to be prevalent. The victim of blogging bullying isn\u2019t only the author<\/strong> but includes many commenters as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The other side of blogging bullying is when the author of the blog themselves posts hateful content that\u2019s intended to embarrass, insult, or otherwise upset someone else. While this is most prevalent among school children and students, it\u2019s common among adults as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you want to start a blog<\/a>, keep these facts in mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bullying as a whole has a huge impact on a victim\u2019s mental wellbeing and their overall quality of life, and cyberbullying is no different. As a matter of fact, some studies suggest that bullies tend to be more aggressive online<\/strong> as there are rarely any real-world consequences of their actions, so the impact on the victims could potentially be even greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Victims of cyberbullying often experience much lower self-esteem, greater social anxiety, depression, and many experience suicidal thoughts as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cyberbullying can be a cause of alcohol and drug abuse, eating disorders, poor school performance, and more. All this serves to show how harmful cyberbullying is and how important it is to put a stop to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 2008 and 2015<\/strong>, the number of teens who attempted suicide or had suicidal thoughts has doubled, as revealed at the Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting of 2017. Many cases were the result of cyberbullying.\n
What counts as cyberbullying?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
1. The most common types of online harassment are rumors spread online (33.2%)<\/strong> and comments (28.7%), according to US students.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-most-common-types-of-online-harassment.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n2. 64% of victims who receive an aggressive instant message say they know the perpetrator from in-person situations.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Forms](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Forms-of-online-harassment.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n3. Nearly 1 in 6 (15%) of online teens said they had experienced unwanted forwarding of private communication.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
4. Teens (61%) who report being bullied say it was because of their appearance.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Reasons](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Reasons-for-cyberbullying.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n5. Bullies often target victims with disabilities and mental illnesses.<\/strong>.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Ditchthelabel.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n6. Recent statistics show steady growth in cyberbullying trends.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Statista.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n7. 41% of US adults who use the internet have personally experienced online harassment.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Types](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Types-of-harassment-users-experience.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n8. 77% of online harassment victims reported that they had been harassed on Facebook.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Statista.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\nWho is prone to cyberbullying?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Girls are more likely than boys to be both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Teenage](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Teenage-girls-are-mostly-targeted-by-cyberbullying.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n10. 7 in 10 young people experience cyberbullying before they hit the age of 18.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Ditchthelabel.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n11. About 37% of children between 12 and 17 years experienced cyberbullying at least once.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Comparitech.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n12. From a poll of 20,000, 70% of school students said that someone spread rumors about them online.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Most](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Most-school-students-have-rumors-about-them-spread-online.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n13. More than one in 10 students (12%) admitted to cyberbullying someone else at least once.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Florida Atlantic University)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n14. Over 12% of LGBT youth have experienced cyberbullying.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Cyberbullying](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Cyberbullying-of-LGBT.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhere are people cyberbullied?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
15. 95% of teens in the U.S. are online, and the vast majority access the internet on their mobile device, making it the most common medium for cyberbullying.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Dosomething.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n16. More youths experienced cyberbullying on Instagram (42%) than on any other platform.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"Cyberbullying](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Cyberbullying-in-social-media.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n17. Internet trolls are most active on social media.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Statista.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n18. Respondents with children who play online games reported a higher rate of cyberbullying attacks than those whose kids engage in only standard browsing activities.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Telenor.com<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n19. What types of games do online bullies fancy most?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/firstsiteguide.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/The-types-of-games-online-bullies-fancy-most.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nBlogging bullying<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Impacts of cyberbullying<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
20. More teen suicides are now attributed in some way to cyberbullying than ever before.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(Source: Pas-meeting.org<\/a>)<\/span><\/sub><\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n21. Cyberbullying can have serious impacts on the self-esteem and mental health of people who experience it.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n