CyberBullyingCyberbullying Statistics (older archives available here)

  • Nearly half (46%) of teens age 13-17 have been bullied or harassed online, with physical appearance being seen as a relatively common reason why. (Pew Research, December 15, 2022)
  • Young people (10-16 years) who accessed or shared sexual content or images of cyberbullying or violence had up to a 50% higher risk for thoughts of suicide. (JAMA Network Open, September 20, 2021)

  • A survey of more than 6,000 10-18-year-olds from June to August last year found that about 50% of children had experienced at least one kind of cyberbullying in their lifetime, according to a report published in February by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC).

    In the 11 European countries included in the report, 44% of children who had been cyberbullied before lockdown said it happened even more during lockdown. (February 2021)

  • There has been a 70% increase in the amount of bullying/hate speech among teens and children in the month since the Covid lockdown began. (DigitalTrends.com, April 8, 2020)

  • Teachers report that cyberbullying is their #1 safety concern in their classrooms according to a recent Google survey (January 2019)

  • One in three young people in 30 countries said they have been a victim of online bullying, with one in five reporting having skipped school due to cyberbullying and violence, in a new poll released by UNICEF and the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) on Violence against Children. (UNICEF, September 3, 2019) 

  • Children and young people under 25 who are victims of cyberbullying are more than twice as likely to self-harm and enact suicidal behavior, according to a study. Perpetrators themselves are also at higher risk of experiencing suicidal thoughts and behaviors. (Swansea University, Wales, UK 2018)

  • Key Findings:
    -Nearly half of young people (47%) have received intimidating, threatening or nasty messages online
    -Children and young people are using social media for longer periods, and using multiple profiles
    -Underage (U13) use of social media is common place
    -There is a connection between intensive social media use and mental ill health.
    -Of children currently experiencing a mental health problem, over 2/3 (68%) say they experienced cyberbullying in the last year.
    (Safety net: The impact of cyberbullying on children and young people’s mental health, February 2018)
    Summary report here

  • A Majority of Teens Have Experienced Some Form of Cyberbullying. 59% of U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, and a similar share says it's a major problem for people their age. (Pew Research Center  Sept. 27, 2018).

  • More youths experienced cyberbullying on Instagram than any other platform at 42 percent, with Facebook following close behind at 37 percent. Snapchat ranked third at 31 percent. While the survey participants use YouTube more than any other platform, the video-focused social media was only responsible for 10 percent of the reported cyber bullying.

    Seventy-one percent of the survey participants said that social media platforms do not do enough to prevent cyberbullying. (The Annual Bullying Survey 2017, Ditch the Label - UK Study).

  • 71% of young generations say they are concerned about cyberbullying (Reportlinker June 2017)
  • A 2016 report from the Cyberbullying Research Center indicates that 33.8% of students between 12 and 17 were victims of cyberbullying in their lifetime. Conversely, 11.5% of students between 12 and 17 indicated that they had engaged in cyberbullying in their lifetime. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2016).
  • Among Internet users of Canadians between ages 15 - 29, 17 percent (or 1 in 5) said they had been victims of cyberstalking or cyberbullying in the previous five years. (Statistics Canada, December 2016).
  • In a random sample study over 14% admitted to cyberbullying another person, with spreading rumors online, via text, or email being the most common form of bullying. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2015).
  • Girls (40.6%) are much more likely to be victims of cyberbullying than boys (28.8%). Girls also dominate social media, while boys tend to play videogames. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2015).
  • A 2015 random sample study of 11-15 year olds in the Midwest found that over 34% reported being the victim of cyberbullying in their lifetime. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2015).
  • A study by McAfee, found that 87% of teens have observed cyberbullying. (McAfee, 2014 Teens and the Screen study: Exploring Online Privacy, Social Networking and Cyberbullying).
  • More than half of teens have witnessed cyberbullying on social media. Cox. (2014) "Cox 2014 Internet Safety Survey." The Futures Company.
  • 54% of teens surveyed have witnessed online bullying: Cox. (2014) "Cox 2014 Internet Safety Survey." The Futures Company.
    • 39% on Facebook
    • 29% on YouTube
    • 22% on Twitter
    • 22% on Instagram
  • 60% of teens who admit to being bullied online have told an adult (compared to 40% last year). Cox. (2014) "Cox 2014 Internet Safety Survey." The Futures Company.
  • Teens who report being bullied say it was because of their:
    • 61% appearance Media Center
    • 25% academic achievement/intelligence
    • 17% race
    • 15% sexuality
    • 15% financial status
    • 11% religion
    • 20% other Cox. (2014) "Cox 2014 Internet Safety Survey." The Futures Company.
  • Encourage parents and guardians to spend 15 minutes per day talking to their kids. (The KnowBullying App has conversation starters). Cox. (2014) "Cox 2014 Internet Safety Survey." The Futures Company.
  • Of the students that reported cyberbullying (Zweig, Dank, Lachman & Yahner, 2013):

    · 25% of teens on social media reported having an experience resulting in a face-to-face confrontation with someone.

    · 13% reported concern about having to go to school the next day.

    · 12% reported being called names they didn’t like via text messages.

    · 11% received a text message from another student intended to hurt their feelings.

    · 8 % reported having physical altercations with someone because of something that occurred on a social network site.

    · 6%reported another student sending an instant message or chat to hurt their feelings.

    · 4% reported having something put on a profile page to hurt their feelings.

    · 3% reported receiving a nasty email from another student.

  • There is online bullying among youth 8-17 worldwide. (Microsoft, June 2012)
  • 95% of social media-using teens who have witnessed cruel behavior on social networking sites say they have seen others ignoring the mean behavior; 55% witness this frequently. (PEW Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)
    • 84% have seen the people defend the person being harassed; 27% report seeing this frequently.
    • 84% have seen the people tell cyberbullies to stop bullying; 20% report seeing this frequently.
  • 66% of teens who have witnessed online cruelty have also witnessed others joining; 21% say they have also joined in the harassment. (PEW Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)
  • 90% of social media-using teens who have witnessed online cruelty say they have ignored mean behavior on social media; 35% have done this frequently. (PEW Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)
    • 80% say they have defended the victim; 25% have done so frequently
    • 79% have told the cyberbully to stop being mean and cruel; 20% have done so frequently
  • Only 7% of U.S. parents are worried about cyberbullying, even though 33% of teenagers have been victims of cyberbullying. (PEW Internet and American Life Survey, 2011)
  • 85% of parent of youth ages 13-17 report their child has a social networking account. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)
  • 52% of parents are worried their child will be bullied via social networking sites. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)
  • 1 in 6 parents know their child has been bullied via a social networking site. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)
  • One million children were harassed, threatend or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on Facebook during the past year. (Consumer Reports, 2011)
  • Bullying over texting is becoming much more common. (University of New Hampshire, 2011)