Cyber bullying is probably a lot more prevalent than you think. The statistics are in fact quite shocking. Take a look at these figures:

A 2008 Cyberbullying Research Center Survey of 2,000 middle-school students (grades 6-8) from a large school district in the U.S. shows that approximately 43% of middle-school students have experienced one of several experiences that could be defined as cyber bullying, the most common being: Receiving an email that made them upset (18.1%, not including spam) Receiving an instant message that made them upset (15.8%) Having something posted on their MySpace that made them upset (14.1%). Even more alarming, a September 2009 AP-MTV survey of 1,247 young people, aged 14-24, found that: 50% of youngsters in this age group have experienced digitally abusive behavior, with older teens aged 18-24 (52% vs. 47%) and females more likely to be targeted (53% vs. 42%) 45% of young people report that they see people being mean to each other on social networking sites. And in the UK, a recent Anti Bullying Alliance (ABA) survey revealed the following: One in five (20.5%) of students aged 10-11 had been cyber bullied in the past 12 months 18% of the 10-11 year olds surveyed have been cyber bullied while at home.

According to the Cyberbullying Research Center both boys and girls are likely to report feeling angry, sad, and embarrassed.

Slightly more girls than boys feel frustrated, while significantly more boys are scared as a result of cyber bullying.

According to the AP-MTV survey, 56% of those who have been bullied reported that they were “very” or “extremely” upset the most recent time they were targeted. Moreover, young people who have been bullied were twice as likely to have received treatment from a mental health professional and nearly 3 times more likely to have considered dropping out of school!


Cyber bullying and self esteem

Research done by the Cyber bullying Research Center shows that victims have lower self-esteem than non victims.


Cyber bullying and suicide

Middle-school victims of cyber bullying are more apt to commit suicide. The AP-MTV survey found that 8% of cyber bullying victims and 12% of sexting victims have considered ending their own life compared to 3% of people who have not been bullied and were not involved in sexting.


But do they think before they act?

It’s also interesting to note that according to the AP-MTV survey, only about half (51%) of young people say they have thought the idea that things they post online could come back to hurt them later. In other words – about half of the young people do not think before they post!

Cyber bullying is a serious issue. Click here to find out what you can do to prevent it.

Sources:

2009 AP-MTV Digital Abuse Study

Cyberbullying Research Center

Cyberbullying, a Pew Internet & American Life Project report, June 27, 2007

New research on cyberbullying highlights the role of parents in prevention , Anti Bullying Alliance

Stop Cyber bullying before it starts – a National Crime Prevention Council publication

Tags: cyber bullying, statistics, suicide, self esteem, feelings