Cyber bullying - Statistics & Facts

Cyberbullying is a form of harassment in digital communication mediums, such as text messages, internet forums, chat rooms, and social media. As opposed to real-life bullying, online bullying takes advantage of the anonymity of the internet, as well as the possibility to quickly spread rumors, gossip, photos, or (mis)information to large groups of people. In the United States, over 40 percent of adult internet users report having personally experienced cyberbullying in their lifetime. Among teenagers, this phenomenon is even more pronounced, as an ever-increasing number of children are gaining access to digital means of communication at a young age. As of 2020, the cyberbullying victimization rate among middle and high school students stands at an all-time high.

Social media fosters connectivity and (cyber) conflict

Just like physical bullying, online bullying is generally aimed at young people and often originates from schoolmates or other people their age. Victims of abusive online behavior are subjected to anything from threats, humiliation, impersonation, hate speech, stalking, sexual harassment, and discrimination based on religion, race, or sexual identity. According to respondents who experienced targeted hate on the internet, social media platforms like Facebook are the primary cyberbullying environments in the United States. As these websites and apps have low entry barriers, little regulation, and various means of direct communication, they are often used to send unwanted messages or spread harmful content. While this malicious behavior occurs in the digital sphere, exposure to online harassment can severely impact the emotional well-being of victims. Internet users may suffer from anxiety, depression, and stop their online activity altogether, highlighting that cyberbullying leaves not only a digital but also physical and psychological footprint.

Cyberbullying prevention and action

Over the last few years, global awareness of cyberbullying has increased significantly. Even though a large share of affected teens might not disclose digital troubles to family members, parents are more sensitized than ever when it comes to issues like online harassment. This focus on digital security risks and young internet users' safety is also increasingly reflected in U.S. legislation: As of 2018, some 48 states have passed cyberbullying laws, most of them including criminal sanctions for electronic harassment. In response to the rising number of incidents involving sexual harassment, 26 states have issued sexting laws. A total of 42 states have introduced revenge porn laws that address the distribution of sexually explicit content without consent. As most online attacks occur on social media, calls for more regulation, liability, and action by social media companies are growing louder. Facebook removed close to 11 million bullying and harassment-related content items from their website in 2019. Still, the dark figure of unreported and undetected cases on the network and the entire digital landscape remains considerably higher.

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Cyberbullying victimization rate of U.S. middle & high school students: 36.5%

U.S. state with the highest rate of electronic bulling among students: New Hampshire (20.1%)

Online environment with the highest share of cyberbullying incidents: Facebook

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Cyber Crime

Cyber crime encounter rate in selected countries 2021

Share of adult internet users in the United States who have personally experienced online harassment as of January 2021

Cyber Bullying

U.S. internet users who have experienced cyber bullying 2021

Global number of hate speech-containing content removed by Facebook from 4th quarter 2017 to 2nd quarter 2022 (in millions)

Social Media & User-Generated Content

Facebook: hate speech-containing content removal Q4 2017 - Q2 2022

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Prevalence

Basic Statistic Cyber crime encounter rate in selected countries 2021
Cyber crime encounter rate in selected countries 2021
Percentage of internet users in selected countries who have ever experienced any cyber crime from November to December 2021
Basic Statistic U.S. internet users who have experienced cyber bullying 2021
U.S. internet users who have experienced cyber bullying 2021
Share of adult internet users in the United States who have personally experienced online harassment as of January 2021
Premium Statistic U.S. student lifetime cyber bullying victimization rate 2007-2019
U.S. student lifetime cyber bullying victimization rate 2007-2019
Lifetime cyber bullying victimization rate among middle and high school students in the United States from May 2007 to April 2019
Basic Statistic U.S. student lifetime cyber bullying offending rate 2007-2019
U.S. student lifetime cyber bullying offending rate 2007-2019
Lifetime cyber bullying offending rate among middle and high school students in the United States from May 2007 to April 2019
Basic Statistic Cyber bullying: common types of bullying 2019
Cyber bullying: common types of bullying 2019
Percentage of U.S. middle and high school students who were cyber bullied as of April 2019, by type of cyber bullying
Basic Statistic U.S. middle and high school cyber bullying perpetration 2019
U.S. middle and high school cyber bullying perpetration 2019
Prevalence of cyber bullying perpetration among middle and high school students as of April 2019
Basic Statistic U.S. states with the highest cyber bullying rate 2018-2019
U.S. states with the highest cyber bullying rate 2018-2019
U.S. states with the highest rate of electronic bullying among students in the grades 9 through 12 as of 2019
Basic Statistic U.S. states with the lowest cyber bullying rate 2018-2019
U.S. states with the lowest cyber bullying rate 2018-2019
U.S. states with the lowest rate of electronic bullying among students in the grades 9 through 12 as of 2019

Harassment

Premium Statistic U.S. cyber bullying environments 2021
U.S. cyber bullying environments 2021
Online environments where cyber bullying victims in the United States have been harassed as of January 2021
Premium Statistic Share of U.S. teens who have experienced cyber bullying 2018
Share of U.S. teens who have experienced cyber bullying 2018
Percentage of teenagers in the United States who have experienced selected types of cyber bullying as of April 2018
Premium Statistic Share of U.S. teens who have experienced cyber bullying 2018, by gender
Share of U.S. teens who have experienced cyber bullying 2018, by gender
Percentage of teenagers in the United States who have experienced selected types of cyber bullying as of April 2018, by gender
Premium Statistic Teens in the U.S. who have been cyber bullied in 2018, by age and frequency
Teens in the U.S. who have been cyber bullied in 2018, by age and frequency
Percentage of teenagers in the United States who have been cyber bullied as of April 2018, by age and frequency
Premium Statistic Teenagers in the U.S. who have tried to help someone who was cyberbullied in 2018
Teenagers in the U.S. who have tried to help someone who was cyberbullied in 2018
Percentage of teenagers in the United States who have tried to help someone who was cyberbullied as of April 2018
Basic Statistic U.S. teen most common emotions when using social media 2018
U.S. teen most common emotions when using social media 2018
Most common emotions of teenagers experience in the United States when using social media as of April 2018
Basic Statistic Negative social media effects according to U.S. teens 2018, by emotional well-being
Negative social media effects according to U.S. teens 2018, by emotional well-being
Negative social media effects according to teenagers in the United States as of April 2018, by emotional well-being
Basic Statistic U.S. teens encountering hate speech on social media 2018, by type
U.S. teens encountering hate speech on social media 2018, by type
Percentage of teenagers in the United States who have encountered hate speech on social media platforms as of April 2018, by type
Basic Statistic Teen perspectives on negative effects of social media in the U.S. 2018
Teen perspectives on negative effects of social media in the U.S. 2018
Leading reasons why teenagers in the United States feel that social media has a mostly negative effect on people their own age as of April 2018
Basic Statistic Reasons for online hate and harassment in the U.S. 2020
Reasons for online hate and harassment in the U.S. 2020
Reasons for online hate according to online harassment victims in the United States as of January 2020
Basic Statistic Impact of online hate and harassment in the U.S. 2020
Impact of online hate and harassment in the U.S. 2020
Consequences of online hate and harassment according to internet users in the United States as of January 2020
Basic Statistic U.S. user experiences with dating apps or websites 2019
U.S. user experiences with dating apps or websites 2019
Share of users in the United States who say their own experience of online dating sites or apps have been positive or negative as of October 2019
Basic Statistic U.S. negative online dating behavior encounters 2019
U.S. negative online dating behavior encounters 2019
Negative behaviors encountered on online dating sites or apps according to users in the United States as of October 2019

Awareness

Basic Statistic Cyber bullying awareness worldwide 2018, by country
Cyber bullying awareness worldwide 2018, by country
Overall awareness of cyber bullying in select countries worldwide as of April 2018, by country
Basic Statistic Parent awareness of their child being cyber bullied 2018, by country
Parent awareness of their child being cyber bullied 2018, by country
Percentage of parents who report their child has been a victim of cyber bullying in 2011, 2016 and 2018, by country
Basic Statistic Parent awareness of children in their community being cyber bullied 2018, by country
Parent awareness of children in their community being cyber bullied 2018, by country
Percentage of parents who know a child in their community being victimized by cyber bullying as of April 2018, by country
Basic Statistic Parent awareness of cyber bullying via selected platforms 2018
Parent awareness of cyber bullying via selected platforms 2018
Knowledge of which types on online platforms are used to cyber bully children according to parents worldwide as of April 2018
Basic Statistic Parent awareness of cyber bullying via selected platforms 2018, by region
Parent awareness of cyber bullying via selected platforms 2018, by region
Knowledge of which types on online platforms are used to cyber bully children according to parents worldwide as of April 2018, by region
Basic Statistic Global opinion on the severity of cyber bullying and counter-methods 2018
Global opinion on the severity of cyber bullying and counter-methods 2018
Global opinion on the severity of cyber bullying and current methods to address it as of April 2018
Basic Statistic U.S. college students who think hate speech is a serious social media problem 2019
U.S. college students who think hate speech is a serious social media problem 2019
Share of college students in the United States who think hate speech is a serious problem on social media as of December 2019
Basic Statistic U.S. college students who think hate speech is a social media problem 2019, by gender
U.S. college students who think hate speech is a social media problem 2019, by gender
Share of college students in the United States who think hate speech is a serious problem on social media as of December 2019, by gender

Prevention and action

Basic Statistic U.S. states with state cyber bullying laws as of January 2021
U.S. states with state cyber bullying laws as of January 2021
Number of U.S. states with state cyber bullying laws as of January 2021, by policy
Basic Statistic U.S. states with state sexting laws as of April 2019, by policy
U.S. states with state sexting laws as of April 2019, by policy
Number of U.S. states with state sexting laws as of April 2019, by policy
Premium Statistic Facebook: bullying and harassment-related content removal Q4 2017 - Q2 2022
Facebook: bullying and harassment-related content removal Q4 2017 - Q2 2022
Global number of bullying and harassment-related content taken action on by Facebook from 3rd quarter 2018 to 2nd quarter 2022 (in millions)
Premium Statistic Facebook: hate speech-containing content removal Q4 2017 - Q2 2022
Facebook: hate speech-containing content removal Q4 2017 - Q2 2022
Global number of hate speech-containing content removed by Facebook from 4th quarter 2017 to 2nd quarter 2022 (in millions)
Premium Statistic Facebook: content violation appeals Q1 2022
Facebook: content violation appeals Q1 2022
Number of user appeals regarding Facebook content removals as of 1st quarter 2022 (in 1,000s)
Basic Statistic Number of videos removed from YouTube worldwide as of Q3 2022
Number of videos removed from YouTube worldwide as of Q3 2022
Number of videos removed from YouTube worldwide from 4th quarter 2017 to 3rd quarter 2022
Basic Statistic Share of videos removed from YouTube worldwide Q3 2022, by reason
Share of videos removed from YouTube worldwide Q3 2022, by reason
Distribution of videos removed from YouTube worldwide from 2nd quarter 2019 to 3rd quarter 2022, by reason
Basic Statistic Distribution of video comments removed from YouTube worldwide Q3 2022, by reason
Distribution of video comments removed from YouTube worldwide Q3 2022, by reason
Distribution of removed YouTube comments worldwide as of 3rd quarter 2022, by removal reason

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Key figures

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