Prevent CyberBullying
  • Boys and girls are equally likely to be bullied, but it appears that older youth are more likley than younger youth to be involved.

Who is targeted by Cyberbullies?

How often does it happen? 2,3
Depending on the type of harassment, between 9-34% of young people say they have been targeted in the last year (about 16% say they’ve been targeted monthly or more often):

  • 31% report being targeted by rude or mean comments
  • 13% report having rumors spread about them (whether they were true or not)
  • 14% report being targeted by threatening or aggressive comments
  • 9% report they’ve felt worried or threatened because someone was bothering or harassing them online
  • 4% report someone has used the internet to threaten or embarrass them by posting or sending information for others to see

Who is targeted? 2,3

  • Boys and girls appear to be equally likely to be targets of harassment online.  There is some indication that girls might be more likely than boys to be targeted infrequently (once or twice), but just as likely to be targeted frequently (monthly or more often).
  • Older teens seem to be more likely to be involved than younger teens. In fact, a recent national survey of youth reports that the average age of a teenager involved in cyberbullying is 15 years old. 2
  • Teens who are harassed online may also be experiencing harassment offline.
  • Some youth have related or unrelated social problems.

You should know too that teens who are targeted by harassment are more likely than teens who are not harassed to report harassing others online too. Often this can be retaliation. But, just because someone sends you a mean or harassing message doesn’t mean it’s not harassment if you do the same thing back.

Being upset by the experience 2
Most teens who are targeted are not upset by the experience. So, if you have been targeted but are not upset by it, that’s normal. One-third of teens who have been targeted say the felt very upset or afraid because of what happened. So, if you have been targeted and are upset by it, that’s normal too.

Teens who are upset by the experience are more likely to:

  • Report the harasser was over 18 years old.
  • Be younger themselves (like 10-12 years old).
  • Report aggressive or ‘creepy’ messages, like being asked to send a picture, or being telephoned by the harasser.
If you know someone who has been harassed like this, make sure that they’re okay