Behind cyber bullying...
"Cyber bullying is bullying. Hiding behind a pretty screen, doesn’t make it less hateful, written words have power." - Anon
• 25 percent of teenagers report that they have experienced repeated bullying via their cell phone or on the internet.
• Over half (52 percent) of young people report being cyber bullied.
• Embarrassing or damaging photographs taken without the knowledge or consent of the subject have been reported by 11 percent of adolescents.
• Of the young people who reported cyber bullying incidents against them, one-third (33 percent) of them reported that their bullies issued online threats.
• Often, both bullies and cyber bullies turn to hate speech to victimize their target. One-tenth of all middle school and high school students have been on the receiving end of “hate terms” hurled against them.
• Over half (55 percent) of all teens who use social media have witnessed outright bullying via that medium.
• An astounding 95 percent of teens who witnessed bullying on social media report that others, like them, have ignored the behavior.
• Unfortunately, victims of cyber bullying sometimes, in an attempt to fight back, can shift roles, becoming the aggressor. Often, this happens as a sort of back-and-forth between victim and aggressor which tends to continue the behavior.
• More than half of young people surveyed say that they never confide in their parents when cyber bullying happens to them.
• Only one out of every six parents of adolescents and teens are even aware of the scope and intensity involved with cyber bullying.
• More than 80 percent of teens regularly use cell phones, making them the most popular form of technology and therefore a common medium for cyber bullying.
• About half of young people have experienced some form of cyber bullying; among them, between 10 and 20 percent experience cyber bullying regularly.
• The most common types of cyber bullying tactics reported are mean, hurtful comments as well as the spreading of rumors.
• Girls are at least as likely as boys to either be cyber bullies or to be targeted as cyber bullying victims.
• Boys are more likely to be threatened by cyber bullies than girls.
• Cyber bullying affects all races.
• Victims of cyber bullying are more likely to suffer from low self-esteem and to consider suicide as a result.
*These statistics were taken from NoBullying.com.
