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Cyberbullying and Online Harassment
Friday April 8, 2011
by Daniel Weiss
Online harassment, also called cyberbullying, can take many forms, including spreading rumors, gossiping, impersonating someone, name-calling or making threats. Although online harassment does not include physical violence like traditional forms of bullying, two-thirds of teens think it is a serious problem. This fact sheet provides details about who is being bullied online, where it occurs, how it impacts youth and what the risk factors are.
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How common is online harassment?
Thankfully, online harassment impacts a minority of youth. One study found that only 9 percent of youth ages 10-17 had been harassed online in the past year.1 Another study found that 14 percent of boys and 25 percent of girls reported ever being bullied online.2 A third study among youth ages 10-15 found that 34 percent had experienced some form of online harassment in the past year, including:
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Rude or mean comments – 31.0%
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Rumors spread online – 13.1%
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Threatening or aggressive comments – 13.8%3
No matter which numbers you use, Internet harassment impacts millions of youth each year. Researchers also found that among those reporting harassment:
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50% were harassed more than once
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32% reported chronic harassment (more than 3 times in the previous year)
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45% knew the harasser in person before the incident
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57% reported online-only contacts 4
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25% reported receiving an aggressive offline contact (the harasser telephoned, came to the youth’s home, or sent gifts)5
Risk factors for online harassment
Research shows a number of risk factors that increase the chances of online harassment. One obvious factor is that youth who tend to use interactive online communications more frequently, such as instant messaging, chat, online journals and blogs, are also targeted for harassment more often.
Other factors include talking online with people the youth hasn’t met in person, high conflict with parents, physical or sexual abuse, offline interpersonal victimization, and aggressive behavior and social problems. 6
Researchers also found that those youth harassed by peers they know were about five times more likely to have used the Internet to harass someone they were mad at than youth not harassed. 7
Who are these cyberbullies?
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Half are adolescents8
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More girls (59%) than boys (41%) engage in online harassment9
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Harassers spend more time online per week (38.4 hours, compared to 26.8 hours for teens overall)10
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Harassers are more likely to have engaged in sexting (31% vs. 19% for teens overall) 11
How does online harassment impact youth?
Among all youth reporting online harassment, most were not terribly bothered, but for many it was a distressing experience. Research shows that among youth reporting online harassment:
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38% were distressed by the incident12
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Girls and preteen youth were more likely to be distressed13
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68% disclosed the incident to another person (32% to parents, 12% to other authority)14
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35% felt threatened or embarrassed because of information about them that was sent to others, indicating that many episodes are not peer-to-peer15
According to one report, “youth targeted by online-only contacts were more likely to be distressed when the harassment involved a series of incidents by the same harasser; the harasser was age 18 or older, or asked the youth for a picture.”16 It seems that most youth are able to recognize the poor decisions of their peers and were only distressed by truly threatening incidents.
Researchers also identified certain characteristics that were associated with less distress:
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Youth with high Internet use who were harassed by known peers were less likely to be distressed17
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Among youth harassed by online-only contacts, being a teen (13–17) was somewhat associated with less distress18
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49% of targets ended the harassment easily with actions such as blocking or ignoring the harasser, or without any action at all19
Where does online harassment typically occur?20
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Location |
Ever in last year |
Monthly or more |
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IM |
54.8% |
48.3% |
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Chat rooms |
19.2 |
27.5 |
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Social networking site |
27.5 |
27.3 |
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Email |
20.0 |
25.2 |
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Playing games |
24.4 |
34.4 |
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Blogging |
6.5 |
11.2 |
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Conclusion
Researchers have recognized that because harassment can occur in many places online, some parents will rush to limit the use of these forums for their children. While media literacy and Internet usage rules are important steps to minimize harassment, researchers caution that often more is at play in these incidents. One report concluded:
“Social problems and online aggressive behavior are each associated with elevated odds of being the target of harassment, even after adjusting for all other significant characteristics. Thus, those who have trouble communicating are significantly more likely to be involved in Internet harassment. Instead of trying to reduce the number of youth who use instant messaging, blogs, or chat rooms, prevention efforts may be best aimed at improving interpersonal skills of young people who choose to communicate with others using these online tools.”
As with most other aspects of parenting, intentional, loving involvement in teens’ lives will give them appropriate skills to manage life’s challenges and the courage to make difficult but wise choices online.
Daniel Weiss is ROCK's director of research and national outreach.
Endnotes
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1 Michele L. Ybarra, Kimberly J. Mitchell, Janis Wolak, David Finkelhor, “Examining Characteristics and Associated Distress Related to Internet Harassment: Findings From the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey,” PEDIATRICS, Volume 118, Number 4, October 2006.
2 “Cox Communications Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey, in Partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and John Walsh,” May 2009, http://www.cox.com/takecharge/safe_teens_2009/media/2009_teen_survey_internet_and_wireless_safety.pdf
3 Michele L. Ybarra and Kimberly J. Mitchell, “How Risky Are Social Networking Sites? A Comparison of Places Online Where Youth Sexual Solicitation and Harassment Occurs,” Pediatrics, 2008, 121, p350-357; http://www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/121/2/e350
4 Janis Wolak, Kimberly J. Mitchell, and David Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 41 (2007) S51–S58.
5 Ybarra, Mitchell, Wolak, Finkelhor, “Examining Characteristics and Associated Distress Related to Internet Harassment: Findings From the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey,” Pediatrics, October 2006.
6 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007.
7 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007.
8 Ybarra, Mitchell, Wolak, Finkelhor, “Examining Characteristics and Associated Distress Related to Internet Harassment: Findings From the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey,” Pediatrics, October 2006.
9 “Cox Communications Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey, in Partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and John Walsh,” May 2009.
10 “Cox Communications Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey, in Partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and John Walsh,” May 2009.
11“Cox Communications Teen Online & Wireless Safety Survey, in Partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and John Walsh,” May 2009.
12 Ybarra, Mitchell, Wolak, Finkelhor, “Examining Characteristics and Associated Distress Related to Internet Harassment: Findings From the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey,” Pediatrics, October 2006.
13 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007.
14 Ybarra, Mitchell, Wolak, Finkelhor, “Examining Characteristics and Associated Distress Related to Internet Harassment: Findings From the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey,” Pediatrics, October 2006.
15 Ybarra, Mitchell, Wolak, Finkelhor, “Examining Characteristics and Associated Distress Related to Internet Harassment: Findings From the Second Youth Internet Safety Survey,” Pediatrics, October 2006.
16 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007.
17 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007.
18 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007.
19 Wolak, Mitchell, Finkelhor, “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts,” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2007.
20 Michele L. Ybarra and Kimberly J. Mitchell, “How Risky Are Social Networking Sites? A Comparison of Places Online Where Youth Sexual Solicitation and Harassment Occurs,” Pediatrics, 2008.
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