Cyber Bullying Statistics-Ninety-Five Percent of teens witnessed cruel behavior on social networking sites!

A recent report came out that school bullying has declined a few percentage points however cyberbullying has risen.  Cyberbullying includes bullying through digital mediums such as computers and cell phones.  Facebook, You Tube, My Space, Tumblr and other social media websites lend itself for bullies of all ages.  Cellphones with camera and video capabilities contribute to the bullies MO for harassment and stalking of their victim.  Here are  some interesting statistics from Internet101.org.

• 95% of social media-using teens who have witnessed cruel behavior on social networking sites say they have seen others ignoring the mean behavior; 55% witness this frequently. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)
  • 84% have seen the people defend the person being harassed; 27% report seeing this frequently. 
  • 84% have seen the people tell cyberbullies to stop bullying; 20% report seeing this frequently. 
• 66% of teens who have witnessed online cruelty have also witnessed others joining; 21% say they have also joined in the harassment. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)
• 90% of social media-using teens who have witnessed online cruelty say they have ignored mean behavior on social media; 35% have done this frequently. (Pew Internet Research Center, FOSI, Cable in the Classroom, 2011)
  • 80% say they have defended the victim; 25% have done so frequently
  • 79% have told the cyberbully to stop being mean and cruel; 20% have done so frequently
• Only 7% of U.S. parents are worried about cyberbullying, even though 33% of teenagers have been victims of cyberbullying (Pew Internet and American Life Survey, 2011)
• 85% of parent of youth ages 13-17 report their child has a social networking account. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)
• 52% of parents are worried their child will be bullied via social networking sites. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)
• 1 in 6 parents know their child has been bullied via a social networking site. (American Osteopathic Association, 2011)
• One million children were harassed, threatend or subjected to other forms of cyberbullying on Facebook during the past year. (Consumer Reports, 2011)
• 43% of teens aged 13 to 17 report that they have experienced some sort of cyberbulying in the past year.[1]
• 
  More girls are cyberbullys than boys (59% girls and 41% boys).[2
• Cyberbullies spend more time online than other teens overall (38.4 hours compared to 26.8 hours).[3]
• 
  Cyberbullies are more likely to have engaged in sexting (31% vs. 19% for teens overall).[4]
• 
  34% of those who have had any engagement in cyberbullying have been both a cyberbully and been cyberbullied.[5]
• 
  68% of teens agree that cyberbullying is a serious problem with today’s youth.[6]
  Reasons cyberbullies said they engaged in cyberbullying:[7]

o   To show off to friends (11%)

o   To be mean (14%)

o   Something else (16%)

o   To embarrass them (21%)

o   For fun or entertainment (28%)

o   They deserved it (58%)

o   To get back at someone (58%)

• 81% of youth agree that bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person.[8]
• 
   80% think it is easier to hide online bullying from parents than in-person bullying.[9]