Pew Research Center Studies How Teens Experience Cyberbullying

A new survey of 1,316 U.S. teens by Pew Research Center found that 46% of them experienced at least one of the six cyberbullying behaviors analyzed by the think tank. The six distinct behaviors studied by Pew were: Constantly being asked where they are, what they’re doing or who they’re with by someone other than a parentHaving explicit images of them shared without their consentOffensive name-callingPhysical threatsReceiving explicit images that they didn’t ask forSpreading of false rumors about them The most commonly reported of those behaviors was name calling, with 32% of respondents saying they had been called an offensive name online or on their phone. It was followed by false rumors (22%), receiving explicit images (17%), stalking by a non-parent (15%), physical threats (10%) and explicit images of them shared without their consent (7%). Pew found that 28% of teens have experienced multiple types of cyberbullying. Teens aged 15 through 17 were more likely than those aged 13 and 14 to have experienced at least one cyberbullying behavior (49% versus 42%), received explicit images they didn’t ask for (22% versus 11%), had explicit images of themselves shared without consent (8% versus 4%) or been the target of persistent questioning by a non-parent (17% versus 12%). Older teen girls were more likely to be victimized, as 54% of girls 15 through 17 experienced at least one of the six behaviors in the study, compared with 44% of boys in that age group and 41% of all teems 13 and 14. The older teen girls were also more likely to have been the target of false rumors or to have been constantly monitored by a non-parent. When asked why they think they were targeted, 15% of respondents believed it was due to their appearance, while 10% cited gender and 9% pointed to race or ethnicity. Girls were more likely to cite physical appearance than boys, at 17% compared with 11%, and the same goes for gender, at 14% and 6%, respectively. Black teens were more likely to say they were targeted due to race or ethnicity, at 21%, versus 11% of Hispanic teens and 4% of white teens. Other key findings included: 53% of respondents said online harassment and online bullying are a major problem for their page group, with 70% of Black teens and 62% of Hispanic teens feeling this way, compared with 46% of white teens.Teens from households making under $75,000 per year were more likely to cite online harassment and online bullying as a major problem, at 62%, versus 47% of teens from more affluent households.A total of 81% of respondents believe elected officials have done an only fair or poor job addressing online harassment and online bullying, while 74% said this of social media sites, 62% of law enforcement and 59% of teachers.Conversely, 66% of teens believe parents are doing a good or excellent job when it comes to addressing online harassment and online bullying.One-half of teens believe harassment on social platforms can be reduced by permanently banning users and pressing criminal charges against them, while 42% believe those platforms should look for and delete posts that are bullying or harassment and 37% feel that people should be required to use their real names and pictures.Seven out of 10 Black teens believe permanent bans and criminal charges for offenders would help, versus 59% of Hispanic teens and 42% of white teens.Pew found that 32% of teen girls have experienced two or more types of online harassment in the study, compared with 24% of teen boys, with 38% of girls 15 through 17 answering this way, versus approximately one-quarter of younger teen girls and teen boys of any age. Pew wrote in the introduction to its report, “While bullying existed long before the internet, the rise of smartphones and social media has brought a new and more public arena into play for this aggressive behavior.”

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Pew Research Center Studies How Teens Experience Cyberbullying

Older girls, aged 15 through 17, were most likely to be victimized

David Cohen

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David Cohen