Teenage Cyberbullying Statistics 2024
In 2023, 26.5% of U.S. teens reported being cyberbullied, a number that has steadily increased over the past years. The increase in cyberbullying highlights its growing impact on teens’ mental health, school attendance, and overall well-being.
In this post, we will explore the latest statistics surrounding cyberbullying among U.S. teens and understand how factors like gender, race, and sexual orientation contribute to different experiences.
Let’s dive in.
Key Takeaways:
- 26.5% of American teenagers (aged 13 to 17) were the victims of cyberbullying in 2023. This is an increase from 23.2% in 2021.
- 77.5% of cyberbullying victims experienced mean or hurtful comments posted online, making it the most common form of cyberbullying.
- 19.2% of American teenagers reported missing days from school because of cyberbullying. This percentage almost doubled from 10.3% in 2016.
- In 2023, 54% of U.S. teens reported that bullying (both in-person and electronic) was a significant issue in their schools, an increase from 43% in 2016.
- 74% of U.S. teens believed social media platforms were doing a poor job of addressing cyberbullying concerns, with 81% expressing the same about elected officials.
- Female teens (59.2%) in the U.S. were more likely to experience cyberbullying than males (49.5%).
- Teenage girls aged 15 to 17 reported higher rates of cyberbullying (54%) compared to boys in the same age group (44%).
- Girls aged 15 to 17 were also more likely to experience multiple types of cyberbullying (38%) compared to boys (26%).
- White teens (48%) were more likely to be victims of electronic bullying compared to Black (40%) and Hispanic teens (47%).
- 21% of Black teens reported being bullied due to their race, much higher than White (4%) or Hispanic teens (11%).
- In 2021, nearly 30% of LGBTQ+ students experienced cyberbullying, compared to 13% of their heterosexual peers.
- 42% of LGBTQ+ youth who were bullied were targeted electronically. Cyberbullying victims were 3 times more likely to attempt suicide.
- 15% of U.S. public schools reported weekly cyberbullying incidents among students aged 12 to 18.
- 9% of schools said cyberbullying had a noticeable impact on their school environment.
Prevalence of Cyberbullying Among U.S. Teens
- In a 2023 survey conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center:
- 26.5% of the surveyed U.S. teens (aged 13 to 17) reported experiencing cyberbullying within the last 30 days. This marked an increase from 23.2% in 2021, 17.2% in 2019, and 16.7% in 2016.
- In 2023, the most common type of cyberbullying reported by U.S. teens was having mean or hurtful comments posted about them online, with 77.5% of victims experiencing this form of harassment.
- In 2016, 10.3% of teenagers reported that they stayed home instead of going to school because of cyberbullying. In 2023, this percentage nearly doubled to 19.2%.
- The percentage of students who said cyberbullying was “a big problem” at their school rose from 43% in 2016 to 54% in 2023.
- According to the Teens and Cyberbullying Survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2022:
- 46% of U.S. teens (aged 13 to 17) said they experienced some type of cyberbullying in their lives.
- “Offensive name calling” was the most common form of cyberbullying experienced, with 32% of teens experiencing it.
- 53% of U.S. teens reported that online bullying and harassment were a major problem for people their age. Only 6% said it was not a problem.
- 74% of teenagers said that social media sites were doing only a fair or poor job of addressing concerns about cyberbullying and harassment. 81% said the same about elected state officials.
- Nagata, Jason et.al’s 2022 study Social Epidemiology of Early Adolescent Cyberbullying in the United States found that nearly 1 in 10 early adolescents in the U.S. (or 9.6%) reported experiencing cyberbullying at some point in their lives.
- According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 15.9% of U.S. high school students reported that they had been bullied online at some point in the last 12 months.
- According to the 2019 Indicators of Crime and Safety Report:
- Between 2017 and 2018, about 14.9% of high school students reported being victims of electronic bullying within the 12 months leading up to the survey.
- Approximately 15% of public schools reported instances of cyberbullying among teen students (aged 12 to 18) occurring at least once per week.
- 9% of public schools indicated that cyberbullying had a noticeable impact on the school environment.
- 8% of schools reported allocating staff resources to manage and address issues related to cyberbullying during this period.
- Schools where 76% or more of students were minorities reported the lowest occurrence of cyberbullying at 10%.
- In schools with fewer minority students, the percentage of reported cyberbullying ranged from 14% to 18%.
- 33% of middle schools reported cyberbullying incidents among students, compared to 30% of high schools and 20% of combined schools.
Gender and Cyberbullying Among U.S. Teens
- According to a 2023 survey by the Cyberbullying Research Center that looked at data from 5,005 teenagers (aged 13 to 17) in the United States:
- Female teens were more likely to experience cyberbullying at some point in their lives (59.2%) compared to males (49.5%).
- In the last 30 days of the survey, 28.6% of female teenagers reported being cyberbullied, compared to 24.2% of males.
- According to the Teens and Cyberbullying Survey conducted by Pew Research Center in 2022:
- Teenage girls were more likely to experience cyberbullying (49%) compared to teenage boys (43%).
- Older teenage girls (aged 15 to 17) were significantly more likely to experience cyberbullying, with 54% reporting incidents, compared to 41% of younger teens (aged 13 to 14).
- Older boys (aged 15 to 17) were slightly more likely to experience cyberbullying, with 44% reporting incidents compared to 41% of younger teens (aged 13 to 14).
- Teenage girls aged 15 to 17 were disproportionately more likely to experience multiple types of cyberbullying (38%) compared to boys (26%).
- Teenage girls (aged 13 to 17) were more likely to be cyberbullied for their appearance, with 17% experiencing this form of cyberbullying compared to 11% of boys.
- According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, female high school students were more likely to experience cyberbullying (20%) than male students (11%).
Ethnicity and Cyberbullying Among U.S. Teens
- According to the Teens and Cyberbullying Survey by Pew Research Center in 2022, White teenagers in the U.S. were more likely to experience cyberbullying (48%) compared to Black (40%) and Hispanic (47%) teenagers. In addition:
- Black teenagers were much more likely (21%) to be bullied because of their race and ethnicity compared to White (4%) or Hispanic (11%).
- Black teenagers (70%) and Hispanic teenagers (62%) were significantly more likely than White teenagers (46%) to view electronic bullying as a serious problem for their age group.
- According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, teenagers who were American Indian or Alaska Natives experienced the most cyberbullying (21%) compared to other ethnicities.
- Richardson, Sonia et.al’s 2019 study Factors Associated With Suicide Risk Behavior Outcomes Among Black Middle School Adolescents found that:
- Black middle school students who experienced cyberbullying were found to be 135% more likely to engage in suicidal thoughts and create a plan to act on them.
- Black students who were cyberbullying victims faced a 91% increased risk of attempting suicide compared to their peers.
Cyberbullying Among LGBTQ+ Teens in the U.S.
- According to the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, nearly 30% of LGBTQ teenagers experienced electronic bullying in the past year, compared to 13% of heterosexual students.
- According to the 2021Bullying and Suicide Risk among LGBTQ Youth Report by The Trevor Project:
- In 2021, over half (52%) of LGBTQ teenagers in middle/high school admitted to being victims of bullying. Of this group, 42% were targeted through electronic means, such as online platforms or text messages.
- The same year, LGBTQ students who were cyberbullied in the past year had a 3 times higher chance of attempting suicide compared to those who were not bullied.
- According to the 2020 Bullying, Cyberbullying, and LGBTQ Students Report by The Cyberbullying Research Center:
- In 2020, almost half of surveyed LGBTQ students (48.7%) reported having experienced cyberbullying at some point in their lives.
- LGBTQ students were nearly twice as likely to experience cyberbullying as their heterosexual peers, with 36.1% reporting incidents compared to 20.1% of heterosexual students.
- In 2016, 56% of surveyed LGBTQ students reported being cyberbullied at some point in their lives, nearly double the 32% of non-LGBTQ students who experienced the same.
- In 2019, a survey of 4,500 students nationwide revealed that 52% of LGBTQ students had experienced online bullying at some point in their lives, compared to only 35% of non-LGBTQ students.
You may also be interested in our other articles such as :
School Violence and Teen Mental Health Statistics
Teen Eating Disorder Statistics 2024
Teen Mental Health Statistics North Carolina
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Cyberbullying Cause Eating Disorders in Teens?
In a 2023 study by Cheng et.al, cyberbullying victimization in U.S. teens was strongly linked to concerns about weight and disordered eating behaviors.
Victims were more than twice as likely to worry about weight gain, tie their self-worth to their weight, engage in inappropriate compensatory behaviors, experience binge eating, and feel distressed over binge eating.
For Which Age Is Bullying Most Common in the U.S.?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported incidents of bullying are the highest in American middle schools (with a rate of 28%), followed by high schools at 16%.
Where Does Cyberbullying Happen Most?
According to data from the Annapolis Police Department, 56% of cyberbullying victimization in the U.S. occurs in online chatrooms, making them the main location for such harassment.
Share This Post