Kids have been bullying each other for generations. The latest generation, however, has been able to utilize technology to expand their reach and the extent of their harm. This phenomenon is being called cyberbullying, defined by cyberbullying expert Sameer Hinduja as: “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.” Basically, we are referring to incidents where students use computers or cell phones to harass, threaten, humiliate, or otherwise hassle their peers. For example, youth will commonly send hurtful text messages to others or spread rumors using cell phones or computers. Kids have also created web pages or profile pages on social networking sites making fun of others. With cell phones, adolescents have taken pictures in a bedroom, a bathroom, or other locations where privacy is expected, and posted or distributed them online. More recently, some have recorded unauthorized videos of other kids (or adults) and uploaded them for the world to see, rate, tag, and discuss.

What are some of the negative effects that cyberbullying can have on a person?

There are many negative outcomes associated with cyberbullying that reach into the real world. First, we have heard numerous examples of victims feeling depressed, sad, angry, and frustrated. As one teenager has stated: “It makes me hurt both physically and mentally. It scares me and takes away all my confidence. It makes me feel sick and worthless.” Many kids who experience cyberbullying also reveal that they were afraid or embarrassed to go to school. Research has also found a link between cyberbullying and low self-esteem, family problems, academic problems, school violence, and delinquency. Cyberbullying victims also report having suicidal thoughts, and we are aware of at least six examples where youth who experienced cyberbullying ended up taking their lives.

Where does cyberbullying commonly occur?

According to cyberbullying speaker Hinduja, it occurs everywhere across cyberspace, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise that it occurs most often where teens congregate. Initially, many kids hung out in chat rooms and as a result, that is where a lot of cyberbullying took place. These days, most are drawn to social networking web sites, a fact that has increased the potential for cyberbullying in these online environments. Instant messaging on the Internet or text messaging via a cell phone also appear to be common mediums over which cyberbullying occurs. We are also seeing it happen with portable gaming devices and in 3-D virtual worlds and social gaming sites.

How much cyberbullying is out there?

Estimates of the number of youth who experience cyberbullying vary widely (ranging from 10-40% or more), depending on the age of the group studied and how cyberbullying is formally defined. In our research, we inform students that cyberbullying is “when someone repeatedly makes fun of another person online or repeatedly picks on another person through email or text message or when someone posts something online about another person that they don’t like.” Using this definition, about 17% of the almost 2,000 randomly-selected middle schoolers in our study indicated they had been cyberbullied at some point in their lifetime. About this same number admitted to cyberbullying others in their lifetime. Finally, about 12% of kids in our study said they had both been a victim and an offender. We also found that 27% of victims say they were cyberbullied by someone from their school, while 20% of students said that threats made online are carried out at school. Finally, youth who are cyberbullied share their problem with friends (54%), their parents (41%), or a teacher (30%).