Cyber Bullying: Statistics and Tips

In the 2003-04 school year, i-SAFE America surveyed students from across the country on a new topic: Cyber Bullying. It is a topic that not many adults were talking about. It turns out to be a topic all too familiar with students.

Bullying is no longer about the strong picking on the weak in the schoolyard. The physical assault has been replaced by a 24 hour per day, seven days a week online bashing. Savvy students are using Instant Messaging, e-mails, chat rooms and websites they create to humiliate a peer. No longer can parents count on seeing the tell-tale physical signs of bullying'a black eye, bloody lip, torn clothes. But the damage done by cyber bullies is no less real, and can be infinitely more painful.

Cyber Bullying Statistics
• 42% of kids have been bullied while online. 1 in 4 have had it happen more than once.
• 35% of kids have been threatened online. Nearly 1 in 5 have had it happen more than once.
• 21% of kids have received mean or threatening e-mail or other messages.
• 58% of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than once.
• 53% of kids admit having said something mean or hurtful to another person online. More than 1 in 3 have done it more than once.
• 58% have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online.

Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 students grades 4-8

Cyber Bullying Tips
• Tell a trusted adult about the bullying, and keep telling until the adult takes action.
• Don't open or read messages by cyber bullies.
• Tell your school if it is school related. Schools have a bullying solution in place.
• Don't erase the messages'they may be needed to take action.
• Protect yourself'never agree to meet with the person or with anyone you meet online.
• If bullied through chat or instant messaging, the 'bully' can often be blocked.
• If you are threatened with harm, inform the local police.

*Taken from an i-SAFE America survey of students nationwide.

*Taken from an i-SAFE America survey of students nationwide.