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Cyberbullying statistics 2024

The top three countries where parents reported the most cyberbullying are India at 38%, Brazil at 29%, and the U.S. at 26%. Find more cyberbullying stats here.
Rebecca Rovenstine writer headshot
By | Updated on Oct. 25, 2024 Medically reviewed by Josephine Bawab, Pharm.D.
Cell phones with graphs: Cyberbullying statistics 2022
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The advancement of the internet has opened our world. Now we have knowledge at our fingertips, endless resources, and the ability to engage with long-lost friends and family. With the rise of social media over the past decade, we are more connected than ever. However, this ability to access others so easily (and anonymously) can bring about the unwanted consequence of cyberbullying, especially in adolescents. 

What is cyberbullying?

“Cyberbullying is the aggressive use of technology to inflict harm on others through electronic forms of contact,” said Lauren Cook-McKay, a licensed marriage and family therapist and vice president of marketing at Divorce Answer. “It’s a form of indirect bullying that is commonly occurring nowadays.”

Cyberbullying doesn’t just happen in one place online. For young people, it can happen through text messages, video game chats, social media companies, instant messaging, and email. With 95% of children between the ages of three and 18 years having access to the internet, anyone could be a victim.

Cyberbullying can be performed in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to: 

  • Online bullying through exclusion or embarrassment
  • Online harassment or intimidation
  • Sharing harmful pictures or videos of a person
  • Impersonating or catfishing another person
  • Cyberstalking a person’s online activity

“In cyberbullying, the reach of a bully’s actions is unrestricted; therefore, it can occur across contexts, any time, and anywhere,” said Cook-McKay.

How common is cyberbullying?

Since cyberbullying is a relatively new phenomenon and people aren’t always upfront about committing it or being a victim, the numbers between different studies vary quite a bit. We’ve looked through the most recent and expansive studies to find the following information:

  • Teachers rated cyberbullying as the number one safety concern in their classrooms. (Google Survey, 2019)
  • Of 5,000 middle and high school students surveyed in the U.S. 36.5% report experiencing cyberbullying at least once. Regarding the specific types of cyberbullying incidents they’d experienced within the last month, 24.9% experienced mean or hurtful comments, 22.2% had rumors spread about them, and 30.1% said they’d experienced more than one type of bullying at least twice within that time frame. (The Cyberbullying Research Center, 2019)
  • In the same survey with 5,000 students, 14.8% of participants admitted to committing cyberbullying at least once. (The Cyberbullying Research Center, 2019)

Global cyberbullying statistics

  • Six thousand students ages 10 to 18 years were surveyed about cyberbullying. They found that 49% experienced one form of cyberbullying within their lifetime. Of those students, 44% said they’d noticed an increase in cyberbullying since the COVID-19 pandemic. (European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, 2020)
  • In a survey of 30 countries, one in three students said they’d been a victim of cyberbullying. Of those students, one in five said they’d skipped school because of cyberbullying and violence. (UNICEF Poll, 2019)
  • In 2018, the top three countries where parents reported that their children experienced the most cyberbullying were India at 37%, Brazil at 29%, and the United States at 26%. The countries with the lowest reports by parents were Russia at 1%, Japan at 5%, and Chile at 8%. (Comparitech, 2022)
  • The parents surveyed above said 19.2% of bullying happened via social media apps, 11% of bullying happened via text messages, and 7.9% of bullying happened via video games. (Comparitech, 2018)

Cyberbullying statistics in the U.S.

  • A Pew Research survey found that 59% of U.S. teens have experienced at least one type of abusive online behavior. The most reported type of cyberbullying was offensive name-calling, with 42% of teens experiencing it via the internet or a cell phone. (, 2018)
  • In a survey about cyberbullying, 71% of people between the ages 13 and 24 years said they were concerned about cyberbullying, and 38% said they had been targets of it. (Reporterlinker, 2017)
  • About 16% of U.S. high school students experienced cyberbullying in 2019. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2022)
  • In another survey in 2019, 15.7% of high schoolers said they’d been electronically bullied within the last 12 months. (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 2020)

Cyberbullying statistics by age

  • One study found cyberbullying happens most frequently with 12 to 15-year-olds, peaking around the ages of 14 and 15. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2021)
  • A study of 20,000 participants across all ages broke down those who had experienced cyberbullying at least once before by age range. The percentage of those that experienced cyberbullying in each range were: 
    • 40.5% of 18 to 25-year-olds
    • 24% of 26 to 35-year-olds
    • 15.1% of 36 to 45-year-olds
    • 13% of 46 to 55-year-olds
    • 7% of 56 to 65-year-olds
    • 6.5% of those 66 years and older. 
  • In the same study, the numbers significantly decreased when participants were asked if they’d experienced cyberbullying in the past month. Only 3.2% of young adults (18 to 25-year-olds) had experienced cyberbullying in the past month, while the older age ranges were all under 3%. (Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 2019)

Social media sites cyberbullying statistics

  • A survey in the UK looked at cyberbullying across social media platforms in 2017. Instagram had the highest rate for cyberbullying, with 42% of students saying they’d experienced it on the platform. The next highest rates for cyberbullying were Facebook at 37%, Snapchat at 31%, and YouTube at 10%. (Ditch the Label, 2017)
  • The same survey found that 71% of respondents believe social media platforms don’t do enough to prevent cyberbullying. (Ditch the Label, 2017)
  • Younger generations were asked to rank where cyberbullying happens most frequently. The top five results were through text messages at 24%, Facebook at 23%, Instagram at 21%, Twitter at 21%, and Snapchat at 10%. (Reportlinker, 2017)

Cyberbullying statistics by gender

  • While it’s only a slight difference, data from 2019 showed that 38.7% of 12 to 17-year-old girls reported experiencing cyberbullying at least once in their life, compared to 34.5% of boys in the same age group. Boys also said they were more likely to report cyberbullying. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2019)
  • The types of cyberbullying also vary between genders. Girls are more likely to have rumors spread about them online, whereas boys are more likely to be threatened online. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2019)
  • A Pew Research study said rumors were more likely to be spread about girls online, but the amount of cyberbullying between the two genders was found to be minimal in this survey, with 60% of girls experiencing cyberbullying and 59% of boys. (, 2018)
  • Girls are more likely to report receiving explicit images they did not ask for (29% of girls vs. 20% of boys). Being a target for these messages is common for older girls, with 35% of girls ages 15 to 17 saying they’ve received unwanted explicit images. (, 2018)
  • For those committing cyberbullying, 5.6% of boys, 4.5% of girls, and 3.6% of transgender youth said they had cyberbullied someone in the last 30 days. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2022)

Cyberbullying statistics by sexual orientation

  • Numerous surveys and studies have found that LGBTQ youth are much more likely to be a target of cyberbullying when compared to straight peers. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2022)
  • One survey found the rate of cyberbullying victimization among LGBTQ youth was 50% higher than that of non-LGBTQ youth. They found that 31.7% of LGBTQ youth experience it compared to only 21.8% of heterosexual students. (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2022)
  • Nationwide, students who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or bisexual reported being bullied on school property (32%) and cyberbullied (26.6%) in 2019. This is much higher than heterosexual peers who reported school bullying (17.1%) and cyberbullying (14.1%) in the same survey. (Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance, 2019)

Cyberbullying and overall health

When it comes to the effects of cyberbullying, a student’s mental health can decline.

“Cyberbullying has contributed to adolescent depression and low self-esteem,” explained Cook-McKay. “It also increases the rate of children dropping out of school, physical and emotional illnesses, suicide, homicide, and other acts of violence.”

In fact, cyberbullying is so harmful that it increases the chance someone will attempt suicide. 

“A large study of over 3,000 adolescents found that cyberbullying definitely predicted suicidality (kids were more likely to want to kill themselves after cyberbullying),” said Dr. Jen Finelli, a physician and sexual assault medical forensic examiner. 

A survey by Ditch the Label looked into young people in the UK who reported cyberbullying and the effects on their mental health. They found that out of those that experienced cyberbullying:

  • 37% developed social anxiety
  • 36% developed depression
  • 24% had suicidal thoughts
  • 23% self-harmed

It’s also been found that those who experienced cyberbullying were 2.5 times more likely to use marijuana and participate in binge drinking. (Adolescent health, medicine, and therapeutics, 2014)

The cost of cyberbullying

If a student has mental health problems due to cyberbullying, like depression or anxiety, therapy can be a great help. 

While some insurances cover therapy, it’s not guaranteed because covering mental health benefits is not required for insurance companies. If your insurance does cover it, you’ll likely have to pay a copay each visit. For those without insurance, Forbes estimates that one therapy session will range from $100 to $200. 

However, medical costs aren’t the only costs that can happen due to cyberbullying. 

“Many people don’t realize this, but there are personal injury cases that arise from cyberbullying,” said attorney David Aylor, the Founder & CEO of David Aylor Law Offices. “When people are attacked online and suffer harassment, they can face psychological impacts, which is considered personal injury.”

Aylor explained that over 45 states have made laws against harassing people digitally. If someone commits this crime, what can they expect to pay? That depends on if the court classifies cyberbullying cases as a misdemeanor or felony. 

“A misdemeanor can result in up to a year of prison time or $1,000 fine, while a felony can land a person in prison for up to five years and/or with a $5,000 fine,” said Aylor. “These fines and prison sentences can be even longer if a person is cyberbullied into committing suicide.”

Causes of cyberbullying

The internet is anonymous, giving many people the feeling that they can say whatever they want without consequences, sometimes not thinking about how it will impact someone on the other side of the screen. 

The reason a person commits cyberbullying can be unique to each person. According to a 2010 study, the most common reasons included: 

  • To redirect feelings
  • To get revenge
  • To make themselves feel better
  • To ease boredom
  • To instigate something
  • To protect someone
  • Out of jealousy
  • To seek approval
  • To try out a new persona
  • Because they’re anonymous, lowering inhibitions

Preventing cyberbullying

When it comes to prevention, that’s up to the parents. According to Cook-McKay, “Technological education for parents is an effective deterrent to cyberbullying. It’s best for parents to properly monitor their children’s internet communications.”

It’s also important for schools to set up policies that stop bullying and provide clear expectations on how to treat one another. Quick and consistent responses to bullying are important in prevention.

If your child is dealing with cyberbullying, try online resources like StopBullying.gov for guidance. 

Treating cyberbullying

If someone’s mental health is suffering from cyberbullying, attending therapy with the expertise of a licensed therapist will be the most beneficial way to treat it.

Cyberbullying questions and answers

Where are the most cases of cyberbullying?

Most cases of cyberbullying happen on social media or through text messaging. 

Which social media has the most reports of cyberbullying?

Across all social media platforms, Instagram and Facebook have the highest reported incidences of cyberbullying. 

What percent of students develop anxiety from cyberbullying?

One study found that 37% of students who experienced cyberbullying developed social anxiety as a result.

How does cyberbullying affect mental health statistics?

There are no exact numbers on how cyberbullying affects overall mental health statistics. However, since it can negatively impact a student’s mental health, it can be surmised that it would increase the number of people with mental health problems.

Which country has the lowest rate of cyberbullying?

In a worldwide survey given to parents, Russia and Japan reported the lowest number of cyberbullying experiences with their children. 

How can we promote Cyber Wellness?

Cyber Wellness is the idea of creating a healthy internet community for all users to improve their overall well-being. Teaching your child about cyberbullying and how to respect others on the internet is key. Schools should also set up rules and guidelines for their students in order to share the dangers of cyberbullying and how to report it.

Cyberbullying research