Prevalence of online bullying: how prevalent is this phenomenon?

A summary of the prevalence of online bullying, and the figures associated with this phenomenon.

Cyberbullying is a highly topical problem. As a result, more and more studies are being conducted on the subject.

Thanks to this, more and more information is becoming available, which allows us to act more effectively against this problem. In the following paragraphs we will be able to discover some of the most shocking figures relating to this type of behavior and what is known about the prevalence of this type of behavior. what is known about the prevalence of online bullying as a function of different factors..

What does cyberbullying consist of?

Before delving into the statistics behind the question of the prevalence of online bullying, it is important to know the implications of this concept. Digital harassment, online harassment, virtual harassment, cyberbullying, or cyberbullying, refers to those behaviors whereby an aggressor uses digital media to attack the victim. those behaviors by which an aggressor uses digital means to attack the victim..

These means can be all those related to the use of technologies such as telephones, computers, social networks, e-mails, text messages, etc. These means, on many occasions, provide the person who carries out the aggression with anonymity that he/she would not otherwise have. Likewise, they serve to attack quickly and achieve a great reach, regardless of the physical distance that separates them from the victim. distance from the victim.

Later on we will go into the prevalence of online harassment, but first it is necessary to continue knowing the characteristics of this phenomenon. Cyberbullying can take many forms. It can take the form of falsely accusing the victim of a certain behavior. Also, by publishing false information about her, even repeatedly.

Others choose to collect real data about their future victim in order to defame in a more credible and effective way. They may go so far as to monitor the person's digital activity, using different programs and tools to do so. Virtual harassment can occur by contacting people in the victim's environment.

Another way in which this behavior can be carried out is by revealing the real identity of a user of a platform in which he/she interacts with an anonymous profile, exposing his/her personal data to everyone.This can be done by exposing his or her personal data to all other users. The aggressor can even present himself as a victim, claiming that it is the person actually being attacked who is harassing him.

Although there are more ways to carry out this behavior, these are the ones that are carried out most frequently.

Data on the prevalence of online harassment

After describing in general terms what this behavior consists of, it is time to review the data on the prevalence of online harassment. The most recent studies that have been conducted in the United States indicate that more than 4 out of 10 citizens have been a victim of online harassment at some point in their lives.. This study looked at six different forms of aggression.

These forms were physical threats, stalking, continuous harassment, sexual harassment, offensive appeals and humiliation. According to measurements taken in 2014, 2017 and 2020, they all experienced growth. While it is true that between 2017 and 2020, the total number of people assaulted has stabilized, the number of victims of serious harassment has increased..

What the data on prevalence of online bullying reflect according to this study is that, if we focus on the most severe forms of cyberbullying, we would be talking about 15% of those affected in 2014, 18% in 2017 and 25% in the latest review carried out, which dates from 2020. As can be seen, the upward trend is clear and worrying. Regarding the total number of digital aggressions, in 2014 there were 35% and in both 2017 and 2020, 41%.

One of the motivations that can be seen in half of the cases of cyberbullying included in the study is political. And it is that 50% of those attacked, or 20% of the total number of U.S. citizens who participated in the research, said they had experienced virtual harassment in retaliation for their political leanings..

In addition to politics, the study on the prevalence of online harassment indicates that there are other factors that can trigger this behavior. Some of them would be the gender of the person attacked or his or her racial origin, which would imply sexist or racist affronts, in each case.

The use of social networks for cyberbullying

Similarly, data on the prevalence of online harassment show that, of all the digital tools used by aggressors to attack their victims, there is one that stands out above the rest, and it is none other than social networks. No less than 3 out of every 4 cases of abuse recorded in the study came from a social network..

Taking this to the total U.S. population, this means that 31%, or almost a third of citizens, have at some point experienced aggressive behavior towards them through social networks. In addition, just over 80% of affected users believe that those responsible for such websites do not take the necessary measures to prevent this type of occurrence.

One third of the total population, according to the data on the prevalence of online harassment, would agree to to hold those responsible for the respective social networks in which they occur legally responsible for digital harassment behaviors. in which they occur. All this data comes from the study conducted in 2020 by the Pew Research Center, with a sample of more than 10,000 participants.

Prevalence of online bullying according to age.

But these are not the only conclusions drawn about the prevalence of online bullying. No less than 90% of those surveyed consider online harassment, such as that which occurs on social networks and other platforms, to be a problem to be taken into account and to be dealt with.

If a breakdown by age is made, some differences in the profile of the victim can be seen. In this regard, the younger they are, the more likely they are to receive a digital attack.. Almost two-thirds of the victims are under 30 years of age. In other words, 64% of people under 30 years of age who participated in the study have suffered cyberbullying at some point.

The next age group, 30 to 49 years old, accounts for 50% of victims. One out of every two participants in this age group has been cyberbullied at some time. In people aged 50 and over, this figure drops to 25%, representing one in four. One of the factors involved may be the level of activity and presence in social networks, being higher in younger people.

Cyberbullying by gender and sexual orientation

If we take gender rather than age into account, the data on the prevalence of online harassment are also interesting. Overall, there is no significant difference between harassment received by men (43%) and that received by women (38%).. However, there are differences according to the type of harassment received.

In this sense, men receive more aggressions such as physical threats (16% compared to 11%) or are insulted in some way (35% of male victims compared to 26% of female victims). The most frequent type of harassment among women is sexual harassment, with 16% of women being victims of this type, compared to 5% of men. Stalking is also more common among women (13%) than among men (9%).

Cross-referencing age and gender data, it can be seen that the segment of the population most likely to be a victim of online harassment is young women under 35 years of age. One third of this group has been a victim of such behaviors. In addition, women are more likely to report online harassment, women are more likely to report digital harassment than men..

Although men, on average, receive a slightly higher percentage of digital aggressions than women, it is women who believe to a greater extent that this is a problem that should be tackled (61% compared to 48% of men who hold the same opinion). The perception of the act of harassment as annoying is twice as strong in women (34%) as in men (14%).

Sexual orientation also influences the prevalence of online harassment.. Homosexual or bisexual people receive significantly more cyberbullying than heterosexuals. Of the first group, approximately 70% claim to be victims of this type of aggression, and 50% also claim to be victims of severe forms of aggression.

On the other hand, for the heterosexual population, it has been found that victims represent approximately 40% of the total. If we focus only on severe aggressions, in any of the forms we saw above, that figure would be reduced to 23%.

Bibliographic references:

• Feinberg, T., Robey, N. (2009). Cyberbullying. The education digest.
• Olweus, D. (2012). Cyberbullying: An overrated phenomenon? European journal of developmental psychology. Taylor & Francis.
• Vogels, E.A. (2021). The State of Online Harassment. Pew Research Center.