How Cyberbullying Affects Everyday Life: Statistics and Numbers

  • Post last modified:1 December 2022
  • Reading time:7 mins read
  • Post category:Uncategorized
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From making threats on social media to calling someone names over digital mediums and making fun of other contestants during a game, everything comes under cyberbullying. Also, known as electronic aggression, cyberbullying is a serious problem that affects both victims and their families.

Sadly, cyberbullying is becoming more and more common by the day. As of now, it isn’t restricted to teens and high schools. It is also common in universities and workplaces. People of all age groups are facing cyberbullying issues and the worst part of the story is that the person responsible usually remains unknown in most cases.

In this article today, we’re going to talk about cyberbullying in detail, including the statistics and facts associated with it. Let’s see what’s happening around the world and how cyberbullying is affecting millions of people worldwide.


Cyberbullying Cases Across the Globe

According to statistics, more than 40% of internet users in the US. have been a victim of cyberbullying at least once in their lifetime. As per another report by UNICEF, one in three people in 30 different countries has been a victim of cyberbullying. It further says that one in five students have been reported to skip school due to violence and online bullying.

Now let’s break it down a little more and see the kind of cyberbullying all these people have experienced. Around 14% of people have reported receiving threats on social media. 13% of victims had rumors spreading against them while 32% say they had people making rude and aggressive comments about them. Apart from that, 64% of victims say they’re aware of the perpetrator who made aggressive comments about them or left them inappropriate messages.

Moreover, it is said that cyberbullying is very common in middle and high school. As mentioned by BullyingStatistics.org, about 25% of young adults faced severe bullying on their cell phones while one in three young people has been threatened on social media. What makes it more concerning is that only 1% of the children who are bullied tell their parents about it.

Not to mention, middle and high school children have been commonly sending and receiving nude or sexually suggestive images of one another. That being said, less than 1% of children have informed the school administration or law enforcement authorities about it. In other words, no serious actions have been taken against this issue by children or their parents.


How to Prevent Cyberbullying?

Anyone who’s bullied ends up being embarrassed, hurt, and scared. Not just that, cyberbullying also affects one’s mental health. Yes, cyberbullying puts you at a higher risk of developing depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and generalized anxiety disorder.

Apart from that, it is said that cyberbullying is responsible for many suicides around the world. People who are bullied eventually start hating themselves as it drains their self-confidence, leaving them feeling empty and broken. It is precisely why cyberbullying has led many people to commit suicide. For all these reasons, preventing cyberbullying is imperative. Mentioned below are some preventive measures that can help you out:

Use Social Media Carefully

First and foremost, you must learn to use social media carefully. Posting everything or whatever you like can be problematic. A lot of times, people are bullied on social media platforms due to the things they post. Of course, it’s wrong to threaten someone or make inappropriate comments, but there’s nothing you can possibly do to change people’s mentality.

What you can do is be sensible with your digital communication. The more you’ll think, the better you’ll act. It’s as simple as that. Thus, you must think hard and long before posting anything to social media, especially if your accounts are public because that makes you more vulnerable.

Keep Your Accounts and Devices Secure

The next thing is to keep your accounts secure. You can do that by securing your device with a password and not sharing it with anyone. The same goes for your social media accounts. Use strong passwords and make sure to change them every month. Apart from that, I always suggest securing accounts with two-factor authentication and using a VPN when playing games online. You can install a reliable VPN for your PC as well as your smartphone to add an extra layer of security between you and the internet.

Report Cyberbullying 

When you stop reporting such incidents, they continue to grow. In simple words, if I know you’re not going to report me to law enforcement authorities, I will continue to say whatever I want to say. Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that not reporting a cyberbullying incident makes the perpetrator strong while leaving you mentally shattered. 

All the states in the US. have different laws in place against cyberbullying, so you just need to pick up that phone and dial the number. The law enforcement agencies and mainly the cops will take care of the rest. It is the best way to put a full stop to such bizarre issues, and that too, once and for all.

The Final Word…

Life with cyberbullying can be daunting. While it may not seem like a big issue, it is a lot more than you think. Cyberbullying negatively contributes to your mental health and damages your public persona, too. Therefore, knowing about it as well as taking the right measures is crucial. Rest assured, reporting the issue is the only permanent solution.

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