What is Cyberbullying?  Cyberbullying is the use of digital technology to harass, intimidate, humiliate, or harm someone.  It typically happens through online platforms such as social media, text messages, email, forums, or gaming communities. 

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Fighting for a bully-free digital world. 

 

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What is the best example of cyberbullying?  

Here are examples of Cyberbullying

-Sending mean texts or IMs to someone.

-Pranking someone's cell phone.

-Hacking into someone's gaming or social networking profile.

-Being rude or mean to someone in an online game.

-Spreading secrets or rumours about people online.

-Pretending to be someone else to spread hurtful messages online.

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Here are some notable examples of cyberbullying cases:

-Amanda Todd (2012): A 15-year-old Canadian student, Todd posted a YouTube video detailing her experiences with cyberbullying, which included blackmail and physical assault.  Her video went viral after her death, drawing international attention to the severe consequences of online harassment.

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-Rebecca Sedwich (2013): A 12-year-old girl, Sedwick, died by suicide after being cyberbullied for months by her peers.  The incident sparked widespread concern about the impact of online bullying on young people.

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-Jessica Logan (2012): After sending a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend, the image was shared by hundreds of teenagers on platforms like Facebook and MySpace, leading to constant harassment.  Logan died by suicide shortly after attending the funeral of another boy who had also committed suicide.

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-The Star Wars Kid (2003): A 14-year-old boy uploaded a video of himself practicing lightsaber moves, but it was later widely shared online with mocking comments and superimposed sound effects.  The bullying he experienced was so intense that he deleted the video, but the incident became a well-known early example of viral Cyberbullying.

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-McKenna Brown (2022); An athlete, Brown died by suicide after facing a campaign of cyberbullying.  Her parents later established the nonprofit McKenna's Way to advocate for kindness and safer social media environments.  

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-Kendra Licari (2022): A Michigan mother was charged after allegedly sending thousands of hateful and bullying texts to her daughter and daughter's boyfriend from an unidentified number.  The case highlights how cyberbullying can involve close, personal relationships.

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-Magali Berdah (2024):  In France's largest cyberbullying case, 28 people were jailed for harassing influencer Magali Berdah.  The campaign was invited by a French rapper and had severe consequences for Berdah's mental health.

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How many kids get bullied a year?

In the 2021-2022 school year, approximately 19.2% of students in grades 6-12 in the U.S. reported being bullied, which translates to about one in five students, according to the Stopbullying.gov.  This figure represents millions of students, as about 13 million students are bullied annually in the US.

Key Statistics

-Prevalence:  During the 2021-2022 school year, 19.2% of U.S. students in grades 6-12 reported experiencing bullying.

-Age Groups:  Middle schoolers (grades 6-8) experienced bullying at a higher rate (26.3%) than high school students (15.7%). 

-Gender:  Female students (21.8%) reported experiencing bullying more often than male students (16.7%).

-Electronic Bullying:  Over one in six high school students reported being bullied electronically in the past year, including via text and social media.

-Impact:  Approximately 160,000 students miss school daily due to fear of being bullied.

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What to do if you or your child is being bullied

-Talk to a trusted adult:  Tell a parent, teacher, counselor, or another adult who can help.

-Document incidents:  Keep a record of when, where, and what happened.

-Seek professional help:  Resources like Stopbullying.gov and the CDC offer guidance and support for preventing and addressing bullying.

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Cyberbullying Safety Checklist

1.  Don't respond

-Ignore rude or hurtful messages

-Do not fight back---it usually makes worse

2.  Save the Evidence

-Screenshot or record all messages, posts, or emails

-Keep dates, times, and usernames

3.  Block & Report 

-Block the bully's account

-Report their profile or content to the app/platform

4.  Secure Your Accounts

-Change passwords if you feel unsafe

-Set accounts to private

-Control who can message, tag, or comment

5.  Tell Someone You Trust

-Talk to a parent, teacher, counselor, or close friend

-You don't have to handle it alone

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How often? In United States

Prevalence (U.S.):

-About 26-33% of U.S. teens report experiencing Cyberbullying in the past 30 days in recent surveys.

-Middle schools report weekly cyberbullying incidents at ~37%, and high schools at ~25%

-Around 16-18% of high school students report being electronically bullied in a year (older trend data). 

Hourly Perspective (approximate):  While there's no official government or academic metric giving an exact per hour rate, we can estimate from annual prevalence:

-If ~2.5 million high school students experience Cyberbullying yearly (based on ~16% of ~15.6M students), these are incidents occurring across all hours internet is used (day & night).

-That works out to roughly ~7,000-8,000 affected students per day -- which means multiple episodes every hour during a typical 24-hour cycle.  

Important note:  This is only an estimate based on prevalence data, not a precise incident count like police reports.

 

  

@KindOnlineCyber

#Stopcyberbullying #KindOnlineCyber  

Kind Online Cyber - 2025

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