Cyberbullying Rampant Among NYC Teens, Survey Finds

NEW YORK — Nearly half of New York City teenagers say they have been cyberbullied, indicating online abuse is alarmingly common among the city's youth, a new study of online behavior shows.

Some 48 percent of teens said they have personally experienced cyberbullying, with degrading or insulting online comments being the most common form of abuse, according to a survey commissioned by AT&T and two anti-bullying organizations, the Tyler Clementi Foundation and No Bully.

The survey, released Wednesday, found an even greater share of teenagers — 75 percent — had witnessed cyberbullying at least once. Teens identified physical appearance, clothing and sexual orientation as the most common reasons for the behavior.

"The survey’s findings are an alarming reminder of how pervasive cyberbullying is and how much work we have before us to end bullying and improve online behavior," said Jane Clementi, the CEO of the Tyler Clementi Foundation, which was founded in honor of her son who died by suicide after he was cyberbullied.

The rate of cyberbullying in the survey is far higher than a previous nationwide figure. Of the nearly 21 percent of 12-to-18-year-olds who said they were bullied at school in the 2014-15 school year, 11.5 percent said the bullying happened online or by text, according to a U.S. Department of Education report.

The AT&T survey questioned 500 teens, 500 parents of teens and 500 millennial parents of younger kids. The results show parents know little about what their children are doing online, a pattern that extends to cyberbullying.

Some 59 percent of teens who had experienced online bullying said they didn't tell their parents about it, the survey found. And only 63 percent of parents believe their kids have witnessed cyberbullying, fewer than the share of teens who said they've seen the behavior.

Parents are also unsure about where cyberbullying takes place, the survey shows. The largest share of teenagers — 21 percent — identified Instagram as the platform where teens are most likely to be meanest. Only 13 percent of parents agreed, and 22 percent said they didn't know the answer.

While almost all teens have devices that connect to the internet, the survey found, so do 84 percent of 3-to-7-year-olds. And the vast majority of millennial parents — 82 percent — worry that their kids will be cyberbullied, compared with 63 percent of teens' parents.

"Starting almost from the time they’re born, we teach our children how they deserve to be treated and how to behave respectfully and kindly toward others," Clementi said in a statement. "The survey is proof that we need to translate those lessons to online behavior as early as preschool in order to develop the habits necessary for healthy online interactions."

Through the end of the 2018, Patch will continue its in-depth look at society's roles and responsibilities in bullying, which can lead to a child's unthinkable decision to end their own life, in hopes we might offer solutions that save lives.

Do you have a story to tell? Are you concerned about how your local schools handle bullies and their victims?

Email us at bullies@patch.com and share your views in the comments.

Earlier In This Series

• The Bully Menace: When Kids Kill With Words
• America's Shameful Truth About Bullies And School Shootings
• The Hero Myth: Why Expecting Kids To Fight Bullies Is Harmful
• 'They All Failed And Changed A Child': Bullying Detailed
• Teen Tells Bullies In Video: 'Every Day I Wear Your Words'
• Teen's 'I Wear Your Words' Video Inspires Nashville Songwriters
• Bullying Of Mallory Grossman Detailed In Lawsuit Against School
• Bullies And Their Targets The Same: Digital Self-Harm Rising
• Why These Kindergartners Start Each Day With A Respectful Handshake
• Bullying In New York City Schools Never Worse: Survey
• The Bully Menace: 13 Great Books For Kids Of All Ages

(Lead image: Photo from Shutterstock)