Addressing the cyberbullying crisis in the UK
Bullying has always been a sad reality that many children face when growing up. Over the decades, we have gotten better at identifying and preventing these harmful behaviours, whether as parents, teachers or friends of those targeted.
However, since the widespread adoption of the internet, bullying has changed considerably, morphing from the classic playground menace to an online threat with few tangible boundaries. As more and more children are online, using social media, and interacting over the web, bullying has become much less visible and more difficult to monitor.
Some strategies, such as reducing screen time among children, could help to limit the effects of online bullying. By removing technology and encouraging our children to engage in offline play, like riding a bike, or enjoying the fun of climbing frames, we can provide safe experiences to enjoy their developmental years.
Despite these strategies, however, children may still need some internet access. It is now the norm for children to keep in touch with one another online, and there are many positive ways children can use the internet, so completely restricting access could do more harm than good. This leaves parents and guardians with a difficult problem, which could become more complex as technology develops rapidly.
To help explore this complex topic, we have analysed ONS data to reveal the prevalence of online bullying and how it is affecting our children. By pairing this data with research into the most commonly asked questions about online bullying, we aim to increase awareness about the difficulties children face online and answer some of the most common questions raised online.
The most popular social media platforms among UK children
Over the last decade, social media has soared in popularity among adults and children. Where Facebook once reigned as the dominant social platform, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) have become the most popular among British youth.
A staggering 50% of British children aged 4-18 have accounts on TikTok, while 43% have accounts on X and 40% on Facebook. TikTok is known for being more prevalent among younger people than among adults and is built around a short video framework where users are presented with a continuous stream of short-form video content to keep them engaged.
While this may have a detrimental effect on young people’s attention spans, the potential for online bullying on the platform is high, as creating videos is a simple, streamlined process, and moderators can take a long time to remove hateful content once reported.
Aside from the public content aspect of social media, private messaging is found on all the featured platforms. Direct messaging on social media is common but allows anyone to contact one another. This puts children at risk of hateful and dangerous messages, whether from people they know or strangers.
All featured platforms require users to be at least thirteen to make an account, though no verification is required. This makes it easy for underage users to circumvent the rules and create an account.
However, the featured social media platforms all have some form of parental controls and teen settings that allow parents and guardians to limit the content available to their child’s account. While these settings aren’t foolproof and don’t eliminate the threat of online bullying, they provide extra protection while your child uses social media.
Online bullying affects almost one-fifth of UK 10 to 15-year-olds
This official data shows that online bullying has become a genuine and present threat to the well-being of British youth, with 19.1% of 10-15-year-olds in the UK experiencing some form of online bullying. This impacts both sexes, though it is slightly more prominent among girls, with 22.5% reporting experiencing this behaviour compared to 16% of boys. However, this data relies on honest and truthful responses from all participants, so there is room for error within these statistics if some children are embarrassed or scared of admitting to being bullied.
Online bullying can take many forms, but this data reveals the most common ways British children are affected by it. These categories can overlap, with a single instance of bullying included in multiple types.
1. Nasty messages were sent to you - children affected: 10.9%
The most common online bullying behaviour experienced by UK children is receiving nasty messages, which affects approximately 10.9% of children. This may be a broad category, as many messages could be considered “nasty”, but it highlights the danger of children using apps and platforms with a private messaging feature.
Whether a child is using Facebook, TikTok or X, the private messaging feature allows users to send messages to one another without any oversight. This can be especially harmful to children’s well-being as they can receive hateful messages wherever they are and at any time, removing the safety that being at home or with family would otherwise provide.
To mitigate these effects, we recommend exploring each social media's safety features, such as limiting who can message your child’s account. Restricting access to technology at different times of day and encouraging an interest in offline activities can also help to avoid these issues.
2. Someone called you names, swore at you or insulted you - children affected: 9.6%
Name-calling is one of the oldest forms of bullying and has been an unwelcome part of the playground experience for as long as they have existed. However, name-calling can be more challenging to prevent online, as the behaviour is now private and can’t be overheard by nearby bystanders.
As with any form of bullying or personal issue, maintaining a good level of communication with your child could allow them the space they need to speak about any instances of name-calling they experience online.
3. Rumours were spread about you - children affected: 4.5%
Rumours can be a particularly damaging form of online bullying, potentially isolating children from their friends and peers. When rumours are spread online, they are even more challenging to track and can spread incredibly quickly. Spreading rumours can seriously affect a child, impacting their relationships with other friends and family members.
With 4.5% of children interviewed saying they had rumours about them spread online, this could happen to around one in 20 children in the UK. To put this into perspective, the average class size at schools in England is 26.6[1], meaning that statistically, every class could have at least one child who has suffered this form of online bullying.
Online bullying has increased by more than 10% since pre-COVID levels
Reported online bullying has increased by 10.9% since March 2020, with 83,000 more individual cases. However, this increase is not equally shared between the sexes. Girls saw a rise in online bullying of 21.8%, with 87,000 more cases in the year to March 2023, while boys reported a 1.4% drop, with 5,000 fewer incidents.
Not all forms of online bullying increased between these studies, with threats, being purposefully excluded, and rumours spreading about you all seeing an overall decrease in incidents. However, online threats and spreading rumours increased among girls despite the drop. Only three types of online bullying saw an overall increase since March 2020.
Made or tried to make you give money or other things - increase in children affected: 281.3%
Soliciting money or other things from children is an incredibly worrying form of online bullying to have seen such a huge increase, almost tripling over the last few years. This highlights the importance of teaching children who access social media not to respond to such requests and to report them to their parent or guardian, as well as to the app’s moderators and any other relevant adults, such as school staff.
While this form of online bullying saw a significant increase of 33.3% among boys, there was a 1400% increase in the number of victims who were girls, suggesting they were specifically targeted because of their sex. These uncomfortable figures show that more needs to be done to protect children online and deter culprits from engaging in this behaviour.
Nasty messages were passed around or posted where others could see - increase in children affected: 24.6%
The sharing of nasty messages about a child, including posting them in public places, saw the second-largest increase of 24.6% between studies. This was the only form of online bullying to see a more significant increase among boys than girls, with boys reporting 43.6% more incidents compared to 11.4% for girls.
Social media platforms present unique challenges to combatting bullying by opening public digital spaces to abuse. These messages can be difficult to remove and combat, often requiring the original poster to remove them unless reported and taken down by the platform.
Nasty messages about you were sent to you - increase in children affected: 16.6%
The third largest increase was for nasty messages sent directly to the victim, which saw 16.6% more incidents overall. This increase was 38.8% for girls, while boys saw a decrease of 8.9%.
Where possible, children should not be in a position to receive nasty messages online. Parental controls can be set up on all major social media platforms and online gaming services like Xbox Live, PlayStation Network, and Steam, many of which can be tailored to give your child or teen an appropriate level of protection and responsibility.
Online bullying factsheet
Many aspects of online bullying are not immediately apparent. To help shed light on the topic, here is a breakdown of several important facts and statistics about online bullying among UK children, all taken from ONS data.
The most-searched questions about online bullying in the UK
Having found search volumes for over 200 search terms related to online bullying, we have identified the most commonly asked questions.
1. 'What is cyberbullying?' UK searches: 76,980
Cyberbullying is another term for online bullying, with the two terms being interchangeable. Bullying online can take many forms, such as sending hateful messages to someone, creating private groups expressly to exclude certain people, or spreading rumours about people via social media.
Cyberbullying can occur on any online platform and isn’t limited to social media. These platforms can include online gaming, messaging platforms, content creation platforms, and mobile phones.
Multiple resources are available online if a child experiences online bullying but doesn’t want to raise the issue with their parents, guardian or school. Charities such as Childline and the National Bullying Helpline are available to contact and can offer support to child victims of cyberbullying.
2. 'What is trolling?' UK searches: 18,080
Trolling refers to when someone deliberately tries to upset others online. This behaviour is often carried out by strangers who are simply out to stir up trouble. They aim to elicit an emotional response from their target, usually saying things they don’t even believe to bait people and cause drama.
Being trolled online can be a distressing and upsetting experience, especially for children and young people. Trolls can sometimes encourage others to join in with their attacks to fuel a mob mentality and can target anything from posts you’ve made online to your race, religion or even the sound of your voice.
The best response to trolling is to ignore it and not feed the trolls. By refusing to engage with this behaviour, the trolls are denied the satisfaction of seeing their attacks have an impact and will often move on.
Trolls often use a fake name or alias to deliver their attacks anonymously so they feel they can act without consequence. However, you can report any such behaviour to the platform where it takes place, be it social media, online gaming, or another medium.
3. 'How to prevent online bullying' UK searches: 16,830
It’s tough to prevent online bullying from taking place, but there are ways in which you can limit its effects and provide a safer online experience for your child. It’s essential to remain open and receptive to hearing about their experiences online and not overreacting if they tell you they’ve been the target of online bullying.
For example, it could be very tempting to remove their access to technology to protect them from further harm. If your child thinks this is a possibility, they may not share their bullying experience for fear of losing their devices. Removing technology can also be viewed as a punishment by a victim of online bullying, making them feel they are somehow to blame.
One tactic is encouraging the child not to respond to online bullying and simply ignore it. By not taking the bait, many online bullies will lose interest and stop their behaviour of their own accord. However, this is not a foolproof tactic and should be combined with reporting the abusive person to the relevant platform and considering reporting them to school staff or even the police, depending on the severity of their actions.
4. 'Is online bullying a crime?' UK searches: 7,470
While online bullying isn’t a legally defined term in the UK, several laws could offer protection to victims of cyberbullying. For example, according to the Crown Prosecution Service[2], online trolling can be prosecuted under the Malicious Communication Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003.
Most types of cyberbullying could also be considered forms of anti-social behaviour, so reporting severe incidents to the police could be a way of stopping online bullies in their tracks and ensuring there are consequences for their actions.
However, there may be other ways to solve online bullying issues without resorting to police involvement. For example, if the perpetrator is also a child who goes to the same school as the victim, then contacting staff could address the issue.
5. 'Report online bullying' UK searches: 4,430
Reporting online bullying can take many forms, depending on the severity of the incident and who you’re reporting it to. However you report online bullying, it’s essential to record evidence, such as screenshots and text messages, to make the issue as clear and transparent as possible. It is also important to consider whether the bully is aware of the effects and severity of their actions if they are not adults.
Some forms of online bullying, such as harassment, malicious messaging or distribution of private sexual images without consent, can be reported online to your local police force or over the phone by calling 101. Check your local force’s website for more information on reporting online.
If you want to report online bullying to the platform where it took place, you must find their relevant online form. All major social media applications allow you to report abuse online, as do online gaming platforms like Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Steam. Simply follow the instructions on each platform’s website to report abuse. There are also often options to report abuse in-app or in-game.
If you want to report online bullying to your child’s school, the first person to contact is their class teacher or head of year. If your child is being bullied by someone they go to school with, the school has a responsibility to help resolve the bullying regardless of whether it happens at school, outside or online.
People in Northern Ireland are most concerned about online bullying
|
Factor
|
Population
|
Search Volume
Oct 23 - Sep 24
|
Searches per 100,000 people
|
|
UK
|
68,265,200
|
219,350
|
321
|
|
England
|
57,690,300
|
189,100
|
328
|
|
Scotland
|
5,490,100
|
12,850
|
234
|
|
Wales
|
3,164,400
|
11,420
|
361
|
|
Northern Ireland
|
1,920,400
|
7,940
|
414
|
Using a list of more than 200 search terms, we found almost 220,000 searches for questions and queries about online bullying in the UK over the last year, equal to 321 per 100,000 people. This suggests a clear demand for more understanding of the topic and how to prevent it.
People in Northern Ireland searched for information on online bullying the most, with 7,940 searches, equal to 414 per 100,000 people. Scotland saw the lowest level of interest in online bullying, with 234 searches per 100,000 people, which hopefully stems from lower levels of actual bullying.
Wales has seen the most significant increase in concern surrounding online bullying
| Factor | Search Volume Oct 22 - Sep 23 | Search Volume Oct 23 - Sep 24 | Volume Change | % Change |
| UK | 219,350 | 221,310 | 1,960 | 0.9% |
| England | 188,280 | 189,100 | 820 | 0.4% |
| Scotland | 12,460 | 12,850 | 390 | 3.1% |
| Wales | 10,900 | 11,420 | 520 | 4.8% |
| Northern Ireland | 7,710 | 7,940 | 230 | 3.0% |
Concern about online bullying is increasing in the UK, with 1,960 more searches than the previous year. While England, which accounts for the most searches due to its larger population, only saw a 0.4% increase, the other countries within the UK saw much more significant increases.
Wales saw the largest increase in searches for topics related to online bullying, at 4.8%, while Scotland and Northern Ireland saw increases of 3.1% and 3%, respectively. This suggests that information and support services for online bullying may be less available in these areas.
Peterborough saw the most searches about online bullying over the last 12 months
|
Searches per Capita Rank |
City |
Region |
Population |
Online Bullying Searches Oct 23 - Sep 24 |
Searches per 100,000 Oct 23 - Sep 24 |
|
1
|
Peterborough
|
East
|
175,680
|
2,500
|
1,423
|
|
2
|
Bolton
|
North West
|
202,369
|
2,770
|
1,369
|
|
3
|
Wolverhampton
|
West Midlands
|
218,255
|
2,640
|
1,210
|
|
4
|
Milton Keynes
|
South East
|
184,105
|
2,210
|
1,200
|
|
5
|
Huddersfield
|
Yorkshire Humber
|
170,269
|
1,950
|
1,145
|
|
6
|
Belfast
|
Northern Ireland
|
328,937
|
3,570
|
1,085
|
|
7
|
Swansea
|
Wales
|
184,436
|
1,970
|
1,068
|
|
8
|
Manchester
|
North West
|
554,400
|
5,600
|
1,010
|
|
9
|
Newcastle upon Tyne
|
North East
|
281,842
|
2,570
|
912
|
|
10
|
Blackpool
|
North West
|
145,722
|
1,230
|
844
|
1. Peterborough - online bullying searches per 100,000: 1,423
Peterborough is the UK city most concerned about online bullying, with 1,423 searches per 100,000 people. This small cathedral city in the East of England has the highest rate of searches for online bullying per capita, suggesting a need for information from worried parents and guardians or from victims seeking support services.
2. Bolton - online bullying searches per 100,000: 1,369
Bolton has the second-highest level of online bullying searches in the UK, with 1,369 per 100,000. This large town in Greater Manchester saw 2,770 searches for topics around online bullying over the last year.
3. Wolverhampton - online bullying searches per 100,000: 1,210
Wolverhampton has the third-highest rate of searches for information on online bullying, with 1,210 searches per 100,000 people. This West Midlands city just northwest of Birmingham is closely followed by Milton Keynes, which saw 1,200 searches for online bullying per 100,000.
Warrington has seen the most significant increase in searches about online bullying
|
Search Increase Rank
|
City
|
Region
|
Online Bullying Searches
Oct 22 - Sep 23
|
Online Bullying Searches
Oct 23 - Sep 24
|
Annual Search Increase
|
|
1
|
Warrington
|
North West
|
480
|
830
|
72.9%
|
|
2
|
Blackpool
|
North West
|
740
|
1,230
|
66.2%
|
|
3
|
Bristol
|
South West
|
2,830
|
3,750
|
32.5%
|
|
4
|
Plymouth
|
South West
|
1,590
|
1,950
|
22.6%
|
|
5
|
Coventry
|
West Midlands
|
2,320
|
2,840
|
22.4%
|
|
6
|
Kingston upon Hull
|
Yorkshire Humber
|
1,280
|
1,440
|
12.5%
|
|
7
|
Wolverhampton
|
West Midlands
|
2,370
|
2,640
|
11.4%
|
|
8
|
Southend-on-Sea
|
East
|
1,140
|
1,250
|
9.7%
|
|
9
|
Manchester
|
North West
|
5,200
|
5,600
|
7.7%
|
|
10
|
Liverpool
|
North West
|
4,090
|
4,350
|
6.4%
|
1. Warrington - annual search increase: 72.9%
Warrington saw the most significant increase in searches for information on online bullying, with 72.9% more searches over the last year than the previous 12-month period.
2. Blackpool - annual search increase: 66.2%
Blackpool saw the second-largest increase in searches for online bullying topics, with an annual growth of 66.2%.
3. Bristol - annual search increase: 32.5%
Bristol saw 32.5% more searches for online bullying over the last year than the previous 12 months, the third-highest increase in our study.
Concern about online bullying has more than halved in Cambridge over the last three years
|
Search Increase Rank
|
City
|
Region
|
Online Bullying Searches
Oct 22 - Sep 23
|
Online Bullying Searches
Oct 23 - Sep 24
|
Annual Search Decrease
|
|
1
|
Cambridge
|
East
|
1,580
|
700
|
-55.7%
|
|
2
|
Telford
|
West Midlands
|
2,100
|
1,110
|
-47.1%
|
|
3
|
Nottingham
|
East Midlands
|
1,870
|
1,090
|
-41.7%
|
|
4
|
Sunderland
|
North East
|
1,250
|
870
|
-30.4%
|
|
5
|
Northampton
|
East Midlands
|
1,590
|
1,120
|
-29.6%
|
|
6
|
Oxford
|
South East
|
820
|
600
|
-26.8%
|
|
7
|
Slough
|
South East
|
1,670
|
1,230
|
-26.4%
|
|
8
|
Stoke-on-Trent
|
West Midlands
|
1,630
|
1,230
|
-24.5%
|
|
9
|
Ipswich
|
East
|
1,500
|
1,220
|
-18.7%
|
|
10
|
Derby
|
East Midlands
|
2,040
|
1,660
|
-18.6%
|
1. Cambridge - annual search decrease: -55.7%
Cambridge is the city with the most significant decrease in searches for online bullying topics, with 55.7% fewer searches over the last year.
2. Telford - annual search decrease: -47.1%
Telford saw the second-largest decrease in searches for information on online bullying, with search volumes falling by 47.1%.
3. Nottingham - annual search decrease: -41.7%
Nottingham saw the third-largest decrease in searches for online bullying topics, with a 41.7% drop in search volume.
Methodology
We used ONS data to reveal which forms of online bullying are most common among 10—to 15-year-olds in the UK and to track which forms are becoming more and less common.
Data from Statista revealed the share of 4—to 18-year-olds in the UK who use various social media platforms.
We also collated a list of more than 200 search terms surrounding the topic of online bullying using tools such as Answer the Public, AlsoAsked and Ahrefs for inspiration. We used these terms to find the number of Google searches made in the UK between October 2023 and September 2024. This data was retrieved via Google’s Keyword Planner and collected by constituent countries and the 50 largest UK towns and cities to reveal regional differences concerning online bullying.
We also collected this search data for the previous 12 months, October 2022 to September 2023, to reveal how concern about online bullying has changed in different parts of the country.
The five most commonly searched questions about online bullying were then answered, with our responses informed by authoritative sources such as the NSPCC, the MET Police, the Anti-bullying Alliance, the UK Safer Internet Centre, and Australia’s eSafety Commissioner.
Additional sources referenced in the article:
[1] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/6e7d0b1a-9896-4d05-3e0f-08dc65d12a8f
[2] https://www.cps.gov.uk/crime-info/cyber-online-crime