A new study by researchers at Anglia Ruskin University has revealed that more number of girls are subject to cyber-bullying than boys.
The Telegraph reported that cyber-bullying caused loss of confidence and even a drop in school attendance for most victims.
The study surveyed almost 500 young people between the ages 11 and 19. It found that 18.4% of young people were cyber-bullied, but nearly twice the number of girls said that they were subjected to bullying than boys did.
The study found that while 22% girls had been subjected to cyber-bullying, 13.5% boys said they had faced it, according to the report.
A significant large number (66%) of the young respondents said they either knew a victim or had witnessed cyber-bullying.
The main impact of cyber-bullying is emotional, the study suggests.
Over half, 52%, said their mental and emotional well-being had been affected by cyber-bullying; 29% of victims said their school attendance dropped, while 39% turned reclusive outside school.
Less than half of the respondents, 45%, said they would seek support.
Fear of making things worse and assumption that they could solve the problem are main reasons why cyber-bullied victims prefer not to look for help, said the report.
Among those who look for help, parents and friends are the most likely people they would approach, the research found.
Researcher Steven Walker told The Telegraph while most online interactions are neutral or positive the Internet provides a new means through which children and young people are bullied.’
He added, ”Many of the respondents in our study thought that cyber-bullies do not actually think they are bullying. In the main they thought that cyber-bullying was seen by bullies as merely a form of ‘harmless fun’, a joke and therefore not an issue.
”Others thought cyber-bullies are motivated by a lack of confidence and a desire for control, perhaps because they are too cowardly to bully face-to-face.
”As the use of social media among young people continues to grow, unless properly addressed by host sites and Government agencies the problem of cyber-bullying is only likely to get worse.”
Cyber-bullying has reportedly led some youngsters to commit suicide.
Last month, a new report, handed to MPs, had said that social networking sites such as Facebook are failing "in their duty" to provide enough support to victims of cyberstalking and other online harassment.
The first British study into cyberstalking and related harassment online found that over 60% of the 353 British victims surveyed did not receive support from the websites or authorities.
The National Centre for Cyberstalking Research at the University of Bedfordshire had conducted the research.
The authors of the report had said that social networking sites should develop a clear process which states actions and time frames for action against online stalkers.
The authors wrote that it may be tempting to dismiss cyberstalking and harassment as somehow less real than ‘traditional’ stalking methods, but the effects on the victim can be very real.
The authors said, "The psychological effects can be devastating, producing verifiable psychological trauma and damage, regardless of whether the victim ever actually meets their harasser.
"One clear message from the data collected is that many of the victims of cyber harassment are frustrated with the lack of help and support they feel is available."
Facebook spokesman had responded to the report saying said that "nothing is more important" than the safety of the people that use Facebook.
In February this year, Officers from Thames Valley Police had said that the department will send letters to parents of "Facebook bullies" in a crackdown on teenaged Facebook bullies harassing fellow students.
A month later, Facebook added a new option to contact a "trusted friend" to its safety centre so that bullying victims could report online bullying to friends, as well as site moderators.
Facebook also said that it had simplified its safety centre and improved its guides for adults and young people. The changes were announced at the White House during an anti-bullying conference hosted by President Obama and his wife Michelle in March.
Earlier this year, a survey by Consumer Reports found Facebook had 7.5 million underage users in the US alone, a violation of the site’s policies. Facebook also has one million children who have been bullied on the site, Consumer Reports said.
