For many families around the world, the digital spaces where children learn and play have also become venues for relentless harassment. According to a 2025 survey of nearly 3,500 U.S. teens by the Cyberbullying Research Center, about 58% have been cyberbullied at least once, a significant jump from 34% in 2016.
Experts warn that this issue is now a constant crisis and impacting the well-being of children and teens.
In this guide, we will clarify exactly what counts as cyberbullying. We will explore how new platforms and artificial intelligence are reshaping the landscape. Most importantly, we will provide you with practical steps to protect your family. Together, we can take actionable steps to keep our digital lives safe and positive.
What Is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is not a vague term for online drama. It has specific characteristics that separate it from a simple disagreement between friends. Similar to bullying, cyberbullying has standard elements of unwanted aggressive behavior, an observed or perceived power imbalance, and behavior that is repeated or likely to be repeated.
Common cyberbullying behaviors include name-calling, severe insults, rumor spreading, direct threats, impersonation through fake accounts, intentional exclusion from group chats, non-consensual sharing of private photos, and doxxing, publishing someone’s private information like their home address or phone number without consent. We also frequently see pile-on attacks, where dozens or hundreds of users flood a person’s comments section with hate statements.
The Cyberbullying Research Center notes that in recent national surveys, about 26.5% of U.S. students reported being cyberbullied in the last 30 days, underscoring the ongoing nature of online harassment as a daily reality for many.
Why Cyberbullying is Different (and More Harmful)
While the core intent to harm is the same as traditional bullying, cyberbullying operates differently:
- Platform: Bullying takes place in the physical world, while cyberbullying occurs in digital spaces such as text messages, direct messages, social media platforms, group chats, online gaming environments, email, and photo-sharing applications.
- Anonymity: Another major difference is anonymity. Cyberbullies often hide behind fake profiles or anonymous accounts, making it difficult to know who is launching the attacks.
- Constancy: A significant difference with cyberbullying is the constant nature of the internet. Online harassment can follow teens home and continue late into the night via phones and apps.
- Audience and permanence: A hurtful comment made in a school hallway is heard by a few people and eventually fades, while a similar post online can spread to thousands of people in minutes. It can be screen-captured and may resurface years later. Once it is out there, it is incredibly difficult to remove.
Despite these differences, there is a strong overlap in how bullying and cyberbullying impact individuals. Many youths who are bullied online are also bullied at school, and experience anxiety or depression.
Types and Examples of Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying takes many forms, from classic harassment tactics to emerging AI-powered threats. The most frequently reported forms of cyberbullying include being excluded from group chats, mean or hurtful comments posted online, public embarrassment or humiliation, and rumors spread online, according to the Cyberbullying Research Center’s 2025 survey. Understanding these methods helps you recognize and stop them.
Common Cyberbullying Methods
- Harassment: Sending repeated offensive messages through texts, direct messages, or comments, or intentionally leaving someone out of group chats and online activities where they can see what they’re missing.
- Flaming: An online fight conducted through angry, vulgar exchanges via emails, messages, social media, or chat rooms. Unlike harassment, flaming is often a heated back-and-forth exchange rather than one-sided attacks.
- Impersonation and Fake Accounts: Creating fake profiles or hacking into someone’s account to post damaging content as if the victim wrote it themselves, destroying reputations quickly
- Outing and Doxing: Sharing private photos, messages, or personal information (like addresses or phone numbers) publicly without consent to embarrass, humiliate, or intimidate
- Cyberstalking: Persistent online monitoring accompanied by threatening messages that make someone fear for their safety, which is a federal crime. Examples include tracking someone’s location through social media check-ins, obsessively monitoring their online activity, or sending relentless, threatening messages.
Where Cyberbullying Occurs Most
To protect our kids, we need to know where the risks are highest. Recent analyses find that cyberbullying mainly happens on social media platforms, including YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, as well as in messaging apps and online games, where teens commonly interact.
If you are a parent, take an inventory of the apps your child uses most frequently and ask them to show you how the messaging and commenting features work. Familiarizing yourself with these digital environments will help them navigate these platforms safely.
Emerging AI-Driven Threats
Artificial intelligence (AI) has fundamentally changed the internet, and has, unfortunately, introduced alarming new tactics:
- Deepfake Images and Videos: AI-generated content can be misused to create highly realistic images or videos called deepfakes. Entirely fake videos can be created showing a student doing or saying something they never did, which complicates evidence gathering. These are then shared in group chats or posted publicly to spread false narratives and destroy reputations.
- Voice Cloning: Students are using AI to mimic classmates’ voices, generating audio that makes someone sound like they said something offensive or embarrassing, with no easy way to prove it wasn’t real. About 11% of U.S. high schoolers have experienced this.
- AI-Generated Harassment: AI chatbots are being used to generate spam, threats, and hate speech at scale, flooding a victim’s inbox or comment sections across platforms.
- Body-Shaming with AI Filters: AI-altered images and filters are being weaponized to body-shame and humiliate targets, often shared widely before victims can respond.
AI Can Also Be a Safety Tool
However, platforms have also begun using AI as a safety tool to detect hate speech, harassment, and predatory behavior in real time. Newer safety reports show that AI-driven comment filtering and think-before-you-post nudges successfully reduce toxic comments and repeat harassment on major platforms.
How Common Is Cyberbullying Today?
The statistics show that cyberbullying is a widespread issue requiring immediate attention. In a 2024 study, the World Health Organization revealed that 15% of surveyed adolescents have experienced cyberbullying.
In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Youth Risk Behavior Survey reports that 16% of high school students were electronically bullied in the previous 12 months, about 38.3% of whom were girls compared to 29.9% of boys.
Another study showed that about 53.9% of teens aged 13 to 17 reported being cyberbullied. These statistics demonstrate that cyberbullying is a mainstream experience, making digital safety education relevant to almost every family.
The Most Affected Groups
Aside from gender, identity plays a key role in who is targeted for cyberbullying. Gender minorities reported much higher rates of harassment at 47.1% compared with their heterosexual peers at 30%, as did students with developmental disabilities.
How Cyberbullying Affects Mental Health
There is evidence that online harassment causes profound psychological harm. A CDC report links frequent social media use with higher rates of both in-person and cyberbullying, as well as constant sadness, hopelessness, and suicidal thinking among teens.
This is supported by the 2025 announcement from mental health experts highlighting the connection between cyberbullying and increased anxiety, depression, and trauma-like symptoms. Even though incidents seem minor, parents and teens must acknowledge that emotional reactions to cyberbullying are valid and serious. Early support and intervention can significantly reduce long-term harm.
Platform Safety Updates for Teens
Social media companies are facing intense pressure to protect younger users, leading to significant updates. In 2025, Meta tightened default messaging and commenting settings for teens, automatically assigning the strictest safety options to teen accounts to filter inappropriate interactions from unknown users.
In addition, the company’s Instagram and Facebook platforms now provide more information about users contacting teens, showing details such as the age of the account and providing a way to block and report abusive users.
Help your child utilize these settings by ensuring their accounts are set to private to restrict direct messages from strangers. Enable each platform’s built-in AI comment filtering to hide offensive words automatically.
Signs Your Child May Be Cyberbullied
As a parent, one of your most powerful tools is simply paying attention. Cyberbullying often leaves visible traces in your child’s behavior, emotions, and device habits, if you know what to look for. The good news is that early recognition means early intervention, and that can make all the difference.
Behavioral Changes to Watch For
- Sudden withdrawal from social activities or friends
- Reluctance to go to school or participate in usual activities
- Anxiety or nervousness when using devices or checking messages
- Changes in sleep patterns or appetite
Emotional Warning Signs
- Increased sadness, anxiety, or irritability, especially after being online
- Low self-esteem or negative self-talk (“nobody likes me,” “I’m stupid”)
- Reluctance to discuss online activities or what’s happening at school
Device and Online Behavior
- Extreme changes in screen time, either excessive checking or complete avoidance
- Suddenly deleting social media accounts without explanation
- Being secretive about online activity or quickly hiding screens
- Receiving unusual volumes of messages or calls, especially at odd hours
If you notice several of these signs together, it’s time for a conversation. The key is approaching with empathy and making it clear they won’t be punished for opening up.
How to Prevent Cyberbullying: Guidance for Families
Knowing the impact of cyberbullying is only half the battle. The most important step is being proactive to protect your family. Here is how you can build a resilient defense against online harassment and empower your children.
Build Open Communication and Digital Citizenship Skills
The foundation of digital safety is trust. Encourage regular, judgment-free check-ins on your child’s online activities. Ask them what they are doing, seeing, and feeling related to the ongoing online issues. Assure them you will not confiscate their phone when they report a problem.
In addition, teach your kids to recognize cyberbullying and to support their peers who are being targeted. Underscore the importance of not joining in on the comment pile-ons, and let them know that it is perfectly acceptable to block, mute, or simply leave harmful digital spaces. Research suggests that strong parent-teen communication can buffer some negative effects of social media use and encourage teens to ask for help sooner.
Enable Safety Settings
Every major platform has tools designed to stop harassment. Teach your child to use keyword filters to automatically hide comments that contain specific insults, slurs, and other forms of hate speech. Help them set their accounts to private to restrict direct messages from strangers, and enable each platform’s built-in AI comment-filtering features.
How to Report Cyberbullying
Alongside safety features, teach them to block and report harassers on the platform. You can end cyberbullying quickly if you know how to use platforms’ tools effectively.
1. Document Everything First
Before blocking, deleting, or reporting anything, save evidence. Create a digital safety plan and agree with your family that if anyone receives a threatening or highly abusive message, they should document the incident with screenshots before blocking, deleting, or responding to it. These screenshots will serve as important pieces of evidence if the school or platforms need to take action.
2. Use Platform Reporting Tools
Most importantly, teach your child to block and report harassers on the platform. Here’s how on major platforms:
Instagram, Facebook, and Threads:
- Tap the three dots on the post or message
- Select “Report” and choose the violation type (bullying or harassment)
- Follow prompts to block the account
- Use “Restrict” to limit interactions without full blocking
TikTok:
- Long-press the comment or video
- Select “Report” and choose “Bullying and harassment”
- Block the account from their profile page
Snapchat:
- Press and hold on the message or username
- Tap “Report” and select the issue
- Block the user to prevent further contact
YouTube:
- Click the three dots next to the comment or video
- Select “Report” and choose “Cyberbullying or harassment”
Gaming Platforms (Xbox, PlayStation, Discord, and Roblox)
- Use in-game or platform reporting options, typically found in user profiles or chat menus
- Many platforms now offer real-time abuse detection that automatically flags harassment
Text Messages:
- Block the number through your phone settings
- Report spam to your carrier (forward to 7726/SPAM for most U.S. carriers)
- Save screenshots before blocking
3. Escalate for More Help
Sometimes, platform tools are not enough. You need to know when to escalate the situation to the appropriate authorities. Follow the steps below when you see signs of ongoing harassment, physical threats, identity-based or other forms of hate, the sharing of private images, as well as changes in your child’s mood, sleep patterns, or school attendance.
- Save all evidence, including screenshots, URLs, usernames, and timestamps.
- Contact school officials, such as a counselor or principal, and provide them with specific documentation.
- Seek professional mental health support to address your child’s distress.
- Contact local law enforcement immediately if there are threats of physical harm or illegal content involved.
How Technology Can Help Prevent Cyberbullying
While technology is the medium for cyberbullying, it is also a tool for prevention and protection. Using the right software can give parents peace of mind and help teens navigate the web.
Device-Level Protection and Parental Controls
Cyberbullying is frequently accompanied by other digital threats, such as sending malicious links, stealing passwords, or tricking victims into downloading scam apps. This is where robust security software becomes essential to help block phishing links and compromised websites.
Additionally, parental control tools allow you to manage screen time, filter inappropriate web content, and monitor or limit certain types of app usage for age-appropriate scenarios. These tools help protect younger children from platforms they are not emotionally ready to handle.
Digital Well-Being Tools that Signal Distress
Modern security solutions offer digital well-being tools that track app usage and highlight sudden changes in behavior, such as late-night device use, massive spikes in messaging, or the sudden downloading of new, unfamiliar apps. These changes can be early warning signs of distress or harassment.
It is crucial to use these tools transparently by introducing them to your teens as conversation starters rather than secret surveillance. Saying that you noticed they were on their phone very late last night and asking if everything is okay builds trust. Spying breaks it.
Legal Grounds to Deal with Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is not just a behavioral issue. It intersects heavily with school policies, community safety, and the law. Understanding this context will help your family deal with severe harassment.
Laws and School Responsibilities
Globally, many countries are adopting frameworks to protect digital citizens against cyberbullying. In the United States, all 50 states have anti-bullying laws, most of which now explicitly include electronic or cyberbullying in their definitions and guidance. These include laws and district policies that allow schools to address online behavior that creates a hostile environment or substantially disrupts a student’s learning. This means that even if the harassment happens on a weekend via a smartphone, the school has the authority and the responsibility to intervene if it impacts the victim’s ability to feel safe in the classroom.
Cyberbullying as a Crime
Certain cruel online behaviors may cross the line into criminal activity and to be considered crimes. For instance, credible threats of violence, stalking, extortion, hate-motivated harassment, and the non-consensual sharing of intimate images may violate criminal laws.
If a situation escalates to this level, it is time for legal and law enforcement to intervene. When this happens, families should document all evidence and consider contacting law enforcement or civil rights agencies.
Look up your local school district’s specific cyberbullying policies and legal obligations, and find out who to contact. This will save you valuable time if you need to report an incident.
Final Thoughts
Cyberbullying is intentional, repeated online harm, and a serious issue that leverages the constant nature of the internet to follow young children, teens, and certain groups into their homes and bedrooms.
While social media platforms, school policies, and laws are steadily improving, families still hold the most powerful tools. You can significantly reduce the harm to your children caused by online harassment by initiating open and non-judgmental conversations, utilizing built-in device protections and app privacy settings, partnering with your local schools, and seeking mental health support when needed.
Talk with your kids this week about their online experiences. Sit down together and review the safety and privacy settings on their favorite apps. Finally, consider using a trusted security partner such as McAfee+ as part of a broader, proactive digital safety plan.
A McAfee+ family plan helps protect your household’s devices from the malware and malicious links that often accompany harassment or sextortion attempts and sets healthy boundaries around apps, web content, and screen time. Furthermore, it provides educational resources on digital citizenship and safe social media use beyond basic antivirus software.
When you work with trusted tools, you can help keep the internet a place of connection and creativity.
The post Cyberbullying Prevention: How to Protect Kids & Teens Online appeared first on McAfee Blog.
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