A Boston-area study which surveyed more than 16,000 high school students suggests that cyberbullying is sharply rising, especially against teenage girls.
According to the Boston Globe, the study by the nonprofit Education Development Center says that the percentage of students who reported cyberbullying increased from 14.6 percent to 21.2 percent over a six-year period which ended in 2012.
Both boys and girls reported increased incidents involving bullying or harassment on social media, with the percentage of girls reporting incidents going up 10 percent and the reported incidents targeting boys going up 3 percent over the six-year period.
Shari Kessel Schneider, lead author on the new study, says that the prevalence of smartphones among teenagers likely has contributed to the increase.
