1 in 3 adults have a close friend/family member who was a victim of cyberbullying.

iReach Insights Press Release

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2nd July 2019

1 in 3 adults have a close friend/family member who was a victim of cyberbullying. 

    1 in 7 adults have been victims of cyberbullying themselves

    Facebook is a top offender for cyberbullying cases (83%), but 60% of people think it is working to tackle the problem

    Females (22%) are twice as likely as males (11%) to witness cyberbullying

As technology becomes increasingly integrated with our social lives, cyberbullying has become a major concern for many users. With this in mind, iReach Insights conducted a nationally representative survey of 1,001 adults in Ireland to determine public opinion on cyberbullying. 

One in seven adults (15%) has been a victim of cyberbullying, with those aged 18-34 being the most at risk (33%). However, one in three adults (32%) have a close friend or family member who was a victim of cyberbullying. Of those, 83% listed Facebook as the website where the cyberbullying took place, with Snapchat (48%) and Instagram (27%) coming in as other major sites of cyberbullying. However, Facebook is ranked as being the site who does the most to tackle the problem of cyberbullying (60%).

86% of people said they would be likely or very likely to tell someone if they were experiencing cyberbullying. The top two responses beyond telling someone were blocking the person (59%) and reporting to the website/app (56%).

17% of adults have witnessed cyberbullying happening to another person, with females twice as likely (22%) as males (11%) to have witnessed it. 78% said they took action after witnessing this cyberbullying, with the top three actions taken being: 1. Reporting to the website/app (70%), 2. Contacting the victim (42%), and 3. Told someone and asked for advice (40%). The main reasons people didn’t take action were: 1. Didn’t want to seem nosey (39%), 2. Didn’t want to get involved (32%), and 3. Didn’t want to embarrass the victim (20%).

96% of people think restrictions should be implemented to prevent cyberbullying, with top recommendations being: 1. Social media surveillance (64%), 2. Awareness of cyberbullying in schools (50%), and 3. More reporting facilities (49%). 55% of people believe celebrities and social media personalities have a role to play in preventing cyberbullying.

About iReach Insights

iReach Insights provides a range of research and market intelligence services in Ireland and Europe. iReach has built a Consumer Decisions Research Panel of 40,000 members in Ireland, delivering robust research insights. The survey questions were included in a stand alone ILCU Back to School ROI Facebook survey run by iReach Insights in June 2019 and has a 3% Confidence Interval and 95% Confidence Level.

Questions asked of participants:

Have you ever been a victim of cyberbullying?

Have any of your close friends/family been victims of cyberbullying?

On what websites/apps did this cyberbullying affecting your close friends/family take place?

If you were experiencing cyberbullying, how likely would you be to tell someone?

What other actions would you take upon experiencing cyberbullying?

Have you witnessed cyberbullying happening to another person?

Did you take any action upon witnessing this cyberbullying?

What action did you take/Why did you not take any action?

Do you think there should be more restrictions on websites/apps to prevent cyberbullying?

What restrictions do you think should be implemented?

Do you feel that celebrities/social media personalities have a role in reducing cyberbullying?

In relation to cyberbullying, what social media sites are tackling this problem? 

iReach Insights Limited – Temple Hall, Temple Road, Blackrock, CO. Dublin, IRELAND.

iReach Managing Director: Oisin Byrne
T: 01-214 3740 or email: PR@ireachhq.com