Study reveals teen bullying statistics

By Staff Writer

According to a new study, approximately half of all high school students surveyed said that they have bullied someone in the last year. Also, nearly half said that they have been the target of bullying, teasing or taunting in ways that seriously upset them, according to the LA Times.

The study by the Westchester-based Josephson Institute of Ethics released this week, used a large sample of more than 43,000 high school students from private and public institutions nationwide.

The survey shows that technology and the Internet have worsened the effect of bullying. In addition to verbal and cyber abuse, one in four students reported feeling unsafe in school. More than half said they had hit someone within the last year because they were angry, the news source reports.

The results come on the heels of high-profile youth suicides, including a Rutgers University freshman who jumped off a bridge after roommates posted a video on the Internet of him having sex with another man.

According to a survey conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center, about 7.5 percent of students reported being harassed online in 2009.