Facebook is no longer the worst social network for online bullying
Instagram is the most commonly used network for online bullying, a new major survey has revealed.
More than 10,000 young people aged between 12 and 20 participated in the UK survey, published Wednesday by anti-bullying charity Ditch The Label, which looked at issues including cyberbullying, abuse, online behaviours, online personas, and social media addiction.
The report found that nearly half (42 percent) of all young people bullied online have been targeted on Instagram, while 37 percent report being bullied on Facebook, and 31 percent on Snapchat.
These new findings show a distinct migration from Facebook to Instagram. Previous research has placed Facebook as the worst social network for cyberbullying. A 2013 study conducted by The Trolled Nation found Facebook to be the worst social network for cyberbullying, with 87 percent of teenagers who'd been bullied reporting that it'd happened on Facebook.
And, a 2014 study by Cox Communication found that 39 percent of teens had witnessed online bullying on Facebook, while 22 percent had witnessed bullying on Instagram.
According to the report, the most common forms of cyberbullying included having nasty comments posted on profiles and photos, receiving unwelcome private messages, and having profiles wrongfully reported.
"I was on Instagram and I have a private account. Somebody that I didn’t know somehow had a picture of me and said that they would put my face on a nude picture if I didn’t answer the call," reads the case study of a 13-year-old girl interviewed for the survey.
"I didn’t answer the call. And to this day I don’t know if that person has put it online," she continued.
Ditch The Label's report found that one in five young people have been bullied online and half a million young people were bullied in the UK last week alone. The report also found that more than half of all young people in the UK have been bullied at some point.
In a statement, Instagram said it recommends users report bullying.
"We know that comments posted by other people can have a big impact and that's why we have recently invested heavily in new technology to help make Instagram a safe and supportive place," said policy chief Michelle Napchan.
"Using machine learning technology, offensive comments on Instagram are now automatically blocked from appearing on people's accounts. We also give people the choice to turn off comments altogether, or make their own lists of banned words or emojis," Napchan said.
If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For international resources, this list is a good place to start.
Topics Facebook Instagram Social Media
Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.
A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.
Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.
