Cyberbullying exists but is less common than regular bullying

A lot has been made of cyberbullying, kids pushing each other around online in social networks or by direct messaging. A new Pew report indicates that while it happens, it doesn’t happen as much as it does in real life. 12% say they have been bullied in person, 9% by text message, 8% online.

From CNET’s coverage of the report:

In fact, the study–conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project for the Family Online Safety Institute and Cable in the Classroom–concluded that “[m]ost American teens who use social media say that in their experience, people their age are mostly kind to one another on social network sites.” Nearly seven in ten (69 percent) of teens said that peers are mostly kind while 20 percent said peers are mostly unkind with 11 percent saying, “it depends.”