Small study suggests around half of US teens witness online harm, and around a third have been targeted
A survey of 472 US adolescents across 47 states found 44.7% had witnessed online harassment and 29.8% had experienced it directly in the past four weeks. Perhaps surprisingly, the same proportion of the teens reported being targeted for harm offline as online.
A study of 472 US adolescents from 47 states has found that 44.7% have witnessed online harassment, with 29.8% experiencing it directly in the past four weeks. Notably, the same proportion of teens reported being targeted for harm both online and offline. The relatively small study group reflects the broader US adolescent population, and the teens surveyed reported experiencing online harm on 20 different platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Discord, and Pinterest.
The researchers discovered that, on average, young people were more likely to experience online harms compared to offline harms. Specifically, 10.7% had been exposed to violent imagery online, compared to just 1.6% offline; 13.4% encountered unwanted sexual images online, compared to 2.0% offline; and 9.7% witnessed content promoting self-harm online, versus 5.2% of offline incidents.
The researchers hope their findings can serve as a baseline to monitor online harm in young people in the future. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, is available at DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4692.
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