The Washington Post reported today that girls are "more likely than boys to engage in cyberbullying."
From the article:
Research from Cyber-bullying Research Center at Florida Atlantic University has shown that adolescent girls are significantly more likely than boys to partake in and experience cyber-bullying. Girls also are more likely to report cyber-bullying to a parent or teacher. The center's research also suggests that the type of cyber-bullying tends to differ by gender; girls are more likely to spread rumors, while boys are more likely to post hurtful pictures or videos.
Cyberbullying comes in many different forms: sending threatening texts or email, posting derogatory information about someone on social network sites, and banning specific people from group sites.
"Without question, the nature of adolescent peer aggression has evolved due to the proliferation of information and communications technology," said Sameer Hinduja of the Cyber-bullying Research Center at Florida Atlantic University.
In 2007, more than 900,000 secondary students reported being cyber-bullied, according to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at a federal Bullying Prevention Summit.