More than 25pc of teens suffered cyber bullying over the past year: Study

WASHINGTON - A new study has found that 25 percent to 29 percent of all teenagers have been bullied via their mobile phone or the Internet over the past year.

“The data from our study shows that technological bullying affects 24.6pc of teenagers in the case of mobile telephony, and 29pc with regard to the internet. In the large majority of cases, this abuse lasts for a month or less”, said Sofma Buelga, co-author of the study and a researcher at the University of Valencia.

The research was carried out in 11 secondary schools in Valencia in 2009, with 2,101 teenagers between the ages of 11 and 17 responding.

According to the experts, this cyber bullying lasts for less than a month for most teenagers.

In cases where bullying is moderate and lasts for more than three months, the most commonly used means for it is the mobile phone.

Students in their first years at school are most frequently bullied.

The study shows that girls suffer more bullying than boys in most cases, particularly verbal bullying, invasions of privacy, spreading of rumours and social exclusion.

The findings were published in the journal Psicothema. (ANI)