LGBT Students and Cyberbullying

LGBT bullying statistics show they suffer from more cyberbullying. According to GLSEN and BullyingStatistics.org:⁸⁰

• 42 percent of LGBT youth have experiencedcyberbullying
• 25 percent more thanonce
• 35 percent receive onlinethreats
• 58 percent say something bad is said to them or about themonline

• Cyber bullying of LGBT youth is three times higher than other student’sexperience.
• 33 per cent report sexual harassment online, which is four times higher than the experience of otherstudents.
• 27 percent of LGBT youth do not feel safeonline.
• 20 percent report receiving harassing text messages from other students.

Cyberbullying combined with bullying at school lowers self-esteem, which affects grades and mental health.

Fifty percent of all youth do not understand that discriminatory language is offensive, nor do they realize the negative impact on LGBT youth. GLSEN also found that LGBT youth spend more time online than youth in general. LGBT youth make friends online, and use the Internet to gather information about sexuality and health including information about HIV/Aids. LGBT youth are twice as likely to participate in political activities as other youth, making these connections online also. Because LGBT youth spend more time online, they are more likely the targets of cyberbullying.¹¹