Cyberbullying among youth in Canada

Release date: February 21, 2023
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Infographic: Cyberbullying among youth in Canada
Description: Cyberbullying among youth in Canada

In 2019, 1 in 4 (25%) youth aged 12 to 17 reported being cyberbullied in the previous year.


Table 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 1. The information is grouped by Type of cyberbullying (appearing as row headers), Percentage (appearing as column headers).
Type of cyberbullying Percentage
Threatened or insulted online or by text message 16%
Excluded from an online community 13%
Hurtful information about them posted on the Internet 9%

The risk of being cyberbullied was higher among…

  • non-binary youth (52%)
  • same-gender attracted youthNote 1 (33%)
  • First Nations youth living off reserveNote 2 (34%), and
  • youth with an education accommodation (27%).

Frequent use of social media significantly increases the likelihood of being bullied online

Percentage of youth cyberbullied


Table 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 2 Constantly use social media and Never use social media (appearing as column headers).
Constantly use social media Never use social media
Social networking 34% 12%
Video and instant messaging 36% 14%

Potential protective factors

The risk of cyberbullying was lower when parents knew about youth’s online activity…


Table 3
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 3. The information is grouped by Parents’ awareness of youth’s online activities (appearing as row headers), Percentage of youth cyberbullied (appearing as column headers).
Parents’ awareness of youth’s online activities Percentage of youth cyberbullied
Always of often aware 22%
Sometimes or never aware 29%

… and when the youth had less trouble making friends, according to parents.


Table 4
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 4. The information is grouped by Difficulty making friends (appearing as row headers), Percentage of youth cyberbullied (appearing as column headers).
Difficulty making friends Percentage of youth cyberbullied
No difficulty 23%
Some difficulty 32%
A lot of difficulty or cannot make friends 35%

Note: An infographic on cyberbullying of young adults aged 18 to 29 will be released in March 2023.

Source: D. Hango, 2023, “Online harms faced by youth and young adults: The prevalence and nature of cybervictimization,” Insights on Canadian Society, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 75-006-X.

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2023

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