40% of Internet Users Suffered from Online Harassment

The results of the recent survey showed that almost 3/4 of the US Internet users claimed they have witnessed online harassment. 40% said they experienced it themselves. It was found out that young adults are most likely to have witnessed and experienced harassment on the Internet. Women aged 18-24 have experienced it disproportionately in comparison with other demographic groups.

About 3,000 Americans were interviewed for the study. Harassment was divided into two categories: “less severe”, including name-calling and attempts to embarrass people; and “more severe”, covering physical threats, stalking and sexual harassment.

According to the report, 73% of American Internet users have witnessed Internet harassment, with 40% having been its target. In the group of 18-29 year-olds, the figures rise to 92% and 65% accordingly.

Of people who’ve become a target of Internet harassment, 55% said it had exclusively been the less severe kind. Their share amounted to 22% of all users. In the meantime, 45% had also experienced more severe forms of harassment. Unsurprisingly, young women aged 18-24 were particular targets: more than ¼ of them say they have been stalked online, and the same number of them has been the target of sexual harassment.

As for male Internet users, they are more likely to have been physically threatened on the Internet: 26% compared with 23% of women aged 19-24. In total, men are more likely to experience any kind of online harassment: 44% compared with 37% of women.

Nevertheless, the report showed that women suffer more after the event: 38% of harassed women said they found it very upsetting, compared with 17% of harassed men. 2/3 of those who have been harassed on the Internet said the most recent incident happened on a social networking website or application, 22% pointed at the comments section of a website; 16% at an online game; 16% at a personal email account; and 10% at a discussion service.

The study also tried to figure out how welcoming Internet services were towards men and women. Here the report shows that online gaming stands out: more than a half of respondents believed that online games websites were equally welcoming to both sexes, but 44% of them believed they were more welcoming towards men. However, the research was carried out before the explosion of the “Gamergate” controversy – it is known that he latter has included a heated debate about harassment of women in and around the games industry.

The respondents also told how they had responded to the harassment. 60% said they had ignored it. Of the rest, 47% confronted the person online, 44% unfriended or blocked them, and 22% reported them to the relevant service.

The research also revealed that 92% of people believe the Internet allows people to be more critical of others, while 68% agreed it allows to support others as well. The study only covered the US adults, but not the issues like cyberbullying for children up to the age of 18.

UK Is Seriously Worried about Cybercrime

Many UK citizens have become victims of cybercrime, including identity theft, hacking or abuse on social media. The losses of the country from online fraud exceeded £670 million per year (this is given that many cases go unreported), with the true cost likely to be much higher.

According to the recent research, where over 2,000 people were surveyed, more than 50% of them said they had been a victim of online crime. This category included online-based fraud, ID theft, hacking and Internet abuse. Of those, a half also said they felt violated by their ordeal.
In the meantime, the same research shows that only less than 1/3 of the cybercrime victims had reported the incident. Almost 50% of those affected had no idea who to report an online crime to. However, the experts say this figure is expected to fall as a result of the ongoing work of the national fraud reporting centre. The good thing is that UK citizens who had suffered cybercrime admitted that such experience had shocked them into changing their behavior for the better. For example, almost 50% of them immediately changed their passwords for stronger ones and 42% said they became more vigilant when shopping online.
The statistics showed that for the United Kingdom as a whole, over £670 million was lost to the ten most common online frauds within the last 12 months. These figures show how serious a toll cybercrime can take. This has been no more apparent than in the last weeks, when large-scale personal photo leaks of celebrities happened. Unfortunately, as out lives move to the online world, this is becoming more common.
The security experts explain that people can all take simple steps to protect themselves by such simple ways as putting a password on computers or mobile devices, forgetting about clicking on a link received from an unknown sender and always logging off from an account or website.
As for people who still do not know who to report cybercrime to, the UK authorities remind that if you think you have been a victim of online economic fraud (if you have lost money), you can report it to the organization called Action Fraud – online or by phone. Victims of online abuse or harassment can report it to their local police force. It is also recommended to read general advice on how to stay safe online at getsafeonline.org.