{"id":188729,"date":"2024-04-12T06:33:29","date_gmt":"2024-04-12T13:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=188729"},"modified":"2024-04-25T16:33:50","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T23:33:50","slug":"the-rising-threat-of-social-media-harassment-heres-how-to-protect-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/the-rising-threat-of-social-media-harassment-heres-how-to-protect-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Protect Yourself From Social Media Harassment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some conversations on social media can get \u2026 heated. Some can cross the line into harassment. Or worse.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Harassment on social media has seen an unfortunate rise in recent years. Despite platforms putting in reporting mechanisms, policies, and even using AI to detect and remove harmful speech, people are seeing more and more harassment on social media.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet even as it becomes more prevalent, nothing about it is usually. Or acceptable. No, you can\u2019t prevent social media harassment. Yet you can protect yourself in the face of these attacks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Online harassment statistics continue to climb.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

In 2023, research showed that 52% of American adults said they experienced harassment at some point online. That\u2019s up from 40% in 2022. Also in 2023, 33% said they experienced it in the last year, a jump of 10% from 2022.<\/span>i<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The same trend follows for teens, where 51% of them said they experienced harassment in the past year, compared to 36% in the year prior.<\/span>ii<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier research conducted in the U.S. tracked a significant rise in harassment online between 2014 and 2020. This included the doubling or the near doubling of the most severe forms of online harassment.<\/span>iii<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our own research in 2022 also noted a rise of another kind \u2014 worry about online harassment. Globally, 60% of children said they were more worried that year about social media harassment (cyberbullying) compared to the year prior. Their parents showed yet more concern, with 74% of them more worried that year about their child being harassed than the last.<\/span>iv<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The human cost of social media harassment.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stats are one thing, yet behind each figure stands a victim. Harassment takes a hard toll on its victims \u2014 emotional, financial, and sometimes physical. That becomes clear the moment you look at the forms it can take.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Social media harassment includes:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n