Online harassment occurs most often on social media, but strikes in other places, too
Three-quarters of U.S. adults who have recently faced some kind of online harassment say it happened on social media.
About one-in-five Americans who have been harassed online say it was because of their religion
About one-fifth of those Americans who have experienced online harassment say they believe they were targeted because of their religion.
Some Americans who have been targeted by troubling behaviors online wouldn’t call it ‘harassment’
43% of those who report experiencing harassing behavior online say that they consider their most recent experience to be “online harassment.”
The State of Online Harassment
Roughly four-in-ten Americans have experienced online harassment, with half of this group citing politics as the reason they think they were targeted. Growing shares face more severe online abuse such as sexual harassment or stalking
Q&A: What we’ve learned about online harassment
79% of Americans think social media companies are doing an only fair to poor job when it comes to addressing online harassment or bullying.
Partisans in the U.S. increasingly divided on whether offensive content online is taken seriously enough
Americans have grown more divided on whether offensive content online is taken seriously enough and on which is more important online, free speech or feeling safe.
Lesbian, gay and bisexual online daters report positive experiences – but also harassment
A majority of LGB adults report that they have used an online dating site or app, roughly twice the share of straight adults who say the same.
Young women often face sexual harassment online – including on dating sites and apps
Six-in-ten women under 35 who have online dated say someone continued to contact them after they said they were not interested.
The Virtues and Downsides of Online Dating
A majority of online daters say their overall experience was positive, but many users – particularly younger women – report being harassed or sent explicit messages on these platforms.
U.S. public has little confidence in social media companies to determine offensive content
Americans have complicated views about the role social media companies should play in removing offensive content from their platforms.
