Out of 46 states in the U.S., including the District of Columbia, Michigan ranks number one for having the biggest bullying problems in 2016. The study conducted by Wallethub measured, among other things, bullying and cyberbullying prevalence and the impact of anti-bullying laws in states.
Michigan had total score of 60.18 percent, followed by Louisiana with 59.43 percent. The state with the least bullying problems is Massachusetts, with a total score of 23.33 percent.
According to the study, Michigan ranks in the top five for states with the most students bullied on high school property and the highest percentage of high school students bullied online.
Cyberbullying and suicide included in study.
My informal observation of news stories suggests a preteen or young teen attempts suicide each week due to cyberbullying. Singer Kehlani* from Oakland, California is a good example.
- Highest percentage of High School Students Who Attempted Suicide: Louisiana, District of Columbia, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama = Top 5 (worst states)
- Lowest percentage: New Hampshire, Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Vermont = Top 5 ( best states)
- There’s much info about the percentage of students who cut school out of fear of being bullied, the percentage of kids involved in physical fights at school, and much more.
- Go here to see the study in full.
According to Wallethub, those involved in bullying, whether the bully or the victim, have a higher risk of academic failure, future unemployment, and drug and alcohol abuse.
In the U.S., over 160,000 children stay home from school every day because they are afraid of being bullied. Every seven minutes, a child is bullied and only one in four adults will intervene.
In school, children are often bullied to their face, behind their backs or online. Bullying can result in low self-esteem, physical violence and even suicide.
Cyberbullying victim Kehlani Sætre/Wik
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* Kehlani Parrish, known professionally as Kehlani, achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group, Poplyfe, which was a finalist on America’s Got Talent…In 2016, she was nominated for the Best Urban Contemporary Album Grammy Award.
In January 2016, it was confirmed in Instagram posts that Kehlani was in a relationship with NBA point guard Kyrie Irving.In March 2016, there were allegations that Kehlani was cheating, posting a photo of her in his bed on Instagram. Both Kehlani and Kyrie’s name trended in hundreds of thousands of posts. Kyrie tweeted that they’d been broken up but people seemed to ignore this. The negative media attention caused Kehlani to attempt suicide. Kehlani posted on her since deleted Instagram a photo of herself in the hospital explaining that she had not cheated on Irving.
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