ADL survey of 2,139 US people: 33% of adults and 51% of teens aged 13 to 17 reported being harassed online in 2023, up from 23% and 36%, respectively, in 2022
More than half of Americans say they have experienced hate or harassment online, according to a new survey from the Anti-Defamation League …
The sharp year-over-year increase in self-reported harassment gives advocates and platforms a clearer signal that younger users' experiences merit separate attention rather than being folded into adult averages.
First-order effects
ADL and other safety advocates gain updated evidence that reported online harassment rose for both adults and teenagers, with teenagers reporting the higher rate.
The age split makes teen safety a more immediate focus for services, schools, and families evaluating online-risk policies.
Second-order effects
Platforms facing scrutiny over safety practices may be pressed to show whether reporting, moderation, and youth-protection tools address harassment rather than merely publish policies.
The findings can reinforce public concerns about social media's social effects, alongside earlier polling that linked the services to radicalization in respondents' views of social media's role in radicalization.
Third-order effects
If repeated across surveys, a widening or persistent youth-adult gap would strengthen the case for measuring platform safety outcomes by age group, not just aggregate user metrics.
The pattern points toward online safety becoming a more central test of platform legitimacy, with pressure likely to focus on prevention and accountability rather than awareness alone.
The trend: Rising reported harassment is part of a broader shift toward treating youth online safety and platform governance as measurable public-interest issues.
Hate & harassment online ⬆️ sharply for both adults & teens. Joined @MSNBC @Morning_Joe to discuss our findings and what can be done to reverse this normalization of hate. Social media companies must do better. And lawmakers have a role to play too. Watch: https://www.msnbc.com/.…
More than half of Americans say they have experienced hate or harassment online, according to a new survey from the Anti-Defamation League, with a dramatic rise in incidents over the last 12 months, especially among teens. https://www.axios.com/...
“Social media platforms are not taking necessary steps to protect users from online harassment, leading to record rises in hate and abuse.” — @YaelEisenstat on the failure of social media companies to prioritize user safety https://www.msnbc.com/...
“Online hate and harassment isn't just ‘hurtful speech.’ It pushes people out of the conversation, impinging on their own freedom of expression, causing emotional distress, reputational and economic harm.” - @YaelEisenstat @adl Via @axios @inafried: https://www.axios.com/...
Online hate and harassment have devastating consequences, harming individuals and communities. The newest @ADL survey found record levels of hate across the internet. Too often, hate turns into violence and danger. Read more here: https://www.adl.org/...
About to go live on @WTOP to talk about the latest study showing a sharp rise in online hate and harassment. It's across all demographics but trans, LGBQ, Black and Muslim people are seeing the most harassment, with teens hit harder than adults. https://www.axios.com/...
The highest level of online hate and harassment reported by @ADL's annual study is among trans Americans, with more than half saying they were targeted in the past year. Nearly half of LGBQ+ people said they also faced online harassment in the past year. https://www.axios.com/...
Americans saw a dramatic increase in online hate and harassment incidents in the past year — especially among underrepresented religious and ethnic groups and LGBTQ+ people. https://www.axios.com/...