Characteristics of the most viewed YouTube™ videos related to bullying.

Bullying is an intentional act that can wreak havoc in the life of an individual. With more than 1 billion users, YouTube™ is a powerful medium for disseminating information. The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which content related to bullying is present on YouTube™ with respect to source, content, number of views, length, and year uploaded. Collectively, the videos in this sample were viewed more than half a billion times. The source of the most widely viewed videos was consumers, and none of the most widely viewed videos was posted by a governmental agency or a professional organization. The most common content in the videos was describing or depicting violence (n=89). Over one-half addressed getting help (n=56). Suicide was mentioned in 38 of the videos. Additional investment by professional agencies is warranted to improve understanding about ways to increase the dissemination of positive messages about bullying prevention, and about helping adolescents who are bullied on social media.