“Lies, damned lies, and statistics” is a popular quote made famous by Mark Twain. I do think statistics can be very interesting and relevant, but sometimes there are some problems with statistics you read in the media. In The Atlantic Eleanor Barkhorn explains, that an often quote figure of 16000 kids who stay at home because they are being bullied is “an astounding, alarming, and basically false statistic.” She tracked down the origins of the bullying statistic and found that the study behind the number is at least 20 years old and was not directly focused on school bullying.

Katherine Cowan, a spokeswoman for the National Association of School Psychologists, confirmed the number came from her organization, “but nearly 20 years ago.”
“The statistic is extremely old and not valid in 2011,” said Cowan. “It’s one of those things that the media really loved and grabbed onto and took on a life of its own.”
Cowan said researchers calculated the number in the early 1990s from an annual survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but did not have specifics on how the statistic was determined.
The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey, which has been conducted since 1991, asks high school students several health-related questions.
One survey question asks students if they did not go to school in the last 30 days because they felt unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.
A survey released in 2010 found 5 percent of high school students nationwide stayed home from school on at least one day for those reasons. But the question doesn’t ask why students felt unsafe, so the statistic could also apply to students who live in a high-crime neighborhood or fear crossing a dangerous intersection on their walk to school.

Don’t get me, or Barkhorn wrong: bullying exist and there are way too many victims, but these statistics are false.