Verbal and emotional abuse are certainly major problems faced by children today, but physical abuse is so so so much worse. Physical abuse has strong emotional / social repercussions as well.

I much rather would have the regret of mocking and ridiculing scrawny Billy in 2nd grade online than the regret of physically kicking him while he was on the ground crying.

I think he would as well. There are different levels of abuse in the physical world and the virtual world. Comparing the worst form of online abuse to the least physical abuse would likely prove you correct. The opposite is true of the worst physical abuse vs. the least virtual abuse.

Virtual abuse is a somewhat new phenomenon only in that it is much more prolific. Prior to the internet, we had telephones, telegraph, pen & paper, and others. Abuse was common in these mediums and still is today. Because of the cheap, instantaneous, and inherently anonymous nature of the internet being quite new, I expect it will take a couple generations for society to create customs and norms that are more consistent with our physical world customs and norms.