Jessica's Question

QUESTION: In your research did you come across anyways that could begin to prevent the further spread of cyberbullying so it does not reach a global epidemic? Which nations have the worst cases of cyberbullying?

Jessica,

This is a very good question, and one whose answer would be a good follow-up to my previous research. Some research has been done by a group of scholars on this subject and they have noted that state and local governments in the United States are taking many measures to both control and prevent cyberbullying in this country. These governments have their laws and rules that fall into three main categories: 1. Policies to control the use of electronic media 2. Programs designed to educate and teach children about safe Internet practices and how to avoid and address cyberbullying. These programs also educate the children on the consequences of cyberbullying 3. Technological approaches to prevent the potential for cyberbullying.

Also, the US congress passed the "Protecting Children in the 21st Century Legislation" in 2008 in an effort to address and prevent bullying and harassment online in US schools. Furthermore, since most cyberbullying occurs in and amongst schools, most schools in the US have many preventative measures against online bullying such as internet security and other means to control electronic media.

As far as countries with a high prevalence of cyberbullying, I was unable to find any specifics, however, as I mentioned in my previous research in my podcast, I was able to conclude that cyberbullying is prevalent in the majority of nations with citizens that have access to online media, and especially the social networking sites of today.

References:

Gable, R., Snakenborg, J., & Acker, R. V. (2011). Cyberbullying: Prevention And Intervention To Protect Our Children And Youth. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 55(2), 88-95.
 

Natalie's Question

QUESTION: You mention a lot about the impact and effects of this cyber bullying on the victim and the psychological implications it may have. Was there any research on the effects on the perpetrator, or the effects on the bully's social identity?

Natalie,

In regards to your question, I did not specifically look at the effects of the perpetrator in my research. However, this is a very interesting question. Upon doing further research, I have found some very interesting data that was recently published. Some research that I have found include the psychological effects of the bully. These include destructive behaviors such as damaging property or other individuals, stealing or consumption of illicit substances. Furthermore, bullies tend to feel a disconnectedness from school and their peers and also experience a lack of peer support. In this way then, the bully can also experience a social identity crisis, similarly to that of a lot of the victims that I looked at in my research. This study also revealed that some bullies were once bullied themselves, and are simply using technology as a medium to "get back" at their own bully.


Reference

Vandebosch, H., & Cleemput, K. V. (2009). Bullying among youngsters: profiles of bullies and victims. New Media and Society, 11(8), 1349-1371. 

 

References

References

Ahn, J. (2011). The Effect of Social Network Sites on Adolescents’ Social and   Academic Development: Current Theories and Controversies. Advances in     Information Science  

Arseneault, L., Bowes, L., & Shakoor, S. (2009). Bullying victimization in youths and mental health problems: ‘Much ado about nothing’? Psychological medicine, 40, 717-729.

Heirman, W., & Walrave, M. (2008). Assessing Concerns and Issues about the Mediation of Technology in Cyberbullying. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial

Research on Cyberspace, 2(2), 1-11.

Hinduja, S. (2010). Cyberbullying And Self-Esteem*. Journal of School Health, 80,        614-621

Lenhart, A., Madden, M., Smith, A., Purcell, K., Zickuhr, K., & Rainie, L. (2011). Teens, Kindness, and Cruelty on Social Network Sites.

Li, Q. (2012). Self-esteem, Loneliness, and Cyberbullying. Cyberbullying in the global playground: research from international perspectives (). Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

Vandebosch, H., & Cleemput, K.V. (2009). Cyberbullying among youngsters: profiles of bullies and victims. New Media and Society, 11, 1349-1368.

Podcast (with short intro, links, and transcript)

Podcast Overview:

For my research, I organized my findings (quantitatively) into a podcast. Starting out by defining cyberbullying, I take you through the effects of cyberbullying on the identity formation of children aged 12-18 across the United States. After an analysis of the US, we move into other countries around the globe, (Canada and Europe). Finally, as to begin my own research, I begin to draw conclusions by taking the statistics from all of the studies presented and compile them to get a better understanding of how cyberbullying around the globe affects children's identity formation, health, and social well-being.

Important Links:

Cyberbullying on SNS, A first-hand experience  

Interesting statistics on cyberbullying 

Identity development on SNS

What you can do to protect yourself and others

More on identity development in SNS as a result of cyberbullying


Podcast Transcript:

First and foremost, it is important to be made aware of the definition of cyberbullying. While most scholars have yet to agree on a uniform definition, most would say that it is “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text, instant messaging, or the World Wide Web (Vandebosch, 2009). As to begin our study on the effects of cyberbullying on today’s social networking sites, we start right here in the United States. Today, studies of school-aged children revealed that 88% of teens have been witness to some sort of online bullying or cruelty. What is interesting, though, it that this study found that adults were far less likely to report that they have encountered such behavior. Now, while these numbers are interesting, what is even more shocking is the fact that 15% of teens have themselves experienced cyberbullying of some sort (Lenhart, 2011).

            This information then begs the question, what effects, in terms of their social identities, are these bullying behaviors having on today’s youth? Early studies have found that social networking sites, and Facebook in particular are very important in today’s youth developing a sense of social identity in that SNS provide a platform for today’s youth to develop identities in a similar manner to that of the real world. “In the physical world, people display their connections in many ways. They have parties in which they introduce friends who they think would like—or impress—each other… They decorate their refrigerator with photos. Simply appearing in public with one’s acquaintances is a display of connection” (Ahn, 2011). Just like in the real world, people choose what to put on their profiles in order to change or manipulate how others view them online.

            Knowing that individuals regularly utilize SNS’s to transform their social identities, bullying others through these media can have devastating effects on how children perceive themselves. More often than we may realize, cyberbullying is occurring everywhere we look. Throughout the US, studies are being conducted to determine the lasting effects of cyberbullying on children’s identities and self-esteem. A study conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, for example, found that 17% of students ages 12-16 reported being bullied and 19% reported bullying others. More recently, however, the 2007 Bureau of Justice Statistics’ Indicators of School Crime and Safety Report reported that approximately 28% of students between 12 and 18 years of age were bullied at school during the past 6 months (Hinduja, 2010).

            In a final study, Hinduja (2010) found, that after asking close to 2000 middle school students from 30 schools in one of the largest school districts in the United States to complete a self-report survey of their Internet use and cyberbullying, that cyberbullying is in fact correlated with lower self esteem, identity confusion, and even a lost sense of identity itself. Presenting these data quantitatively, the results from this study were as follows:

18.3% reported to have ‘‘Received an upsetting e-mail from someone they know’’ . 16% ‘‘Received an instant message that made him/her upset’’ or ‘‘Had something posted on your MySpace that made them upset’’ (14.2%). Less common, but still important, were a subsample of respondents (5.7%) who indicated that they felt afraid to go on the computer.

This is important insofar as cyberbullying represents repeated behavior, not just a singular incident. Based on these results, then, about 30% of our middle school sample has been the victim of some form of cyberbullying.

            Not only is cyberbullying very prevalent in the United States, but it is also becoming increasingly popular in other countries around the globe. One study in Sweden reported that a group of boys were questioned about their experiences with cyberbullying during their childhood. Those that reported that they were bullied at the age of 16 had increased levels of depression and poor self-esteem. Similar findings were revealed in an analogous study in Finland in which a large portion of the population that reported to be bullied in their childhood had prolonged psychological and psychiatric issues (Arseneault, 2009). Furthermore, a study of 432 students in Alberta, Canada revealed that 57% of them felt angry and 37% felt sad and hurt. This study also found that these cybervictims also suffered from low self-esteem and feelings of hopelessness and withdrawal from those around them (Heirman, 2008). Even more startling, in 2005, a 13 year old boy in Canada took his own life after receiving a harassing text message (Heirman, 2008).

            As a final study, a sample of nearly 6000 students aged 12-16 from across 3 European countries was studied to draw a definitive correlation between cyberbullying and lower self-esteem, loss and confusion of of identity and loneliness. Indeed, they found a direct correlation, thus supporting previous findings discussed earlier (Li, 2012).

            It seems to be a reoccurring theme that the majority of the victims of these studies suffered some sort of psychological distress after being exposed to bullying in an online setting. In fact, if we put all of the studies previously discussed together, a startling result is revealed. Among today’s youth, not only here in the United States, but in countries all over the globe, over 24% have experienced some sort of long-lasting psychological distress and identity confusion as a direct result of cyberbullying. Indeed, cyberbullying is a growing issue today. In fact, as numerous studies have just shown, it is quite possibly becoming a global epidemic.

Introduction

Cyberbullying in SNS: A global Epidemic

                       For this project, I am interested in cyberbullying via SNS; specifically in teens aged 10-15 across the globe. More importantly, I am interested in investigating the specific effects in terms of social identity that cyberbullying has children of these younger ages. Being a science oriented individual, I am always curious about how different interactions and events in our lives shape who we are as individuals, and how they affect how we feel about ourselves, and how we portray ourselves in society.

            Furthermore, cyberbullying is a major social issue around the world today. However, with other studies currently being conducted (qualitatively) on the topic, my research will be to raise awareness on the subject, and present this approach to cyberbullying in a quantitative analysis, as opposed to a more traditional qualitative method. With the rise of the internet and more and more social media cites, an increasing number of children around the world today are becoming easier to reach and easier to bully and to harass. This harassment can then lead to negative effects on how children perceive themselves as individuals, and how others view them as well.