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.