1) Cyberbullying involves the use of electronic communication to harass, threaten, or humiliate someone repeatedly. It often involves targeting victims who have a hard time defending themselves.
2) Cyberbullying has evolved along with technology, starting with flaming and trolling online in the 1990s and expanding to social media in the 2000s. Offline bullying and online bullying are closely connected, with half of both victims and bullies experiencing both forms.
3) Research finds that about 24% of kids experience cyberbullying as victims and 17% admit to being cyberbullies themselves. Offline bullying increases the risks of being both a target and perpetrator of online bullying.
2. What is Cyberbullying?
An
willful and
aggressive, intentiona
repeated harm
inflicted act carried out by a
group or
through the
individual, using
use of
electronic forms of
computers, cel
contact, repeatedly
l phones, and
and over time agains
other
a victim who cannot
electronic
devices.1 easily defend him or
herself.
1. Hinduja & Patchin 2010
2. Smith, Mahdavi, Carvalho et al 2008
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 2
3. Cyberbullying – Two phases
• 1990’s “flaming” and “trolling”; AIM, rapid
internet adoption
– Term “cyberbullying” first appears in print, 1998
• 2000’s – Web 2.0 and social media like
MySpace, Facebook, Twitter
– SMS becomes popular
– Rapid growth of mobile tech esp. smartphones
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 3
4. How Common is Cyberbullying?
• National Crime Victim Survey (2010) – 6% cyberbullying victims
vs. 28% school bullying victims
• Review of research to get an average:
– 24% of kids are cyberbullying victim
– 17% admit to being the bully
• 50% of both victims and bullies experience offline bullying
• Offline bullies more than twice as likely to be both target and
perp of online bullying
• Victims of offline bullying are 2.7 times more likely to be
cyberbullying victim
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 4
5. How Common is Cyberbullying?
• National Crime Victim Survey (2010) – 6% cyberbullying victims
vs. 28% school bullying victims
• Review of research to get an average:
– 24% of kids are cyberbullying victim
– 17% admit to being the bully
• 50% of both victims and bullies experience offline bullying
• Offline bullies more than twice as likely to be both target and
perp of online bullying
• Victims of offline bullying are 2.7 times more likely to be
cyberbullying victim
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 5
6. Offline Bullying and Online Bullying Closely
Connected
• National Crime Victim Survey (2010) – 6% cyberbullying victims
vs. 28% school bullying victims
• Review of research to get an average:
– 24% of kids are cyberbullying victim
– 17% admit to being the bully
• 50% of both victims and bullies experience offline bullying
• Offline bullies more than twice as likely to be both target and
perp of online bullying
• Victims of offline bullying are 2.7 times more likely to be
cyberbullying victim
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7. Being Both Target and Bully are Common
• National Crime Victim Survey (2010) – 6% cyberbullying victims
vs. 28% school bullying victims
• Review of research to get an average:
– 24% of kids are cyberbullying victim
– 17% admit to being the bully
• 50% of both victims and bullies experience offline bullying
• Offline bullies more than twice as likely to be both target and
perp of online bullying
• Victims of offline bullying are 2.7 times more likely to be
cyberbullying victim
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 7
8. Cyberbullying and Bullying Roles
• Bully – can be popular, high status, others are not; may come from
families with conflict, life changes, little supervision, low self-esteem
– Bullies hang out with other bullies
– If bullying seem as norm, more become bullies
• Target/Victim – may also be poorly adjusted to school
• Bully/Victim – especially relational bullying (gossip, exclusion)
– Easily and negatively influenced by peers
– Hostility, aggression – may be more at risk than other groups
– Social anxiety issues
• Bystander (both active and inactive) –
– 90% ignore cyberbullying in social networks
– Those who defend victim – high social status, positive social expectations,
have more empathy
• Non-involved
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9. Vulnerable times and peak activities
• Cyberbullying peaks between ages 11 and 15
– 9th grade is often the most active year
•Cyberbullying peaks ages 11 - 15
• Changes in school due to the most active year
•9th grade is often grade promotion
– •Changes in school:to junior high; junior high to high school
Moving from elementary
– Kids•Elementary pecking order”
“rearrange the to junior high; junior high to high
school
• Changes due to a move to a new city or country
•Kids “rearrange the pecking order”
– New kid has to establish who they are; find friends
•Changes due to a move
• Other events
•Other events
– Someone “dates” the wrongthe wrong person; or
•Someone “dates” person; or breaks up
breaks up
– Jealousy due to accomplishments like sports, theater, grades
•Jealousy due to accomplishments like
sports, theater, academics
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 9
10. Forms of cyberbullying
• Mean messages in email, SMS, social networks
• Fake SNS profiles
• Forwarded images or messages
• Hacked SNS or email accounts
• Pretending to be someone else in a
completely online romantic situation
– “Catfishing”, Manti Te’o (at right)
– Megan Meier
• Cyberbullying can start as traditional
bullying, then continue online and vice versa
• Often referred to as “drama”, not
cyberbullying
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 10
11. Who is vulnerable to cyberbullying?
•LGBTQ
•Minorities, disabled, gifted, eve
n socio-economic differences
YOU, YOUR FRIENDS time online
•Spending lots of AND
CYBERBULLYING.
and sharing personal info
•Simply being “different “ can
make a child a target
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 11
12. Cyberbullying Can Lead to
Depression, Suicide
– Note: suicide is a complex issue, rarely is cyberbullying the only cause
Ryan Halligan – 2003. Was tormented for being “gay”
despite only being 13 years old.
Megan Meier – 2006. A neighbor (adult) created a fake
profile of a cute boy to start an online friendship.
Tyler Clementi – 2010. His college roommate set up a spy
cam to record his date with a man.
Amanda Todd – 2012. Someone tried to blackmail her
with a partially nude photo she sent. Then the images
went viral.
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13. Latest Cyberbullying and Suicide Issue –
Slut Shaming
• Steubenville Ohio - assaulted and video and
images went viral, Twitter messages of sexual
abuse of unconscious girl. Girl prevailed in
court (didn’t self-harm)
• Nova Scotia, Canada – Rehtaeh Parsons,
assaulted and images were shared; she was
cyberbullied and committed suicide when
police wouldn’t pursue the case.
• Los Gatos, California – Audrie Pott, assaulted
and images were shared. She was
cyberbullied and committed suicide. Police
now taking on case.
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 13
14. Cyberbullying – Adult Bad Behavior
• University, workplace bullying and cyberbullying
• Political insults instead of debate
• Reporters hacking celebrity phones and voice mail
14
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt
15. What happens to bullies and victims?
• Bullies:
– Suicidal thoughts (usually just ideation, no action)
– Involvement can lead to aggression in school (verbal and physical)
– Can become involved in criminal activity as adults
• Victims:
– Lower self esteem
– Suicidal thoughts, especially for girls
– School problems
– Involvement can lead to aggression in school (verbal and physical)
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16. Responding to Cyberbullying
• Don’t teach “don’t tattle”
– Most commonly taught to boys, children of color, special ed students
– Adopt “authoritative parenting” style
• Not common for teens to report, but it is increasing
– Unless violence is involved
– Schools must implement policy, provide safe reporting
– Perception of teacher support can increase reporting
– Students who report bullying are less likely to be bullied again
• Efforts to change school social norms show promise in reducing
bullying
• Adults can be trained, parents need to consider bullying of
concern
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17. Responses
• Promote kindness online
• Limit your time online and don’t “overshare”
• If you are attacked, don’t respond:
– Report it to the website, if against policy
– Save a copy in case the issue continues
– If threatened, contact law enforcement
• Feeling overwhelmed or attacked?
– Avoid the website or environment
– Get offline, go outside, change scenery
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 17
18. Help! I’ve Been Cyberbullied. What do I do?
• Don’t respond – step away from computer, mobile phone, etc.
– Each incident in one environment can move to another environment,
including face to face bullying
• Who can you report it to?
– Does your school have a policy? A reporting hotline? A trusted teacher?
– Can you report abuse to the website or the service?
– Do your parents understand cyberbullying? Can you talk to them?
– Is there a non-profit you can call? A trained older teen mentor?
• Keep a copy of everything
– If violence is threatened, contact police
• Seek counseling if you can
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 18
19. Preparing Children for Bystander Role
• Teach children empathy
– put yourself in target/victim’s place
• Promote kindness online
• Train school student leaders how to reply
– Reporting can come from those with social status and high moral compass
• If children witness online hate:
– Show them how to reach out to the target, how to handle it
– Don’t engage with the bully or their parents
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 19
20. Other Actions
• Whole school approach to educate and train to respond
– Create reporting system, emphasize intervention in student conflict
– Students need to feel connected, part of the school and to believe they
will be treated fairly
– Offer respect and support to those who speak up
– Avoid the “one off” cyberbullying assembly approach, seek “SEL” or social
– emotional learning programs to foster key skills
• Teach empathy
• Parents should seek training from the school
– Provide counseling to children involved in bullying
• Emphasize the positive side of the internet
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21. Resources
• Research and Websites:
– Bullying in a Networked Era – cyberbullying research summary from Harvard
– www.cyberbullying.us – website of researchers Hinduja and Patchin
– www.Stopbullying.gov – White House website against all bullying
– www.Bornthiswayfoundation.org – Lady Gaga’s initiative to empower youth
• Books:
– Cyberslammed, Stephens and Nair
– Cyberbullying; Bullying in the Digital Age, Kowalski, Limber and Agatson
– Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats, Willard
• Training programs:
– ADL’s Cyber Ally program
– Steps to Respect
– Olweus Bullying Prevention Program
Cyberbullying by Marian Merritt 21
Definition from Hinduja and Patching (cyberbullying.us): is when someone repeatedly makes fun of another person online or repeatedly picks on another person through email or text message or when someone posts something online about another person that they don’t like.” 20% of over 4400 randomly selected 11-18 year old students in 2010 have been a victim at some point in their life. In review of 35 papers, average was 24% victim/17% cyberbully (admit to engaging in the activity). School bullying is still more prevalent. Trend is not up or down; more kids are coming forward than before. Only ¼ tell an adult. ½ of cyberbullying victims and bullies experience offline bullying (Ybarra and Mitchell 2004)Offline bullies are more than twice as likely to be both targets and perps of online bullying (Hinduja and Patchin 2008)
Note that cyberbullying occurs on any device, platform or online environment that allows users to create messages, images, accounts, etc. No one environment is worse than another, it all comes down to the users and their intentions. Typically, the target needs to experience the actions more than one time but some individuals are more resilient than others. What injures one person may be more tolerated by another. For this reason it is important for youth to learn empathy and be willing to admit mistakes.
AIM is AOL instant messenger“According to the findings of a study.., cyberbullying is growing.” , Canberra Times 18 Nov. 12/1, 1998
Various studies have range of results. It depends if you do a study online, where more likely respondent is an online user. There is a connection between spending a lot of time online and online victimizationBest studies are across whole random sample populations but that is expensive
Lower than in person bullying but anonymity, easy of committing act, increase likelihood of attempt
National Crime Victim Survey (2010) – 6% cyberbullying victims vs. 28% school bullying victimsReview of research to get an average: 24% of kids are cyberbullying victim17% admit to being the bully50% of both victims and bullies experience offline bullying Offline bullies more than twice as likely to be both target and perp of online bullyingVictims of offline bullying are 2.7 times more likely to be cyberbullying victimSources: www.cyberbullying.us dataBerkman report Bullying in a Networked Era: A Literature Review:Target/victims:40% of kids are being bullied both on/offline31% just offline15% just onlineBullies:14% say they bully at school; 6% do it just online (Ybarra: 2012)
Canadian study 2011: (Mishna) CORRECTEDThis is one study’s data showing how easily someone can take on both roles. 30% of kids were either a bully or a target. But 26% were both. For a total of over 56% involved in bullying in some role. She indicates current research is trending lower.
Roles are defined in study (Cook 2003)Other set of terms: bully, assistant, reinforcer, defender, and onlooker (Salmivalli 2011)Bully/victims – easily and negatively influenced by peer groupBully info (Cook, 2010)Some studies show both perpetrating and being victim of cyberybulling predict each other. (Walrave 2010)Social anxiety issues: Juvenon 2003
Bullying peaks in middle school, worst is transition from elementary to middle. Cyberbullying goes on a little longer. (Pelligrini)Based the study of 1,318 European youth, researchers found that attitude toward bullying is a strongpredictor of involvement, as about 25% of teens who do not “reject” cyberbullying are approximatelyfour times more likely to engage in it (Walrave and Heirman, 2010, p. 44).
SMS most popular form (slightly) over email and social networks. Less visible, more direct. Easy to be anonymous.
Some research shows that the more a child uses a cell phone, the more likely they are to bully and be bullied. It’s likely just lack of impulse control in both area. http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/cyberbullying-increases-in-line-with-mobile-phone-usage-infographic/14713Lesbian, Gay youth: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-10466220-247.html 1 in 2 kids report cyberbullying; (Hinduja/Patchin report 73% of LGBTQ kids are targets of bullying at some point; 63% for hetero youth. 36% targets of cyberbullying for LGBTQ kids compared to 20% for hetero). National Crime study shows 90% of LGBT youth are harassedThose who spend most time online, in chat or social networks and posting personal informatoin– increased risk of victimization80% of kids with learning disabilities are targets of school bullying: http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CAT=none&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=1008567% of gifted kids hit by bullying. (same article as above)Often if you ask your child directly about cyberbullying they will deny, deny ,deny. By the time a child tells their parents, it’s getting very serious. Often the school can’t do much or the child perceives it made things worse. I’ve heard of schools bringing the target and bullies together in a meeting to “resolve their differences”. Since bullying is often about power, that method just can’t work. Neither does a once a year assembly where we chant no bullies. So what do you do?
Other cases, criminal rape investigation in steubenville oh. Kids are cyberbullying the victim who is standing up for herself. Similar case but different outcome is the girl in Canada, Rehtaeh Parsons, who was raped, photos taken of her victimization by fellow teens. The photos were shared and she still wasn’t able to get the boys convicted forthe rape or the photos. She commited suicide.
Common elements:Alcohol used to render the victim incapable of stopping the assault. Photos/videos taken are then shared. Boys and girls involved in sharing the images. Victim is later blamed for what happened to her. Even moving to a new city doesn’t stop the attacks online. Law enforcement reaction can make a difference to the victim in terms of empowering or furthering the victimization. Parents often unaware of what is going on until the damage is really critical.
25% of adults in the workforce are victims of bullying. C. Bradshaw did some research specifically with school personnel too, and found 22% of teachers + report getting bullied at the work place. 2004 University study found 60% of undergraduates had witnessed harassment (off and online) of peers.In Graduate school, 62% self report peer mistreatment behavior (because highly competitive, pressure, stress. ) 14% was specifically online.
Persistently aggressive bullies are more likely to be convicted of crimes than non-involved peopleCrime stat: Farrington 2011Suicidal thoughts: Patchin and Hinduja 2010; girl victims, Klomek 2011victims of cyberbullying may experience academic“disturbances” (including reduced grades, increased absences and truancy, cutting class, detentions,and suspensions), “psychosocial” or “affective” problems (including social anxiety, reduced selfesteem,and emotional distress, sadness, or anger targeted at bullies and/or bullying acts), and “social”problems (including detachment, hostility, and delinquency) (Tokunaga, 2010).5.3.3Especially for gender and bias related bullying, impact is more severeMore absences, lower gradesMore bullying, less attachment to a school, possibly leading to dropping out
“don’t tattle” research – Davis & Nixon 2012“authoritative” - Gregory Cornell 2012 these parents set high expectations and provide guidelines but be nurturing and responsiveViolence – Petrosino 2010Reporting, teacher support Elliot Cornell 2010Reduced repeat bullying – Gregory et al 2010Swearer 2010 – social norms research