Cyberbullying

What is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is categorized as bullying that takes place over digital devices with the intent to send or share harmful content to or about another person. This form of harassment can translate from school to home and any place in-between, leaving the victim with heightened tension and insecurity as there is no relief. Cyberbullying also allows the perpetrator the ability to disguise their identity so the victim may be on-edge for each interpersonal interaction as they are unaware of who is causing them this harm (Myers & Cowie, 2019).

Cyberbullying has three main components that are cause for concern:

1. It is persistent. As previously stated, cyberbullying can follow the victim everywhere they go.

2. It is permanent. Nothing on the internet is truly deleted, and once something is spread across a social media network, there is no stopping that information from going towards college admissions, job applications, and personal relationships.

3. It is hard to notice from an outside perspective. Cyberbullying can start as a one-on-one conversation that spreads outside the initial point of contact. Unless reported by a student, most incidents of this type of bullying go unnoticed.

Adolescents are considered most at-risk for cyberbullying because they are beginning to develop an online presence and are somewhat limited in their social development to be able to determine what is appropriate content and what isn’t (Tian et al., 2018).

Effects of Cyberbullying and Coping Mechanisms

Short-term effects of cyberbullying are significantly less discussed than the long-term, but short-term effects include varying degrees of distress for the victim, ranging from the occasional outbursts of emotion coming from seemingly nowhere to full-scale depression and anxiety. For the perpetrator, this person has some temporary modicum of control over a situation in which they may normally not have any. The anonymity that the internet provides allows for someone to say what they want without the guilt when the abuse is associated with their name. Some perpetrators cyber bully because they have been bullied in the traditional sense at some point in their life. Their reasoning for acting out in this way includes them seeking revenge if they cannot fight back to the original bullying, for the sake of having fun, and gaining power over other individuals (Tian et al., 2018).

As with traditional bullying, long-term effects include increased anxiety and depression, difficulty performing in school, self and societal isolation, and self-harm or suicidal ideation. Academic success suffers during this time period and can aggravate the previous effects. These resulting effects can last a lifetime, especially if they continue throughout their educational lives to the university level and proper actions are not taken to mitigate the victimization. In this situation, there is a distrust in authority to change the outcome.

There are two forms of coping mechanisms, positive which are good for the involved parties, and negative which are detrimental. Some positive mechanisms include a) seeking help from a teacher, counselor, or another adult who is able to help; b) blocking the aggressor on social media; c) contacting the police when necessary. While positive coping mechanisms can lead the aggressor to progress in cyberbullying, negative coping mechanisms can result in traditional bullying or harm towards both involved parties. Some of these mechanisms include directly confronting the aggressor, retaliating with more cyberbullying, or even attacking the aggressor. In a study by Gimenez-Gualdo et al. (2018), secondary students are more likely to retaliate than primary students, 64.1% rather than 56%, so educators must be aware of the actions their students tend to proceed with when coping with the bullying they have endured.

Teacher Perceptions and Prevention Programs

There is debate on how school systems should respond to cyberbullying amongst students, especially on whether or not to use existing prevention programs or create an entirely new program to best accommodate individual student communities across the country. According to Stauffer (2011), schools should choose the latter and adopt and adapt a current anti-bullying program to better fit the specific needs of their students and resolve the particular incidents that arise. However, one of the most important factors in the implementation of these programs is the teacher’s ability to discern whether bullying is present and if it is a problem. One of the issues here is that teachers are less likely to intervene in cyberbullying if it occurs away from school (Stauffer, 2011). While educators have the responsibility in school to report incidents to school administrators and speak with the bully and their victim, the same responsibility does not translate outside of classroom doors.

An example of a cyberbullying prevention program is the ConRed Cyberbullying Prevention Program. This program implements the use of policies with the intention to reduce bullying and gain organizational support within school systems by increasing student knowledge of internet safety and digital readiness (Ortego-Ruiz et al., 2014). Programs such as the ConRed involve student-parent-teacher collaboration to create a safe school environment and give students a positive digital environment that facilitates mutual support, empathy, and improving social interpersonal relationships (Ortego-Ruiz et al., 2014).

Conclusion

While cyberbullying today is not so much a novel problem that it was in the last decade, the negative impacts of harmful social media and other digital resources continue to affect students to this day. Cyberbullying impacts students from all walks of life, including myself and several friends I've met along the way in educational institutions spanning nations. As a high school student, I would have liked to have the knowledge of a cyberbullying prevention program or resources available to me and my peers as we often felt hopeless in the face of digital anonymity. With the knowledge gained, educators can and should work with their administrators to ensure that all students feel safe in and out of the classroom.

Pop Quiz

1. What is NOT an example of positive coping mechanisms?

a. Retaliating to the aggressor

b. Contacting the police

c. Confronting the aggressor

d. Contacting the teacher or an adult

e. Both A and C

f. Both C and D

2. Mr. Harrison wants his students to interact via FlipGrid to submit assignments and discuss classroom materials with one another. One of his students has experienced negative comments and demeaning messages on their posts. Is this cyberbullying and does Mr. Harrison need to intervene?

a. It is not cyberbullying and Mr. Harrison shouldn't intervene because it isn't on school grounds.

b. It is cyberbullying, but Mr. Harrison shouldn't intervene because it isn't on school grounds.

c. It is cyberbullying and Mr. Harrison should intervene regardless.

d. It is not cyberbullying, but Mr. Harrison should intervene because it is mean.

References

Common Sense Education. (2018, November 6). What is Cyberbullying? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ctd75a7_Yw

Myers, C. A., & Cowie, H. (2019). Cyberbullying across the lifespan of education: Issues and interventions from school to university. International journal of

environmental research and public health, 16(7), 1217.

Ortega-Ruiz, R., Del Rey, R., & Casas, J. (2012). Knowing, Building and Living Together on Internet and Social Networks: The ConRed Cyberbullying

Prevention Program. International Journal of Conflict and Violence, 6(2), 303-312.

Stauffer, S.V. (2011). High School Teachers’ Perceptions of Cyber Bullying Prevention and Intervention Strategies [Thesis dissertation]. http://goo.gl/j51cFu

Tian, L., Yan, Y., & Huebner, E. S. (2018). Effects of cyberbullying and cybervictimization on early adolescents' mental health: Differential mediating roles of

perceived peer relationship stress. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 21(7), 429-436.