I guess it’s a sign of the times that a PsychInfo search on “bullies” returns 837 studies, most of which are rather recent. Bullies have always been among us, but their tactics now reflect the new technologies available to them. Traditional bullying includes physical, verbal, relational (social exclusion), and indirect (spreading rumors) [1]. With the exception of the physical, these techniques can now be applied using technology, including cell phones and the Internet.
How have these technologies changed the bullying dynamic? Smith et al. (2008) report that cyberbullying is less frequent than traditional bullying, and more likely to occur outside of school than in school. While less frequent, cyberbullying appears to have the same impact on the victims, with video cyberbullying having the most negative outcomes. These cases involved the distribution of abusive photos or videos of the victim to a peer group. The cybervictims and cyberbullies had many of the same characteristics as traditional victims and bullies. A particularly disturbing aspect of the focus groups conducted by Smith et al. was the frequently stated belief that cyberbullies were motivated by the “entertainment” value of their bullying behavior.
Kowalski and Limber (2007) looked at cyberbullies in American middle schools, instead of the British 11-16 year-olds in the Smith et al. study. Many of the findings were similar [2]. One of the interesting differences was in the anonymity of the bullies. In the British sample, only 20 percent bullied anonymously, but more than half of the Americans bullied anonymously. I have often believed that anonymous posting on message boards was likely to lead to deindividuation, which in turn would result in more antisocial behavior.
Both studies emphasize that cyberbullying is a significant and frequent phenomenon. Of the American middle schoolers, 11% reported being cyberbullied in the previous couple of months, 7% had been both bullies and victims, and 4% had bullied without being a victim.
Strategies for dealing with bullying, cyber or traditional, often seem inadequate to the task. Yes, we can raise adult awareness, and provide our children with strategies for dealing with the problem. But I don’t think we’re going to make it go away. As a parent, I found it very difficult to watch my daughter criticized harshly on track and field message boards not just by her peers, but by adults who should have known better. I kept thinking, “This is a kid.” But Karen simply waved her hand and dismissed them as jealous wannabees. I was very proud of her for being able to do that, and I think it made her much more confident and mature.
Smith, P.K., Mahdavi, J., Carvalho, M., Fisher, S., Russell, S., Tippett, N. (2008). Cyberbullying: its nature and impact in secondary school pupils. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 49(4), 376-385. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7610.2007.01846.x KOWALSKI, R., LIMBER, S. (2007). Electronic Bullying Among Middle School Students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), S22-S30. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.08.017
8 Comments
jmgraham · May 31, 2008 at 11:31 am
From my experience, I have witnessed a lot of bullying through instant messaging. My younger brother (13) is on every day and all the drama of the school day starts again. Spreading rumors, sharing photos, talking badly about someone…all of this occurs. Anonymity is a huge part of it. But I think that along with that, kids have more courage to say things by typing them into a computer than they would face to face. And this is where a lot of trouble can happen. Plus, there is the false impression that your conversation with the other person is private-when really, that person can “copy and paste” your very convo to someone else.
As far as prevention, the less time they spend on the internet the better. But that comes down to the parent’s judgment and even awareness of the situation in the first place.
Laura Freberg · May 31, 2008 at 7:55 pm
What I can’t understand is why kids don’t just block the troublemakers. Why let somebody hassle you? But maybe that’s hard to do for young teens.
rcardina22 · June 1, 2008 at 7:25 pm
Well, I can say that it is hard to just block out bullies. When someone says something about you, the immediate reaction is to defend yourself. Your daughter was very fortunate to have such confidence to feel she didn’t need to stoop to that level. I agree with the first post, it is so much easier to say something to someone over text messages or emails, rather than one on one. In my experience, the bullying was in the form of starting rumors or talking behind people’s backs. However, I think that this “cyberbullying” has originated because teens are getting too comfortable on the internet—posting blogs and inappropriate pictures—forgetting that even people they don’t know have access to their site. We can see how deadly this bullying gets with the recent news story about the 16-year-old girl in Missouri who hanged herself after receiving hurtful messages from a MOM on MySpace. It just shows that you can’t trust anyone on the internet and these teens should be careful what they post and who they communicate with.
msauer · June 1, 2008 at 11:59 pm
It’s amazing how some things just never change. I remember from when I was younger how hurtful kids can be to each other. And kids are still mean today; I hear about it when talking with my younger brother (12) and sister (9) about school and such. As an older sister, it makes me mad to see that some little kid thinks that they are better than someone else and thinks that it is okay to push another peer around. To the one being bullied: I totally agree with what has been said before, that it is extremely hard to ignore what is being said. The advice I give to my younger siblings is that as hard as it may be, to try their best to stay away from the mean one, and really just take the attitude that it is too bad that the kid has to say mean things to feel good about themselves. In the end, it’s going to be the bully without the friends. I think that Dr. Freberg’s daughter really had a great and idealistic attitude for the situation! To the bully: I never understood how the parents’ of a bully don’t see that their child is not treating the other kids very nicely. I guess you just hope that the bully realizes that will not have any friends, and that their maybe short lived high of superiority isn’t worth it…and hopefully this is realized sooner rather than later.
As far as this “cyberbullying” goes, I agree with the posts above. Young kids these days are becoming way to comfortable with the internet and myspace and blogging; they don’t need to take part in any of that, and if they do, I think that the parents need to be actively involved. Just as kids and young teens need to be surpervised in many of their activites, the internet is no exception.
AprilN · June 2, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I’m actually surprised that cyberbullying is less frequent. I thought that it would have been higher, since most people find it easier to say things via email, text, or IM.. instead of to someone’s face. I think that by reading something someone’s said, it gives you the opportunity to re-read it, making it hurt you more. My younger brother (12) seems to often reread things people say to him, making him feel worse.
Thinking back to when I was younger, it was easy for me to ignore and block people I didn’t want to associate with. But, it seems that for some people, its easier than for others. However, I agree with the posting above, kids need to be supervised in many of their activities, and the internet is definitly no exception.
kara311 · June 2, 2008 at 6:03 pm
There was an episode of Oprah that was dedicated to cyberbullyies. This woman who was an established real estate agent had her entire life turned upside down when a competitor posted fake prostitution ads about her on Craigslist. It damaged her reputation, and deeply upset her whole family. The FBI caught the man (her neighbor who was bitter over a deal-gone-wrong) and he got 4 years of probation. That’s it! No fine, no jail time for practically ruining this woman’s life (you should see the episode)! Cyberbullying is still so new that proper punishment is a grey-area. Should cyberbullying be punished as if it were physical bullying?…
svallier · June 6, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I wonder how much easier it is to bully over the internet. As a bookworm and frequently teased adolescent, I never have played the “bully” role… But judging by what happens when one bullies another face to face, usually a fight or intimidating stance… When you think about it online bullies don’t have to walk their talk as much. They don’t have to back up their threats with violence. They can sit comfortably at home while “entertaining themselves”. I found my suspicion was confirmed when I finished your post and found that more than half of American bullies did so anonymously. Never have to walk your talk if no one knows who you are huh? When musing on this topic an interesting question is raised… how does one go about putting controls on bulling. Parenting is an easy answer, too easy in fact. Students can bully on any computer – no matter if their parents are involved in their lives or not. I hate to say “internet police” but having the internet a little more controlled wouldn’t be ALL bad. If that is even possible – it certainly isn’t very probable.
JoeGaldamez · May 29, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Same, I believe bullying will never end by simply informing other parents, teachers, or other trusted adults. Bullying stems down to something more–to psychological issues. Many students who resort to violence or verbal abuse have experienced some level of abuse or neglect themselves. The parents of the “victims” cannot do anything until the “bully” him/herself is helped. Also, insecurities may play a great role in why students participate in violent behavior.
It’s very interesting how more Americans are choosing to bully anonymously. Anonymity allows these bullies to easily attack others. Without their identity revealed, they can do whatever pleases them. In a way, it’s quite scary.
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