The Effects of Cyberbullying on Social Media and How to Prevent It

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is defined as the willful and repeated harm inflicted using computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. For example, a person can send a cruel text message or spread rumors using smartphones or tablets. Some have also targeted others through hurtful content on social media and livestreaming platforms.

The negative effects of cyberbullying on our mental health

(Hinduja & Patchin, 2023) found that a positive correlation exists between cyberbullying and low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, family problems, academic difficulties, delinquency, school violence, and suicidal thoughts and attempts. A survey conducted by (Hinduja & Patchin, 2023), found that over 60% of adolescents who experienced cyberbullying stated that it deeply affected their ability to learn and feel safe at school, while 10% said they skipped school at least once in the previous year because of cyberbullying.

Where does cyberbullying commonly occur?

Cyberbullying commonly occurs across social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter to name a few. We live in a time now where most of our youth today are regularly involved in some form of social media activity and are the most vulnerable group to become victims of cyberbullying.

Prevalence of cyberbullying

A study done by (Hinduja & Patchin, 2023) to identify previous experience with cyberbullying amongst middle and high schoolers in a sample size of 2,500 participants, found that 45.5% of them admitted to being cyberbullied during their lifetime, while 23.2% said they had been cyberbullied within the previous 30 days. Moreover, 94% of adolescents who were cyberbullied said it negatively impacted their life in some way in which nearly 70% said it affected their feelings about themselves, one-third said it affected their friendships, 13% said it affected their physical health, and 6.5% shared that it negatively influenced their schoolwork performance.

Challenges to preventing cyberbullying

One of the primary challenges that make it difficult to prevent cyberbullying is the fact that many people still don’t see the harm associated with it as many attempt to disregard cyberbullying because there are “more serious problems to worry about.” While it is true that there are many issues facing adolescents, parents, teachers, and law enforcement today, we need to acknowledge and accept that cyberbullying is one such problem that will only get worse if ignored. The second challenge relates to who is willing to step up and take responsibility for responding to the inappropriate use of technology. Many parents tend to say that they don’t have the knowledge or time to keep track of their children’s online behavior, and that schools should be covering it in detail during class time. Educators often are doing the best they can through following policies, curricula, training, and assemblies, but many times don’t know when and how to intervene in online behavior that occur away from school but still involve their students. Subsequently, cyberbullying incidents either slip through the cracks, or are otherwise mismanaged.

Parents and caregiver’s role

The best intervention that parents and caregivers can implement when their child is cyberbullied, is to create a safe space so that their child can feel comfortable sharing difficult conversations about any problems they may be facing by working together to arrive at a mutually agreed upon course of action to solicit the child’s opinion as to what might be the best course of action to take to improve the situation while being careful not to be dismissive of their perspective, but to validate their voice and perspective. Victims of cyberbullying must know undoubtedly that the adults who they will tell will intervene rationally and logically, and not make the situation worse. Overall, parents must educate their children about appropriate online behaviors just as they convey appropriate offline behaviors. They should also monitor their child’s activities while online-especially early in their exploration of cyberspace by actively participating in their child’s internet experience. However, spying on kids and unnecessarily invading their privacy should only be done as a last resort (with their knowledge) when there is a significant cause for concern, since it conveys distrust and may encourage youth to go further underground.  

Schools’ role

The most important preventative step that schools can take is to educate their community about responsible use of their devices through a concerted focus on digital citizenship. Students need to know that all forms of bullying are wrong and that those who engage in harassing or threatening behaviors will be subject to discipline. Discussing issues related to appropriate online communication should be incorporated into the general curriculum. It is crucial to establish and reinforce an environment of respect and integrity where violations result in informal or formal sanction.

The critical role that youths play

Above all, youth should develop a relationship with an adult they trust so that they can talk about experiences they have online or off that make them upset or uncomfortable along with learning good coping skills. If youth can develop the ability to demonstrate resilience, it will bode well for their future since there will always be others who want to tear them down as they journey towards personal and professional success in life. Youth should also use the account and privacy settings within each device, app, or network to control who can contact and interact with them, and who can read their online content as this can significantly reduce their victimization risk. Finally, youth should pause before they post and make wise decisions with what they share, send, or post online, considering the possibility that anyone and everyone may see it.

Everyone must do their part

Building healthy relationships between parents and their children to foster open and honest communication is essential in helping children to learn healthy ways to express their emotions. Parents who are engaged with what their children are involved in whether it be the type of friends their child associates with, various school activities, or other social exposures on a consistent basis have a higher likelihood of identifying problematic or inappropriate behaviors that can be addressed and corrected early on.

References

Cyberbullying Research Center. (2015). What is cyberbullying?

What is Cyberbullying?

Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2023). Cyberbullying Identification, Prevention, and

Response. Cyberbullying Research Center (cyberbullying.org)