Cyberbullying: An Overview of Its Impact on Adolescent Mental Health
Alexis Bernard Department of Psychology PSY590-90
Dr. Scott Debb
October 4, 2022
Abstract
Cyberbullying may be particularly troublesome to victims since the perpetrator generates the context. Overall, it is apparent that cyberbullying is distinctive and harmful to victims given the difference between digital and face-to-face interactions. Cyberbullying is a substantial concern in many countries and researchers have provided useful information to educate individuals about this growing digital phenomenon that affects both youth and society as a whole.
Keywords: cyberbullying, digital technologies, adolescents, mental health, cyberpsychology, social media, online communities
Cyberbullying: An Overview of Its Impact on Adolescent Mental Health
Introduction
Children and teens, compared to adults, have in some ways a very different understanding and experience of digital technologies (Whitty et al., 2017, pp. 325–328). Cyberbullying is one of the various types of online harassment, and one of many that are online manifestations of offline malevolent actions (Atrill-Smith et al., 2019). Cyberbullying, also known as CBB, is a cyber exploit that has distinctive characteristics. Cyberbullying is generally when a child, preteen, or teen is threatened, harassed humiliated, or otherwise tormented by another child using the Internet or related technologies or mobile phones (Norman, 2017, pp. 316–335). It has become an international conversation (Aiken, 2017). Recent cyberbullying research indicates that participant roles and socio-psychological factors can influence CBB can lead to prominence in online communities. Subsequently, these feelings of security may well enable people to participate in situations online that they would not find much harder to join in when offline (Atrill-Smith et al., 2019). With this in mind, authors from around the world have discussed and analyzed this growing issue and presented relevant empirical reviews for viewers. Unless there is a threat of physical harm or other extreme behavior, it is generally viewed as malicious but not criminal (Atrill-Smith et al., 2019). By describing a range of adolescent relationships and behaviors, researchers can interpret both problems and solutions that stress the importance of appropriate digital engagement.
Analysis
In the 2013 article, Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will always hurt you: A review of cyberbullying, researchers dissect and evaluate the various definitions of both types of bullying while investigating how computer-mediated interaction distorts the dynamic nature of abusive dialogues. Primarily, the article explores social media users’ motives for verbally attacking each other. Overall, Wingate et al. analyze digital environment characteristics and discuss how these attributes enable and intensify online bullying, in addition to the repercussions this kind of harassment might have on victims as a result of this setting. In particular, the authors highlight that the lack of a "global standard" meaning has hindered cyberbullying publications. But in many cases, social processes are altered by anonymity, distance, context, and changes in persona (Norman, 2017, pp. 316–335).
To emphasize, the authors suggest that the power imbalance between both the victim and the perpetrator is made meaningless by the qualities of computer-mediated communication, also known as CMC. In addition, researchers discuss two primary dimensions of aggression, environmental variables, gender differences in cyberbullying contexts, as well as cyberbullying treatments. Researchers also discuss why online bullying demonstrates aspects of a mob mentality as a result of deindividuation and the salience of social rules digitally. They tend to be individuals who did not recognize the full extent of the psychologically detrimental impact of their actions (Atrill-Smith et al., 2019). Undoubtedly one of the most crucial characteristics of online bullying is the lack of nonverbal cues, while face-to-face interaction and computermediated communication depend on time and pace of engagement. For instance, victims of cyberbullying could be more seriously affected than victims of face-to-face abusive behavior due
to the perception of permanence triggered by the communication mode and the social proximity of the setting (Wingate et al., 2013).
Bakar is generally interested in human communication, new media, and information communication technology. His 2015 investigation concentrates on the characteristics and themes that emerged as a result of cyberbullying behaviors among Malaysian adolescents that had never previously been reported. In-depth interviews were conducted on adolescents aged 12 to 18 years from various schools located in the state of Perlis utilizing grounded theory methodology. The model's related aspects are the roots of cyberbullying, the effect, informants' coping mechanisms, and the repercussions of these efforts. Overall the importance of this study consists of the attempt to develop a functional framework for lowering adolescents' technological abuse. This research is meant to assist all individuals involved, notably teenagers, parents, instructors, and other participants, to decrease the phenomenon of cyberbullying among adolescents.
To share information and give first-person experiences to help educate and protect users, the researcher hypothesized that a grounded theory analysis would enable the students to distinguish additional components of cyberbullying. Using a methodological approach, one hundred and five students representing four secondary schools as well as three from a primary school were involved in this study for seven months. They were chosen by school councilors. Participants spanned the age range of 12 to 18 and originated from a range of educational levels. Abu Bakar subsequently went on the internet for approximately 6 months to examine the authentic condition of cyberbullying phenomena while compiling cases connected to research issues. This was accomplished primarily by using one of the most widely used social media
platforms for adolescents - Facebook. NVivo Version 8 Software was used to evaluate the information collected in the study, while students were surveyed both individually and in groups. Making another point, the purpose of these interviews aimed to gather initial opinions and perceptions of cyberbullying. Many respondents, for instance, had asserted that online technology capabilities including social media were facilitating elements in cyberbullying. As a result, Bakar determined that focus groups, as well as personal interviews, populated the identifiers necessary to understand the occurrence of cyberbullying. Notably, ways to combat this type of harassment include receiving counseling, notifying parents, and blocking the perpetrator. Cyberbullying has emotional, behavioral, social, physical, and academic consequences. Social support is the most important factor influencing the relationship between social media use and mental health. Relevant research shows it is possible to conduct cyberbullying utilizing mobile phones and the internet while tactics include video, speech, and images. The author suggested that the major finding to emerge was the perpetrators' desire to gain a "sense of satisfaction". Bakar observed that if there is no visual or nonverbal emotion during cyberbullying, victims will be unable to express their despair, anger, or shame. Additionally, an emoticon by itself is inadequate to represent the genuine emotion of those affected. Ultimately, this study will lead to a deeper understanding of the issue in the Malaysian context. The researcher suggests that a quantitative study be carried out in the Malaysian environment for future developments. One of the study's limitations and drawbacks is that students made incorrect statements, and only one ethnic group participated (Abu Bakar, 2015).
In Keles et al.’s 2019 detailed article entitled A systematic review: The influence of social media on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents, researchers indicate that
for adolescents from age 13 to 18, social media consumption impacts depressive episodes, anxiousness, and psychological distress. The international study results were primarily categorized into four digital media areas: time spent, interaction, investment, as well as addiction. Depression, anxiety, and psychological distress were all attributed to all categories. Social support is another significant factor that affects the correlation between the utilization of social media and mental health.
The undeniable impact of the internet on adolescents' mental well-being may vary depending on if they participate in downward social comparison or use higher performers as a basis of comparison. Pursuing this further, it may be due to limited self-regulation ability as well as vulnerability to peer pressure. Researchers emphasize that repeated message checking, personal investment, but also addictive or problematic use are all possible potential causes of negative effects. Complicated by the fact that the studies' findings were not fully consistent, this review discovered an overall link between the use of social media and mental health issues. Finally, this study's constraints included social desirability bias, information bias, as well as reporting bias; however, researchers hoped to enrich the existing literature by identifying solutions and highlighting the importance of the topic of cyberbullying (Keles et al., 2019).
In Johansson and Englund’s 2020 article, the investigators are interested in the complicated relationship between cyberbullying and physical, verbal, and relational aggression. According to Johansson and Englund, not all acts interpreted as cyberbullying are aimed at causing harm. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied in the study. Images or messages sent digitally can reach masses and are not required to be sent multiple times to cause damage. Consequently, online content could be redistributed by
individuals other than the original perpetrator. It should be mentioned that the connection between traditional and online bullying varies across research findings.
The selection of factors, measurement relevance, as well as measurement trustworthiness are examples of variables that are likely to clarify the inconsistencies in results across analyses. The authors of this article focused on gender, anxiety levels, and the number of acquaintances. Importantly, gender differences in response to cyberbullying have previous research emphasis (Patten & Newhart, 2018, pp. 247–257). While being managed by instructors, the study utilizes information from 355 students in Grades 4-6, aged 10 to 12, from 70 schools in seven cities and counties in Sweden. Researchers concentrated on this group because it is common for students in these grades to receive their first cell phone. It can expose a child to cyberbullying or turn a child into a cyberbully(Aiken, 2017). Typically in this group, cyberbullying includes sending insulting messages. The indications and repercussions of cyberbullying may be significantly similar to traditional bullying. This demonstrates the importance of schools and educators being extremely diligent regarding their students' online behavior. The recent study has some limitations, including response fatigue when it relates to responding to later queries. This might have resulted in certain challenges with internal consistency. In summary, this article presents instructors and other individuals with opportunities to recognize the characteristics of multiple forms of bullying (Johansson & Englund, 2020).
Published in September of 2021, Investigating consumers’ motives for consumer brandcyberbullying on social media, relies on a variety of sources to explore Consumer BrandCyberbullying, also known as (CBC). This article evaluates evidence from 1,203 participants of virtual brand communities. It reveals from a systematic analysis that individuals who desire to be
attractive and popular are more inclined to participate in harmful CBC, while individuals who desire to engage with acquaintances and assist the community are less prone to participate. With a growing number of individuals being harassed online, survey-based research investigates the incentives that lead consumers to bully others regarding the brands they favor online. Despite the fact it impacts masses of social media users, CBC remains to be unregulated. Two significant theoretical propositions are evaluated by conducting an online poll to gather meaningful user feedback responses from 1,203 Facebook brand-page consumers through structural equation modeling (SEM). The authors propose that individuals' overall life goals reflect the underlying reasons for how inclined they are to harass others regarding the brands they support. In this article, the researchers describe cyberbullying as an encompassing phrase that includes all sorts of anti-social online behavior. Extrinsic aspirations, in particular, are likely to increase CBC.
While studies on the connection between cyberbullying and customer loyalty to brands are limited, Consumer Identification Theory research enables several preliminary hypotheses. Interestingly, current work on cyberbullying in Psychology, in addition to related research in disciplines including sociology, marketing and information studies, has overlooked consumers' connection with companies as a source of motivation. Besides that, the investigation offers useful insights regarding how an individual's desires can contribute to brand-related cyberbullying. The report provides policymakers and marketers with practical implications. Educational efforts that increase awareness of the harmful impacts of extrinsic life goals could also assist in the reduction of CBC. Authors indicated that CBC management could represent an organizational way of promoting social well-being, while researchers encourage future studies to examine the function of companies that host virtual communities (Breitsohl et al., 2021).
In Francisco et al.’s 2022 article called, Behind the scenes of cyberbullying: personal and normative beliefs across profiles and moral disengagement mechanisms, authors investigated the effects of cyberbullying and its relationship to individual and societal beliefs. In the publication, 404 7th to 9th-grade students in Portugal participated in semi-structured interviews and completed the Inventory of Observed Cyberbullying Incidents. Using the Social Cognitive Theory of Moral Agency, researchers sought to identify which moral disengagement processes, including victim blaming and moral justification, were more prevalent in cyberbullying scenarios. Cognitive implications indicate that bystanders were determined to be the most frequent role. Significantly, by taking a conventional variable-based classification approach, experts explain how cyberbullying might be regarded as unbiased relying on the motives as well as the depth of moral disengagement since individuals involved often defend their deplorable conduct. The premise is that both individual and environmental factors impact this behavior. The investigation concentrates on personal beliefs considering individual factors are critical in recognizing occurrences and responding appropriately.
For a quantitative approach, researchers used questionnaires that included the Aggressor scale, the Victim scale, and the Bystander scale. The interviews and questionnaires were conducted online in spaces independent from classroom settings to guarantee participants' confidentiality and privacy. This research was permitted by several entities, including school boards of directors, instructors, guardians, and the adolescents themselves. All participants were informed of the availability of psychological services. The analysis indicated that bystanders, bystander-victims, and individuals who had no involvement believed cyberbullying was more unfair and serious than individuals who had varieties of involvement. Even if
comments do not qualify as cyberbullying, a child of this age can be hyper-sensitive to criticism (Aiken, 2017). According to the findings, those who participated in all types of involvement expressed the most misguided beliefs regarding cyberbullying. This can contribute to developments in the development of suitable cyberbullying interventions for every role type (Francisco et al., 2022).
In Song et al.’s 2022 article exploring the pandemic and classroom psychology, researchers explore how intervention strategies could be a sustainable and appropriate method for involving parents in an attempt to assist students through adequate training. Even though cyberbullying is becoming increasingly prevalent, the social responsibility of individuals who participate in these destructive activities is relatively minimal. By focusing on guardians, education professionals, and students, the researchers offer useful insights regarding how the pandemic is impacting mental well-being in classrooms. Noticeably, both parents and school officials are increasingly worried about student achievement during the pandemic. Statistics continue to reinforce concerns about mental health among children, even as social influence and parental supervision transform with the quickly changing pace of technology. This article emphasizes the need for all prevention and intervention strategies to constantly evolve (Song et al., 2022).
Conclusion
Concluding, school systems can develop and promote a framework in which adolescents are guided to report cybervictimization to their peers, and peers are provided with training to accommodate those who do. Better educating students about what behavior patterns encompass bullying is a vital measure to reduce this type of harassment. Accordingly, cyberbullying can
occur in a variety of forms and be personal or impersonal. Bullying behaviors persist, and they appear to be widespread in digital spaces, based on the most recent findings from students. Relevant research indicates that academic platforms can establish as well as facilitate guidelines in which youth are encouraged to communicate cybervictimization to their peer group and peers are prepared to assist those who are affected. By constructing appropriate interventions that emphasize specific moral disengagement mechanisms, victims can feel empowered to communicate effectively and engage in beneficial treatments that combat negative symptoms associated with the phenomenon of CBB. Victims of cyberbullying can become an empowering part of the solution to an ugly but eminently solvable big data problem (Aiken, 2017). Both bullying and cyberbullying are serious problems that take place in a diverse range of cultures and environments, at all ages, and across all school levels. Training and education in this area are pivotal to well-being and identity.
References
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