Social Media Usage & the Psychological Effects on Youth

Cyberbullying:

By Samantha Jaffe & Jessica RyanDecember 1, 2010

Raise your hand if you know someone who

has been cyberbullied

in any way?

Research Questions

What are the similarities and differences in the motives behind bullying and cyberbullying?

What technologies are youth utilizing when they cyberbully others?

What are the psychological effects of cyberbullying on youth?

Preview

Traditional Bullying Cyberbullying Social Media Methods Psychological Effects

Traditional Bullying

Definition:– “persistent threatening and aggressive

behavior directed toward other people, especially those who are smaller or weaker”

– Debate on the word “Aggressive”– Overt

Cyberbullying

Definition: – “forms of bullying that use electronic means such

as the Internet and mobile phones to aggressively and intentionally harm someone” (Price & Dalgelish, 2010, p.51).

“Bullying on Steroids”

Methods of Cyberbullying

Flaming: sending vulgar messages about a person to an online group or directly to the person via email other text messaging (Li, 2008, p.225)

Online harrassment: repeatedly sending offensive messages via email or other text messaging to a person (Li, 2008, p.225)

Cyberstalking: online harassment that includes threats of harm or is excessively intimidating (Li, 2008, p.225)

Denigration (put-downs): Sending harmful, untrue, or cruel statements about a person to other people or posting such material online (Li, 2008, p.225)

Methods of Cyberbullying (cont’d) Masquerade (or Impersonation): pretending to be someone else

and sending or posting material that makes that person look bad (Li, 2008, p.225)

Outing: sending or posting material about a person that contains sensitive, private, or embarrassing information, including forwarding private messages or images (Li, 2008, p.225)

Trickery: tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information and sharing that information with others (Trolley & Hanel, 2010, p.39)

Exclusion: cruelly excluding someone from an online group (Li, 2008, p.225)

Social Media Usage

Mobile Phones

Social Networking Sites (SNSs)

Mobile Phones

Most preferred method

Two to one 15 to 18 female students preferred harrassing victims by text messaging over other mediums such as e-mail, websites, and instant messaging (Toppo, 2006, p.08d).

Mobile Phones

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“Sexting”– “Sending or forwarding nude, sexually

suggestive, or explicit pictures on a cell phone or online” (Siegle, 2010, p.15).

Social Networking Sites

About 55% of American youths use SNSs (Trolley & Hanel, 2010, p.9).

About 46% of female participants reported using SNSs when cyberbullying (Trolley & Hanel, 2010, p.55).

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Social Networking Sites

Profile Creation Identity Performance “Imagined Audience” Online and Offline Relationships

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Psychological Effects

Control Imbalance:– Changing roles

Associated Feelings:– Anger– Frustration– Sadness– Anxiety – Depression– Lower Self-esteem

Psychological Effects (cont’d)

Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2010b)

Psychological Effects (cont’d)

Emotional Intelligence:– Understanding Emotions

Psychological Immune System:– “The higher the level of one’s emotional intelligence, the

healthier one’s psychological immune system” (Plaford, 2006, p. 59).

Social Capital

Conclusions

Traditional bullying and Cyberbullying are different– Methods– Time and Space– Covert vs Overt

Increased Technology Usage Decreased Mental Health Limitations on Research

“It Gets Better” with Joe Biden

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcyXQJ2Tf4E