Study finds that cyberbullying is associated with identifying as male and increased hours spent online.
37% of Indians Still Not Aware of Cyberbullying
Nearly 4 out of 10 Indians are Unaware Of Cyberbullying, finds a new study. The public awareness about cyberbullying has been found to be highest in Sweden and Italy (91 percent each) and lowest in Saudi Arabia (37 percent).
Nearly 4 out of 10 Indians are Unaware Of Cyberbullying, finds a new study. The public awareness about cyberbullying has been found to be highest in Sweden and Italy (91 percent each) and lowest in Saudi Arabia (37 percent).
‘Social networking sites are designed to give people a dopamine hit, and some people compulsively look for that hit.’
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Amanda Giordana, lead investigator, said, "There are some people who engage in cyberbullying online because of the anonymity and the fact that there's no retaliation. You have these adolescents who are still in the midst of cognitive development, but we're giving them technology that has a worldwide audience and then expecting them to make good choices." Read More..
There are various forms of cyberbullying. Some are -
1) Personal attacks,
Four in Five Indian Parents Aware of Dangers Posed by Cyberbullying
The makers of Norton anti-virus software, Symantec Software Solutions reveal that around four in five Indian parents are aware of the dangers posed by cyberbullying.
The makers of Norton anti-virus software, Symantec Software Solutions reveal that around four in five Indian parents are aware of the dangers posed by cyberbullying.
3) Spreading defamatory information,
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5) Spreading private information,
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Cyberbullying Worsened By Distribution Of Embarrassing Photos And Videos
Researchers have discovered that young people who fall victim to cyberbullying suffer most when fellow pupils circulate embarrassing personal photos and videos on the Internet.
Researchers have discovered that young people who fall victim to cyberbullying suffer most when fellow pupils circulate embarrassing personal photos and videos on the Internet.
7) Cyberstalking.
The authors explain that adolescents adapt to a different set of social norms online than what they use to interact with their peers in person. Due to their anonymity and ability to avoid retaliation, they can often be more aggressive or critical on social media. Since they can’t see the direct impact of their actions, cyberbullies may feel less remorse or empathy when engaging in these behaviors.
Giordano explains, "Social media addiction is when people crave it when they're not on it, and continue their social media use despite negative consequences." Some negative consequences could be -
1) Being tired during the day because of scrolling all night long,
2) Having conflicts with parents,
3) Getting poor grades in school or
4) Engaging in actions online that are later regretted.
For the study, 428 adolescents aged 13-19 years old were surveyed. Of these, 214 (50%) identified as female, 210 (49.1%) as male, and four (0.9%) as other. Participants reported spending over seven hours online per day on average, and over 12 hours was the average maximum hours reported spent online in one day.
Findings revealed that teenagers addicted to social media and those spending more hours online are more likely to engage in cyberbullying. In addition, adolescent males are more likely to engage in cyberbullying than females as aggressive behaviors tend to be more male-driven.
Giordana further explains that social networking sites are designed to give people a dopamine hit, and some people compulsively look for that hit.
"It's feeding into that addictive behavior, and they may be using cyberbullying as a way to get likes, shares, comments, and retweets," she said. "That's the common thread you see in behavioral addictions--people start relying on a rewarding behavior as a way to make them feel better when they're experiencing negative emotions."
She advises counselors to start assessing adolescents for social media addiction if they are engaging in cyberbullying and providing treatment plans to redefine their relationship with technology. She adds that schools should educate students earlier about cyberbullying and social media addiction as a preventive method instead of waiting to repair the damage.
"We need schools, and school counselors to do this preventative work early and educate students about the risk of addiction with some of these rewarding behaviors like gaming and social media," said Giordano.
She further adds that counselors can help reduce the risk of these addictive behaviors at a young age by teaching and equipping children with emotional regulation skills and other coping skills.
Source-Medindia
