THE IMPACT OF CYBERBULLYING ON THE EMOTIONAL HEALTH OF

CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLEHelen Cowie

Athens November 27th 2010

POTENTIAL RISKS IN VIRTUAL WORLD

ICT an arena where violence and bullying can happen;

Widespread concern about the dangers that are emerging in the virtual world of ICT;

Anxiety that many children and adults lack awareness of basic e-safety.

PHENOMENON OF CYBERBULLYING

What is it?How frequent is it?What can we do about it?

WHAT IS IT?

“the use of e-mail, mobile phones, text messages, video clips, instant messaging, photos and personal websites, in order to engage in repeated hostile behaviour intended to harm another person or persons”.

WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?

cyber-stalking, harassment, denigration; exclusion, teasing or making nasty

comments about another person; threats of physical violence or death to a

person or their family; posting offensive/embarrassing material a

on a website; menacing chain messages

Cyberbullying in UK(Smith et al, 2008)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

11 - 12 yrs 15 - 16 yrs

incidence

Incidence of cyberbullying (Smith et al, 2008)

Cyberbullying in UK(Rivers & Noret, 2009)

0%2%4%6%8%

10%12%14%16%18%

Total % Frequent %

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Livingstone et al. (2010) EU Kids Online

23,420 European children aged 9-16 years 5% report being cyberbullied once a week

or more often; 4% once or twice a month; 81% never;

Cyberbullying less prevalent than traditional bullying or victimisation;

Few gender differences.

Livingstone et al. (2010) EU Kids Online

Cyberbullying most common on a social networking site or by instant messaging;

Bullying by email, in gaming sites or chat rooms less common;

EU Kids Online:Emotional response of victims

32% very upset; 25% fairly upset; 31% a bit upset; 13% not at all upset.

Sourander et al (2010)

2215 Finnish adolescents aged 13-16 years 4.8% cybervictims only, 7.4% cyberbullies only,

5.4% cyberbully-victims Cyberbullying less prevalent than traditional

bullying or victimisation Traditional victims tended to be cybervictims;

traditional bullies to be cyberbullies; traditional bully-victim status was associated with all cyberbully and cybervictim groups.

Sourander et al (2010)

These findings confirm other studies (Smith et al, 2008; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2004) that indicate links between online and offline bullying.

Revenge hypothesis

Sourander et al. confirmed the revenge hypothesis among girls but not among boys. They suggest that girls who are cyberbullies may be physically weaker than those they are trying to intimidate and so use the anonymity of the Internet to exact revenge.

Emotional distress in victims

1 in 4 cybervictims reported feeling unsafe;

Experienced psychosomatic problems, such as headaches, recurring abdominal pain and sleeplessness;

Demonstrated peer relationship difficulties.

Emotional distress in bullies

Cyberbullies felt unsafe at school and unsupported by their teachers;

Reported a high incidence of headaches; Displayed conduct disorders,

hyperactivity, frequent smoking and drunkenness and low scores for prosocial behaviour.

Emotional distress in cyber bully-victims

Those who were both cyberbullies and cybervictims were the most troubled group;

They scored higher on depression, feeling unsafe, abusing alcohol and exhibiting conduct disorders;

Findings in line with studies of traditional bully-victims who tend to be most strongly at risk of a wide range of psychiatric problems, crime and suicidal thoughts

Hozumi’s cell phone nearly drove him to suicide

"Even when I stopped going to school and stayed at home, my cell phone kept ringing with harassing e-mails,"

He became anorexic and rarely emerged from his room…

…and so distraught that he attempted suicide twice.

Eventually returned to school and graduated… …but still haunted by the fact that classmates

regularly sent cell phone messages to him even during the night telling him to die.

>> ASIAONE / DIGITAL / NEWS / STORY

                                         

           

Hozumi’s recurring nightmare

"When people tell you your life is not worth living, you start to think that way," he said. "I couldn't believe in human beings anymore."

A FRIEND’S BETRAYAL

Cyberbullying between two ‘friends’; 17-year-old Andy took revenge on his

friend, Ben, aged 16, for telling peers his personal secrets;

He created an online fictitious character, Callum, and lured Ben into an intimate relationship with him.

THE REVENGE

Andy circulated emails between Ben and ‘Callum’ to friends and teachers;

Ben felt so embarrassed that he could no longer face going to school;

When Ben discovered that ‘Callum’ had been invented by friend Andy the betrayal was too much to bear;

He then tried to commit suicide; Fortunately, Ben was discovered in time to save

his life.

CASE WENT TO YOUTH COURT

Andy genuinely repentant and sobbed uncontrollably at the Court;

"I wish I never done it….I can't explain what came over me. All I can say is that I don't recognise that person and I don't like who I was. I am wholeheartedly unconditionally sorry. If you ever find me doing this again, lock me up and throw away the key”.

OUTCOME

Andy pleaded to the charge of harassment;

Sentenced to a 12-month referral order;

Ordered to pay compensation to victim of £250;

His computer destroyed;Publicly shamed in media.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

SanctionsRecourse to lawMonitoring websites and social

networking sitesE-safety advice

EDUCATE FOR E-SAFETY

Infrastructure of whole-site awareness, responsibilities, policies and procedures;

Effective range of technological tools; E-safety programme; Review process to monitor effectiveness

(British Educational and Communications Agency, 2008)

GUIDANCE TO PARENTS, STUDENTS AND TEACHERS

Update anti-bullying policies; Advise target students on appropriate

action; Actively promote e-safety throughout the

school; Identify cyberbullies; Change their attitudes and behaviour; Apply sanctions.

Existing research-based knowledge

Over 20 years of research into bullying Evidence about participant roles in

bullying Insights into the dynamics of the peer

group Bullying a collective phenomenon

CYBERMENTORS

Train volunteer students to take action; Offer helplines with practical tips for

victims; Active listening services; Monitor websites and blogs and report

bullying behaviour; Actively challenge where appropriate.

                                           

                                           

                                           

                                           

                                           

Applications

                       

                 

        

          

Forgot Password?

                

 

At the moment you can only become a CyberMentor if you live in the UK, and if you are aged 11-25.

Enter your name:

E-mail address:

Date of Birth

City or Town

School or College or University

Any message?

[ Back ]

                                           

                                           

                                           

                                           

                                           

Applications

                       

                 

        

          

Forgot Password?

                

 

At the moment you can only become a CyberMentor if you live in the UK, and if you are aged 11-25.

Enter your name:

E-mail address:

Date of Birth

City or Town

School or College or University

Any message?

[ Back ]

These are just a few ideas to get you started.  If you think of something else you can do, tell us, and get together with your mates and do it!

                                                                                                                                                          

            Getting a widget on your Piczo, Bebo or Facebook page is a great way of supporting CyberMentors and telling the world that you won't put up with bullying. So what are you waiting for?! Get your widget now!

WHOLE-SCHOOL APPROACH

Sanctions have a place but punishment not enough;

External controls ineffective without real consultation with parents, teachers and students;

Need to take account of complexity of peer group relationships.

Educators and healthcare professionals need to…

Understand relationships between victims and perpetrators;

Offer appropriate therapeutic interventions;

Train peer supporters in the skills of e-safety;

Equip young people with strategies for dealing with risk when it occurs.

NEED TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF RESEARCH FINDINGS

Identify evidence-based interventions; Monitor and evaluate effectiveness of

action; Build on existing knowledge; Avoid moral panics; Involve children and young people as

partners.

EU-FUNDED COST ACTION

All European countries involved; Working groups identify key aspects,

such as coping strategies and effective guidelines for educators, healthcare professionals, young people and parents.

CYBER BULLYING

Central government, parents, charities, teachers, students and ICT providers in many countries are working together;

Issue is multi-dimensional; Need to understand peer relationships