CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
2.7. Cyberbullying
2.7.6. Nature and prevalence of adolescent experiences of cyberbullying 25
Li (2006) conducted an investigation among students in junior high school describing the nature and extent of adolescences’ experiences of cyberbullying. This study showed that almost half the sample had been bully victims, one in four had been cyberbullied and over half indicated that they knew someone who was cyberbullied. The study further revealed that almost half of the cyberbullies used electronic means to harass others more than three times and that the majority of bystanders did not report the incident to an adult. Twenty- three percent of the respondents indicated that they were bullied by email, 35% in chat rooms, 41% by cellular phone text messaging, 32% by known school friends, 11% by people outside their school, and 16% by multiple sources including school friends.
Florell and Ang (2011) published two scenarios which explain proactive and reactive aggression using cyber technology.
Example one
“April is a middle school student who has a crush on a boy in school. Her best friend, Mandy, has told her recently that she has a crush on the boy and is thinking about asking him out on a date. April can’t believe that Mandy would like the same boy and decides something has to be done. April uses Mandy’s email account password and sends sexually suggestive email to all the male
students at school under Mandy’s account. Everyone assumes Mandy sent the message and Mandy’s reputation plunges. This allows April to eliminate the competition for the boy’s affection” (Florell & Ang, 2011, p. 1).
The above example indicates the use of proactive aggression by a perpetrator to achieve a specific goal.
Example two
“Mandy finds out that April was the one who broke into her email account and sent the email to the male students. Mandy decides to start sending anonymous threatening IMs and text messages to April. Mandy’s goal is to get back at April so she will stop spreading rumours and to try to salvage her tarnished reputation”
(Florell & Ang, 2011, p. 1).
The above example shows the use of reactive aggression as a form of self-defence by the victim.
Cyberbullies are aware that their identity may be protected in the anonymity of cyberspace.
This encourages the cyberbully to behave and act in a sinister manner. Within this
‘protected’ environment cyberbullies experience little fear about being caught and they may say and do things that they may not say or do in a face-to-face encounter with the victim. They feel at liberty to use false screen names and assumed identities. As we have discussed earlier the conventions of anonymity, masquerading and using pseudonyms masks the fear and there appears to be no perceived accountability or punishment for their actions (Florell, 2011b). We have to agree that those who are not strong or big enough to engage in schoolyard bullying now can unleash their vengeance and bully online (Ybarra, Diener, & Leaf, 2007b). It is reasonable to assume that many victims of traditional
bullying may become perpetrators of cyberbullying largely because of the conventions of cyber technology which are absent in traditional bullying.
2.7.7. Adolescence and high risk behaviour in cyberspace
Erikson’s developmental theory maintains that adolescence is a time of identity formation when the adolescent has time for experimentation and rejection of certain roles of selves (Harter, 1990). This is also when the adolescent first experiences identity diffusion which leads to experimentation and ultimately to identity formation (Harter, 1990). Erikson maintained that at this stage of development the adolescent comprehends the self in terms of what they are and what they may still become. There are three important aspects that are developed and shaped at this stage. Firstly, the adolescent begins to recognise the self as separate from others and as capable of making independent decisions; secondly, they begin to discriminate between numerous societal roles from the sense of self and experience and to find one that matches; and thirdly, to distinguish each step in any given task in order to work in incremental stages. If these objectives are not met, Erikson postulates that adolescents will expect satisfaction of immediate desires and may feel their sense of self depends on the external approval of others. When this happens the adolescents may become involved in high-risk behaviour. The adolescent years provide the ideal setting for the emergence of numerous high-risk behaviours. Since peer group approval is most important, this has major implications for bullying behaviour. The risk factor associated with being a bully and the external approval offered by peers and bystanders is sufficient to fuel the behaviour of the bully and the bully-victim. Cyberbullying offers the playground to engage in such adolescent idiosyncratic behaviour.
Berson and Berson (2005) have recorded their findings in a comparative study on challenging online behaviours amongst adolescent girls in the United States and New Zealand. A significant number of adolescent girls engaged in risky activities including disclosing personal information, sending personal photos to online acquaintances, and arranging face-to-face meetings with strangers they met online. Significantly many of the respondents, as a result of these online interactions, continued with potentially problematic and indiscreet offline practices.
Risky behaviour appears to be synonymous with the cyberspace phenomenon of ‘You can’t see me, and I can’t see you’. This practice poses potential risk for social interactions and psychological well-being because it prevents the perpetrator from receiving crucial feedback about the personal and psychological effect their words and actions may have on the victim, as was discussed earlier. In line with the developmental milestones of the adolescent it is clear that the adolescent is self-focused and usually fails to see the other person’s perspective. In cyberspace this inherent developmental potential may be compromised and exploited rather than nurtured. The practice of posting material without fear of identification, along with a diluted sense of responsibility that accompanies harassment or hateful activities in cyberspace, allows the perpetrator to avoid the natural consequences of their behaviour. Overtime, this behaviour becomes normalised on the Internet or cellular phone and eventually becomes a part of practice in real life interactions (Carney, 2007). Adolescents need to be encouraged to recognise that such cyber interactions may harm the other cyber users emotionally, psychologically or socially. Part of the process of developing responsibility for actions is to make the adolescent aware that the facelessness of virtual communication does not mean it is victimless (Bamford, 2004).
Victims, such as, Ryan Patrick Halligan (Halligan, 2008) and David Knight experienced the full sway of the faceless cruelty of virtual communication. The victims’ encountered helplessness, betrayal and severe depression in the faceless virtual communication they received. Life had become untenable for David Knight when some of his school friends established a website called “Hate David Knight”. They posted denigrating pictures and abuse on it and inadvertently invited the global online community of strangers to join them in their hate campaign against their friend. Such actions whether in jest or intentional, have severe repercussions for the social and psychological well-being of the victim. Individuals who become targets of peer aggressive behaviour can become severely depressed and experience a heightened sense of helplessness. While many researchers maintain that bullying in school is common and a part of the normal developmental experiences of children and adolescents, many teenagers struggle with bullying experiences because it triggers stress and anxiety for them and results in physical and emotional problems (Olweus, 1993; Rigby, 1997). Fundamental to the psychological well-being of an adolescent is their social standing amongst their peers. Belonging to a peer group in school provides the social support that shields the adolescent from teasing and social exclusion.
Adolescents consider social rejection to be one of the most traumatic events of their life (Landreth, 2002). When children and adolescents have to constantly survey the landscape of cyberspace or real space to guard against problematic interpersonal encounters, their ability to focus on academics, family life and responsibilities; their prosocial choices are compromised to some extent and may act as a protagonist for negative social and psychological health outcomes (Hinduja & Patchin, 2005). Despite the pervasiveness of internet use, relatively little is known about the long term effects of internet activities on adolescent psychosocial adjustment (Blais, 2008). Many researchers are beginning to probe the long-term consequences and impact of cyberbullying.