Cyberbullying – A Mixed Methods Approach to Examining Online Aggression

Social/Economic/Cultural Impacts 

Authors: Katie and Matt Crosslin

Source: Texas Public Health Journal 2014 (pg. 26-31)

cyber-bullying-poster

In this article, a study was done at a Texas University among 286 undergraduate students. The presence of cyberbullying and online harassment was measured. The students involved were interviewed and asked open-ended questions about their personal experiences in these situations. The results showed that most of these attacks were through texting, social network sites (such as Facebook or Twitter), or email. Almost 33% of those interviewed had experienced cyberbullying in MORE THAN two ways. Even more interesting, 16% of the students interviewed confessed to bullying other people MORE than two ways during their time in college. It was found that most of this harassment took place after a break up of a relationship or disagreements in the dorms. These situations were shown to cause some behavioral issues for the students (ex. avoiding new friendships, emotional distress, suicidal thoughts). However, something that really stood out to me was that some of the students reported positive outcomes from the cyberbullying. They said that after being a victim of the persecution, they were more aware of how they came across to others in online relationships and were able to “rise above it”.

 

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