Gilberto Marzano Rezeknes University Of Applied Sciences Cyberbullying has traditionally been considered to be a school problem. It usually occurs before an audience of peers and on the school playground (Craig & Pepler, 1997; Olweus, 1993). Bullying takes a wide range of forms including hitting, pushing, holding, hostile gesturing, threatening, humiliating, degrading, , name-calling, put- downs, sarcasm, , staring, sticking out the tongue, eye rolling, , manipulating friendship and ostracising (Ma, 2001; Beran,2006) Cyberbullying not necessarily occurs among peers and at school. Cyberbullying A large segment of the total users of the Internet are children and youth under the age of 18. In fact, internet users under the age of 18 tend to view the Internet primarily as a social tool contrasted with older internet users who tend to view it as a tool to work, pay bills, or shop.

Cyberbullying actions concern the damage of victims’ social relationships; they include exclusion, spreading rumours, breaking confidences, ridiculing, and garnering support for physical attacks on identified victims. Cyberbullying Dan Olweus, the pioneering researcher in the field of bullying prevention and the creator of the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, argues that the claims about cyberbullying made in the media and elsewhere are often greatly exaggerated and that such claims, by and large, have very little scientific support.

Dan Olweus, Cyberbullying: An overrated phenomenon?, EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2012, 1–19 Cyberbullying For Dan Orweus a student is being bullied when another student, or several other students: •say mean and hurtful things or make fun of him or her or call him or her mean and hurtful names •completely ignore or exclude him or her from their group of friends or leave him or her out of things on purpose •hit, kick, push, shove around, or lock him or her inside a room •tell lies or spread false rumours about him or her or send mean notes and try tomake other students dislike him/ her •and other hurtful things like that. Cyberbullying Dan Olweus observes that when we talk about bullying, these things may happen repeatedly, and it is difficult for the student being bullied to defend himself or herself.

We also call it bullying when a student is teased repeatedly in a mean and hurtful way.

But we don’t call it bullying when the teasing is done in a friendly and playful way. Also, it is not bullying when two students of about the same strength or power argue or fight. Cyberbullying

There are two different visions about cyberbullying: •cyberbullying is bullying through the use of technology. •cyberbullying is a new form of malicious/aggressive behavior which uses ICT technologies.

Often, a cyber aggression is viewed as cyberbullying.

The same thing happens for bullying: people look at any aggression as bullying.

. Cyberbullying

However, there are some differences between cyberbullying and other forms of bullying.

Early investigations in the cyberbullying scope had identified the anonymity as one of more specific factor of cyberbullying, claiming that cyberbullying was different from traditional bullying because people can use the disguise of anonymity to harass their victims, e. g. sending blind items or dissimulating their own identity.

Cyberbullying

Indeed, cyberbullies take advantage from the features of online communication (anonymity, asynchronicity, and accessibility) to torment their targets (Valkenburg & Peter, 2011), and it has been observed that the hidden nature of electronic communication can offer to victims, or self-presumed victims, of traditional bullying the opportunity to retaliate on line or to attack their real- world violence perpetrators (Kowalski, 2008). Valkenburg, P. M., Peter, J., & Schouten, A. P. (2006). Friend networking sites and their relationship to adolescents' well-being and social self-esteem. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 9(5), 584-590. Kowalski, RM, Limber, SP, & Agatston, PW (2008). Cyber bullying. Blackwell

Cyberbullying

An interesting review of literature on the conceptual and theoretical similarities and differences between cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying, has indicated how the two primary constructs, imbalance of power and repetition, are related to face-to-face and cyberbullying contexts (Dooley et al., 2009):

Dooley, J. J., Pyżalski, J., & Cross, D. (2009). Cyberbullying versus face-to- face bullying. Zeitschrift für Psychologie/Journal of Psychology, 217(4), 182- 188. Cyberbullying

•Repetition in bullying is based on behavioral repetition over time conducted by perpetrators, while in cyberbullying may be based on technology and the specific features of the content published, going beyond the initial perpetrator’s intentions and behavior

•Imbalance of power in bullying is physical power, while in cyberbullying corresponds to a power of technology, and relationship between anonymity and power in cyberbullying may reveal other important differences. Cyberbullying

An other factor which characterizes bullying and cyberbullying is a form of helplessness of the victim, who feels defenceless and doesn’t see or even try to find a way to escape the situation (Olweus, 1993; Smith & Brain, 2000).

Olweus, D. (1993). Bullying at School: What we know and what we can do. Oxford: Blackwell. Smith, P. K., & Brain, P. (2000). Bullying in schools: Lessons from two decades of research. Aggressive Behavior, 26, 1-9. Cyberbullying

Nevertheless, there are other factors which differentiate cyberbullying from bullying. Technology offers to cyberbullies a much wider audience than in schoolyard bullying. For example, emails could be forwarded to all the student’s contacts, hurtfull messages could be posted on community network sites and viewed by all members, websites could be created that millions of people could visit, etc. Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying actions may include the wide dissemination of: •embarrassing information (true or fabricated) about individuals, their families and/or friends; •confidences intended for the sender alone; •photographs taken with or without consent of the subject; •videos clips taken without consent or made by the victim for a select audience; • practiced on victims influencing groups to ‘block’ someone from their list of friends/contacts. Cyberbullying

In cyberbullying, the attribute of repetition changes. In face-to-face or traditional bullying the concept of repetition is seen as the person or group engaged in doing the bullying repeating it to the same victim.

In cyberbullying because of the viral nature of technology the repetition can occur with many people posting hurtful messages to the victim. Cyberbullying

Moreover, in cyberbullying, a specific feature is the difficulty to control the consequences of evil actions.

The Internet is an uncontrollable and unregulated world. Emails can be forwarded and messages replicated against the will of its author. Pictures or videos can be viewed and downloaded by an unpredictable number of persons who can send them to others. Digital contents remain online indefinitely and can proliferate beyond the intention of their creators. Cyberbullying

Verba volant scripta manent In cyberbullying there is the power of the written word or visual images. In a face-to-face bullying verbal aggression, victims might not remember every word, but in the case of emails and text, chat rooms and web sites the targeted student can read or see what the bully has said over and over. Cyberbullying

There is less escape from cyberbullying than from bullying. While schoolyard bullying might only happen in the schoolyard or on the way home or to school, cyberbullying can happen anywhere and at any time.

Cyberbullying targets cannot feel safe anytime and anywhere. Cyberbullying

A recent research has suggested the hypothesis that cyberbullying causes more mental health problems such as anxiety and in victims than face-to-face bullying because of the wider audience and the h24 nature of this bullying (Campbell et al., 2010).

Campbell, M., Spears, B., Slee, P., Butler, D., & Kift, S. (2012). Victims’ perceptions of traditional and cyberbullying, and the psychosocial correlates of their . Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, 17(3-4), 389-401.

Cyberbullying

The recent cases of cyberbullying, especially the more extremes, e. g. that were ended with the targets suicide, show that the new technologies of communication are used for a non-stop , to continue to torment when physical contacts are not possible. In certain cases anonymity ceases to be an important factor: targets well know their perpetrators, and cyberbullying seem to appear more close to traditional bullying, as suggested by Kowalski et al. (2008). Cyberbullying

However, considering cyberbullying as merely the electronic form of face-to-face bullying may be a limit. Bullying and cyberbullying behaviors share the intentionality to harm someone and like traditional bullying, cyberbullying typically involves repeated behavior and a power imbalance between aggressor and victim. Nevertheless, the virtual environment, the amplifier power of communication, the possible loss of control about contents, the nature of virtual personality and the role of virtual group dynamics represent intricacies that appertain only to cyberbullying. Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying definitions Classic definition Cyberbullying is a particular form of bullying (Kowalski and Limber 2007). Kowalski, R. M., Limber, S. P, Electronic bullying among middle school students, “Journal of Adolescent Health”, (2007), 41, pp. 22-30 Other definitions [Cyberbullying is] an aggressive, intentional act or behaviour that is carried out by a group or an individual repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself (Smith and Slonje, 2007). Cyberbullying

Note: Compared with traditional bullies, combined bullies (traditional and cyber bullies) pursued more instrumental motives (like power, affiliation and fun) when harassing others indicating that these students are comparatively conscious about their actions. They bully others not only to cope with their anger, but also to reach particular goals. Cyberbullying

Price and Dalgleish definition agrees with this vision (2010): Cyberbullying is the collective label used to define forms of bullying that use electronic means such as the internet and mobile phones to aggressively and intentionally harm someone. Like traditional" bullying, cyberbullying typically involves repeated behaviour and a power imbalance between aggressor and victim. Megan Price, John Dalgleish, Cyberbullying: Experiences, impacts and coping strategies as described by Australian young people, “Youth Studies Australia”, (2010), 29, pp. 51-59. Cyberbullying

The cyberbullying’s impact on victims can be: physical, in that victims stay away from or leave the school or the town; psychological and emotional , in terms of the damage to self esteem, increased anxiety and fear and made them feel vulnerable, isolated, bewildered and powerless. Cyberbullying

Many people are calling for a law against cyberbullying. They are convinced that severe low can reduce the damages of cyberbullies’ actions.

Several evidences show that repression is not a really practicable solution.

Note: If cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying are similar the existing law should be sufficient and there is no need for additional laws.

Cyberbullying

However, adults might not be very concerned about the harm that cyberbullying can provoke because they might not be so aware about the world of new technologies and virtual relations.

While it is easy to demonstrate that a bully wanted to commit the crime of bullying, the tragedy of a young person who commits suicide after cyberbullying is extremely difficult to link causally to a cyberbullying action. Cyberbullying

The case of Ryan Patrick Halligan. He was born in Poughkeepsie, New York in 1990. His parents described him as a shy, sensitive, and affectionate young child. Before he entered school, his parents had concerns about his speech, language, and motor skills development,and from preschool through fourth grade, they enrolled Ryan in special education services. The family moved to Essex Junction, Vermont, where, by the fifth grade,he encountered face-to-face bullying on a regular basis in his school. Rumors soon circulated throughout the school that Ryan was gay. Cyberbullying

By middle school, his classmates continually teased and harassed him for having a learning disability and for allegedly being gay. They soon extended their taunts against Ryan into cyberspace. On October 7, 2003, feeling that he could no longer live with the constant and escalating abuse, Ryan Patrick Halligan took his life. He was 13 years old. Cyberbullying

Reports (Spero News, 2006) indicate that Ryan displayed many of the symptoms of youth targeted by cyberbullying: he spent long hours on his computer, and he was secretive regarding his interactions on communication and information technologies. His parents saw him manifest a number of changes in his behavior: he increasingly lacked interest in engaging in social activities that included his peers, and he exhibited a pronounced change in his overall attitude, his appearance, and his habits. John P. Halligan, Ryan’s father, wrote, “I believe bullying through technology has the effect of accelerating and amplifying the hurt to levels that will probably result in a rise in teen suicide rates” (RyanPatrickHalligan.com). Cyberbullying

Instances of cyberbullying include: 1) people sending hurtful, cruel, and oftentimes intimidating messages to others; 2) “Hate Mail” (also knows as “Cyberharassment”); based on actual or perceived social identities in terms of race, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, sexuality, physical and mental abilities, socioeconomic class, and others; 3) people stealing other peoples’ virtual identity and sending inflammatory messages under this identity to others; Cyberbullying

4) anonymous postings of derogatory comments about another on blogs or on social network sites (e.g., MySpace or Facebook); 5) young people creating online polling booths, for example, to rate girls and boys as the “hottest,” “ugliest,” “most boring,” “biggest dyke,” or “wimpiest faggot” in the school; 6) Individuals taking pictures of others in gymnasium locker rooms with digital phone cameras and sending those pictures to others (a form of what has come to be known as “sexting”), or posting them on Internet web sites; Cyberbullying

7) people creating web sites with stories, cartoons, caricatures, pictures, or “jokes” ridiculing or mocking others; 8) posting material about a person involving private, sensitive, or embarrassing information, for example, “outing” a person’s sexual identity to classmates and sometimes to the targets’ parents or guardians; 9) sending intimidating or threatening messages (also known as “Cyberstalking”); 10) or actions designed to isolate and exclude a person from online communication technologies. Cyberbullying

Researches show that young people targeted by cyberbullies don’t notify a parent or a guardian about their problems. The reason are that their parents could restrict use of technologies or that they could not do anything to stop the problem. Young people with homosexual propensities are fearful of alerting parents because of their reactions: “My parents are homophobic.”; “It depends on why I was being bullied. If is was for my sexuality I couldn’t tell my dad because he hates the fact that I am a lesbian.”; “My parents are unaccepting of my sexual orientation.”, etc. Cyberbullying Bullying and cyberbullying Beran and Li (2005) speak of “old wine in new bottles”. The data of Beran and Li (2005), Kowalski and Limber (2008) and Ybarra and Mitchell (2004) seem to confirm this hypothesis. There was an overlap of 44% between victims of “on line aggression” in cyberspace and real life victims. Beran and Li (2005) and Kowalski and Limber (2008) asked about cyberbullying and found an overlap of around 60% between being a victim in real life and being a cybervictim. Still, if 60% of cybervictims are also bullied in real life, that leaves an amount of 40% who are not victimized in real life. Cyberbullying

Surveys from the United States and the United Kingdom show that the rates of being a victim of cyberbullying and being a cyberbully are in the range of 5% to 20%.

Cyberbullying does not cause actual physical harm.

Compared with most traditional forms of bullying, the person carrying out cyberbullying may be less aware or even unaware of the consequences of his or her actions. Cyberbullying As found in studies of face-to-face bullying, cybervictims report feeling unsafe and isolated, both at school and at home, and experience psychosomatic problems, such as headaches, recurring abdominal pain and sleeplessness. Cyberbullies report a range of social and emotional difficulties, including feelings of unsafety at school, perceptions of being unsupported by school staff and a high incidence of headaches. Like traditional bullies, they too are engaged in a range of other anti-social behaviours, conduct disorders, and alcohol and drug abuse (Sourander et al., 2010). Sourander, A., Brunstein Klomek, A. B., Ikomen, M., Lindroos, J., Luntamo, T., Koskelainen, M., Ristkari, T. and Helenius, H. (2010) Psychosocial risk factors associated with cyberbullying among adolescents. Archives of General Psychiatry, 67(7), 720-728. Cyberbullying

Fear for safety. The feeling of safety is disrupted when the bully is an adult, an unknown person, or a group because the imbalance of power is much greater compared with .

Cyberbullying Information exposure. Over 65% of people 11-16-year-olds now have a profile on a social networking site. Information exposure is a seemingly bizarre phenomenon whereby individuals freely and deliberately disseminate confidential or personally damaging information (including incriminating facts) to the widest possible audience, apparently without concern for any consequences.

Information exposure is caused by natural developmental tendency of adolescents to feel constantly watched or “on stage” (often referred to as “imaginary audience”). Cyberbullying Copying strategies Principle copying strategies: •Avoidance copying: distraction, running away, daydreaming and mostly emotional uploading (e.g. crying, aggression against other persons, objects or oneself). •active coping (including usage of social support) •internal (cognitive) coping. Cyberbullying

Riebel, J., Jaeger, R. S. and Fischer, U. C. (2009) Cyberbullying in Germany – an exploration of prevalence, overlapping with real life bullying and coping strategies. Psychology Science Quarterly, 51(3): 298-314 · social coping: seeking help from family, friends, teachers, peer supporters; · aggressive coping: retaliation, physical attacks, verbal threats; · helpless coping: hopelessness, passive reactions, such as avoidance; displays of emotion; · cognitive coping: responding assertively, using reason; analysing the bullying episode and the bully’s behaviour. Cyberbullying Some victims may remove themselves from the website, stay offl ine, talk about their experience with a friend or inform an adult about what they experienced (Hinduja & Patchin, 2007).

In England, pupils aged 11 through 16 years suggested blocking/avoiding messages and telling someone as the best coping strategiesthough many cybervictims had told nobody about it (Smith et al., 2008). Cyberbullying

Escobar et al. (2010) found that children with low self- esteem or those who were rejected by their peers were more likely to be perceived as ‘demanding’ or ‘needy’ if they sought social support when they were bullied or socially excluded. Similarly, Mahady Wilton et al. (2000) found that if bullied children expressed their distress too openly, they were unlikely to get support; in fact, the bullying might increase. Escobar, M., Fernandez-Baen, .F.J., Miranda, J., Trianes, M. V. and Cowie, H. (2011) Low peer acceptance and emotional/behavioural maladjustment in schoolchildren: Effects of daily stress, coping and sex. Anales de Psicologia, 27(2): 412-417. Cyberbullying Current advice on preventing or reducing cyberbullying Much of the advice on intervention to prevent and reduce cyberbullying concerns training children and their parents in e-safety and the development of technological tools to counteract the behaviour, such as blocking bullying behaviour online or creating panic buttons for cybervictims to use when under threat. Cyberbullying Important: virtual interactions are as real to young people as are face-to-face ones, so if we are to solve the problem of cyberbullying we must also understand the networks and social groups where this type of abuse occurs, including the importance that digital worlds play in the emotional lives of young people today. Cyberbullying

Important: sexual harassment is a prevalent aspect of cyber bullying (Shariff, 2005). This element may contribute to victims being unwilling to seek help because of the additional linked to sexual harassment. Several cases of adolescent’ suicide are connected with sexual harassment. cyberbullicide – suicide indirectly or directly influenced by experiences with online aggression (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009); these incidents are isolated and do not represent the norm. Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying as a revenge act A cyberbully could be someone who after a relationship ends, forwards emails of a sexual nature sent by a former boyfriend or girlfriend while the relationship was still intact. While the intent may be to retaliate against the person by whom the bully believes to have been hurt, the full ramifications of the retaliatory actions are often not considered. Cyberbullying Typically, young people perceive web based activity as liberating and empowering, considering cautious adults as overbearing; whereas adults perceive the virtual world as isolating and dangerous, considering young people at great risk of harm (Oblinger, 2008).

Cyberbullying Reporting cyberbullying incidents, as in face-to-face bullying, is an important starting point for the targeted people. Another effective strategy might be to develop the stance of ‘nonchalance’. The escaped victims in the Smith et al. (2004) study, reported that this was a good strategy for counteracting face-to-face bullying, as was the strong belief in self and one’s rights. This is quite different from passively accepting the situation. Smith, P. K., Talamelli, L., Cowie, H., Naylor, P., and Chauhan, P. (2004). Profiles of Non-victims, Escaped Victims, Continuing Victims and New Victims in . British Journal of Educational Psychology, 24, 565-581. Cyberbullying

In the UK cyberbullying is acknowledged as a possible indictable offence which may result in a conviction. With the age of criminal responsibility starting at 10 years old, secondary school students could potentially be prosecuted for cyberbullying.

UK schools have the power to regulate conduct of students outside of the school grounds (Education & Inspections Act, 2006), such as the journey to and from school or cyberbullying occurring out of school but affecting life in school. Cyberbullying

Victims-persecutors-victims Studies have consistently shown that depression is associated with exposure to bullying. Bully-victims, a group of individuals who are both bullies and victims, are a distinct group at highest risk for psychosocial problems. However, few studies have examined the association between depression and different forms of bullying.