With the popularity of Snapchat, Facebook and other social media sites, many young people spend a lot of time online. During that time, young people can be exposed to unwanted aggressive behavior—or cyberbullying. Cruel comments or photos can be seen via e-mail, chats, social media posts or texts. Cyberbullying is a concern for young people, their parents and adults who care about them—and it is happening more frequently.
Bullying is not new. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 2015, 15.5 percent of high school students reported being bullied. But experts see cyberbullying as different from in-person bullying.
“Cyberbullying is particularly worrisome,” says Leanne Bowler, PhD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Information Culture and Data Stewardship in the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Computing and Information. “Young people are leading the charge in the use of digital media and devices. Many parents haven’t experienced it and can’t draw on their own wisdom to help their children cope with it. Living a digital life is still somewhat foreign to parents. Young people don’t have the same resilience or life experience as adults to deal with cyberbullying. The effects of cyberbullying are magnified because so many people can see and send comments or photos at any time of the day. It’s nearly impossible to truly erase them from the internet or other people’s phones, etc.”
The health effects of cyberbullying are serious. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, young people who are bullied are more likely to experience depression and anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating patterns, loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy, increased health complaints and lower academic achievement and school attendance.
Dr. Bowler and her research team looked at ways developers could design websites and apps to help reduce the rates of cyberbullying. They spoke to different groups of young people about ways a website or app could be designed to get a potential bully to stop and think before harassing someone. Dr. Bowler and the groups came up with different design recommendations, some of which include anti-bullying messages, a “bully button” to flag material for review by the site or app manager, pop-up warnings and messages showing the consequences of cyberbullying.
“The design ideas touched on showing empathy,” says Dr. Bowler. “The internet can feel like an empathy-free world.”
In addition to Dr. Bowler’s research, she has other suggestions for parents and caregivers looking to help their loved ones avoid or deal with cyberbullying. She recommends not engaging with a cyberbully. If a situation comes up, young people should disengage immediately—block or unfriend the bully, disable comments and report the behavior. Parents and young people can get help from their schools and law enforcement, if necessary. If parents or caregivers are concerned that a loved one is thinking of suicide, they should call a health care provider or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255).
“Parents should become familiar with the digital environment,” says Dr. Bowler. “Know about the tools you can use—set restrictions on phones, use child-friendly messaging services, etc. I recommend a site called Common Sense Media that has a lot of parent education tools. Talk to children at an early age about what to do if someone is mean to them online. If a child reports cyberbullying, take a screenshot as evidence. Try not to be judgmental about your child’s use of social media. Remember that young people live a large portion of their lives online, and this is their space.”
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