Measuring Cyberbullying: Implications for Research post thumbnail

Measuring Cyberbullying: Implications for Research

Despite a significant amount of attention by both the academic community and society at large, there continues to exist much confusion about both the conceptual and operational definitions of cyberbullying (and by implication, bullying in general). The trouble with this lack of clarity is that it leads to misinformation and misunderstanding about the phenomena at […]

After School, Another Anonymous App for Teens post thumbnail

After School, Another Anonymous App for Teens

After School is the latest mobile device application to take schools and parents by storm. We first became aware of the social media app when it was introduced in the fall of 2014. It created quite the controversy back then and was even removed from the App Store, at least for a brief period. It […]

Advice for Adult Victims of Cyberbullying post thumbnail

Advice for Adult Victims of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying affects all age groups, including adults. Learn about different strategies and get help for adult victims of cyberbullying. We get a lot of emails, phone calls, and comments on this blog from adults who are being bullied though technology. These adult victims of cyberbullying stress to us that cyberbullying is not just an adolescent […]

Teens Charged with Possessing Naked Images of…Themselves post thumbnail

Teens Charged with Possessing Naked Images of…Themselves

Two sixteen-year-olds from Fayetteville, North Carolina, did what many teens who are in romantic relationships do: they talk, they text, they hang out. And they sent each other nude photos. Research shows that at least one-third of teens have engaged in this kind of behavior at some point in their lives. Technically speaking, though, youth […]

Cyberbullying Less Emotionally Impactful than In-Person Bullying? post thumbnail

Cyberbullying Less Emotionally Impactful than In-Person Bullying?

Researchers at the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire (UNH) just published a paper in the journal Psychology of Violence that explores the question of whether technology “amplifies” the harm for youth who are harassed. Anecdotally, we have heard this to be the case from many youth over the years: […]

Nothing Works? Taking Stock of America’s “War on Bullying” post thumbnail

Nothing Works? Taking Stock of America’s “War on Bullying”

The Obama administration arguably declared war on bullying in the fall of 2010 when it convened the first federally-supported Bullying Prevention Summit. In 2011, stopbullying.gov was launched. That same year, I attended a conference hosted by President Obama at the White House, where he said: “If there is one goal of this conference, it is […]

2015 Cyberbullying Data post thumbnail

2015 Cyberbullying Data

This study surveyed a random sample of 457 students between the ages of 11 and 15 from a middle school in the Midwestern United States. Data were collected in February of 2015. Click on thumbnail images to enlarge. Teen Technology Use. Cell phones and other mobile devices continue to be the most popular technology utilized […]

Wisconsin Extends Restraining Orders Beyond State Borders post thumbnail

Wisconsin Extends Restraining Orders Beyond State Borders

Last week Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law 2015 Assembly Bill 10, which amends state statute 801.04(1) so that Wisconsin judges can now issue restraining orders in cases of domestic abuse, child and at-risk adult abuse, and harassment against persons outside of the state of Wisconsin. Specifically, subsection 813.015 was added to 801.04(1): 813.015 […]

Bullying is Not Just a Kid Problem post thumbnail

Bullying is Not Just a Kid Problem

Cyberbullying among university students has been in the media a lot lately, with a particular emphasis on newer anonymous apps like Yik Yak and Burnbook. Last fall I wrote a post for my university’s Medium blog on the topic of bullying among college students. I thought I would re-post it here for those who may […]