Read the latest news and brand new pieces on youth, social media, and emerging technologies! We focus on preventing harm and promoting positive online behaviors.
Strain, Traditional Bullying, and Cyberbullying podcast
I recently participated in a joint podcast organized by Sage Publications with fellow social scientists Robert Agnew, Carter Hay, and Paul Mazerolle to chat about the relationship between the sociological concept of strain, traditional bullying, and cyberbullying. According to Agnew’s General Strain Theory, strain has three sources: (1) the failure to achieve positively-valued goals; (2) […]
Victimology in Cyberspace
Justin and I have been focusing a lot on what I like to call “Facebook Faux Pas” – or, in general, unwise practices on social networking, social media, and microblogging sites. A new site has been receiving a lot of attention lately – PleaseRobMe.com. Check it out at your convenience. Basically, it runs a simple […]
Quick Poll: Do You Think Schools Should be Able to Discipline Students for Hurtful Facebook Pages?
We’ve had quite a bit of feedback regarding our recent post that discussed whether or not schools can discipline students for creating a Facebook page that is critical of, or harassing toward, a staff member. The courts have given their perspective on a few different cases, but I thought I would post this simple poll for […]
Cyberbullying research article published in Deviant Behavior
Routledge (Taylor and Francis) is making some of their copyrighted journal articles available at no cost through June, and our research piece entitled “Cyberbullying: An Exploratory Analysis of Factors Related to Offending and Victimization,” published in Deviant Behavior, is one of those and is available here. To date, it is one of the most downloaded […]
Can Schools Discipline Students for Creating a Mean Facebook Page About a Teacher?
There have been a few high profile cases recently reviewed by the courts, and summarized in the media, where students have sued their schools arguing that discipline they received as a result of improper online speech was a violation of their First Amendment right. The most recent case involved a former Florida high school student, […]
The Relationship Between Cyberbullying and Suicide
There have been many high profile and tragic incidents in the media in recent years which have linked adolescent suicides to experiences with cyberbullying. The connection between suicide and interpersonal aggression is certainly nothing new, as a number of studies have documented the association between bullying and suicide. Sameer and I have a paper coming […]
Identifying anonymous or pseudonymous cyberbullies in civil suits
Though we focus on youth, we have had an increasing number of adults who call and email us asking for help regarding their own cyberbullying victimization experiences. Some of the stories we hear are extremely tragic and horribly malicious. Many times, we are at a loss for words that might help based on the fact […]
The Changing Nature of Adolescent Use of MySpace
Sameer and I have been exploring online social networking generally, and adolescent behaviors on MySpace in particular, for over five years. Since 2006 we have randomly selected several thousand MySpace profiles each year to determine: 1) who is on MySpace and 2) what kind of information they are posting. Our latest article, which is published in […]
Slate Magazine project on cyberbullying victimization experiences
The Cyberbullying Research Center is helping Slate Magazine in their newest initiative to delve into the vivid experiences of those who have been victimized online (primarily through cyberbullying, sexting, and cyberstalking). This multi-faceted and long-term project seeks to collect stories, interact with those most affected, and deeply understand the problem and what can be done […]
Social Norms and Cyberbullying Among Students
As I mentioned in my cyberbullying and sexting comments at the National Crime Prevention Council Circle of Respect event two weeks ago, “social norming” continues to bear relevance for dealing with cyberbullying at schools, and I’d like to flesh it out some more since I am a big fan of the concept. Basically, youth tend […]
