As a social science researcher studying trust and safety on online platforms, it is critical to think through potential risks and negative impacts associated with the use of generative AI technologies. To be sure, its potential is incredible – and will benefit societal members in almost limitless ways. In this environment of giddy euphoria about…
PURPOSE Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a concern that cyberbullying incidents would increase as youth were spending more time online. Additionally, reports emerged that Asian American citizens were being disproportionately targeted due to the purported origination of the disease. The current study explores whether cyberbullying incidents increased among adolescents overall—and Asian American youth…
Bias-based cyberbullying involves repeated hurtful actions online that devalue or harass one’s peers specific to an identity-based characteristic. Cyberbullying in general has received increased scholarly scrutiny over the last decade, but the subtype of bias-based cyberbullying has been much less frequently investigated, with no known previous studies involving youth across the United States. The current…
Last year I posted preliminary results of our inquiry into whether cyberbullying had increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that it had in fact increased, though not to the extent that some had predicted. Today I can share that additional findings from this research have just been published in the Journal of School Health.…
I have been increasingly concerned about rising levels of hate speech, hate crimes, racist bullying, and xenophobia – especially when considering how these behaviors online are linked to violence offline against marginalized groups. It isn’t just alarming, it’s frightening – especially being a minority and considering what my children may have to deal with while…
UPDATED for 2022! This detailed guide is a nine-page summary – filled with as much useful information as possible – to equip educators, parents, and other youth-serving adults to spot cyberbullying, respond to it appropriately and meaningfully, and to prevent its future occurrence among those they care for. If you only have time to read…
I recently visited with Trisha Prabhu, Internet Safety advocate and social entrepreneur, to discuss her new book intended to help youth stop hate, lead with kindness, be an upstander, and enjoy their online experiences. I also read an advance copy, and I highly recommend it. Let’s get to our conversation! Trisha, it is so good…
Lately we’ve been more directly exploring the role of parenting in preventing cyberbullying and other online problem behaviors. To be sure, parents* have a responsibility to be directly involved in monitoring and influencing the early online activities of their children. This could mean occasionally reviewing messages and regularly checking security settings, but should also include…
Parents and guardians have always had a powerful influence on the behaviors of children, while research is clear that peers tend to have more sway during the teenage years. That said, our new research published in the Journal of Child and Family Studies identifies that certain positive parenting practices have a strong effect on both…
Bullying and cyberbullying prevention remain a major priority for schools, communities, and families, and research is clear that positive, constructive parenting practices can play a key preventive role. The current work explores six dimensions of parenting (warmth, structure, autonomy support, rejection, chaos, and coercion), and their specific relationship to school and online bullying. Using survey…
Provides updated statistics on cyberbullying from a national study on US youth by age, gender, sexual orientation, and race. In May-June 2021, we collected new data from a nationally representative sample of 2,546 US youth between the ages of 13 and 17 to better understand their positive and negative experiences online. This is the type…
Spanish Translation Available Here Cyberbullying impacts at least one out of every five middle and high school students. Many of those who experience it don’t tell anyone. If a child displays any of these signs, he or she might be involved. However, not all youth who are cyberbullied or who cyberbully others will display these…
In our Glossary below, we define the terms you need to know in the realm of social media, cyberbullying, and online safety, so that you are increasingly informed about technological jargon as you work with the youth under your care. (Apart from the list below, you can also download a distributable PDF of our Social…
Bullying that specifically targets youth and young adults based on their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression has been a problem for decades. The increased utilization of technology among youth (and, well, just about everyone) has resulted in bullying behaviors moving online. As a result, cyberbullying perpetrated against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth…
This Fact Sheet provides you with the instructions on how to create an image or video of what you see on any screen (on any device – your laptop, tablet, gaming console, Kindle, phone, iWatch, etc.) so that evidence of cyberbullying (or any other problematic behavior) can be saved and used for an investigation at…
New research shows that school bullying dropped dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic while cyberbullying remained stable. One of the questions we have been asked most often over the last 18 months is whether bullying has gotten better or worse since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, there was a concern that cyberbullying incidents…
The goal of this study was to provide key prevalence rates for experiences with cyberbullying among tweens (children between the ages of 9 and 12 years old). We were also interested in the extent to which tweens engaged in helping behaviors when they observed cyberbullying. American tweens (n = 1034; mean age = 10.52, SD…
(For a formatted .pdf version of this article for distribution, click on the image above [or click here]). TikTok is a fun video app that has exploded in popularity across the world. Below we offer some tips for using it safely and responsibly. 1. YOUR ACCOUNT DEFAULTS TO PUBLIC. Set it to private if you…
We discuss how developments in AI through machine learning can help reduce cyberbullying and toxicity online, and promote the positive use of social media over time.
(For a formatted .pdf version of this article for distribution, click on the image above [or click here]). Spanish Translation Available Here Finding out that your child is mistreating others online can be frustrating. Here’s how to respond: 1. ACKNOWLEDGE THE ISSUE. As a parent, accept the reality that your child could be engaging in…
We have been exploring how young people use and misuse technology, with a primary focus on cyberbullying, for nearly two decades. In that time, though, we have almost exclusively studied middle and high school students (12- to 17-year-olds) and their caregivers. Earlier this year we were approached by Cartoon Network with questions about tween experiences…
This resources provides scenarios that parents, educators, and other adults can use to discuss issues that may come up when young people are using technology. Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2020). Social Media and Tech Misuse Scenarios. Cyberbullying Research Center. Retrieved [insert date], from https://cyberbullying.org/Social-Media-and-Tech-Misuse-Scenarios.pdf Download the Scenarios
This resource provides tips for health care professionals (pediatricians, school nurses, etc.) to help them identify and care for students who may have experienced cyberbullying.
Few studies have explored whether individuals who are bullied at school or online are more likely to engage in delinquent behavior. Even less is known about whether negative emotions (i.e., anger or frustration)—as a result of being victimized—mediate the relationships between being bullied or cyberbullied and delinquency (as predicted by Agnew’s general strain theory). The…