What is Cyberbullying?
“What is Cyberbullying?” is one of the most frequent questions we are asked because many know what it is when it happens, but have trouble wrapping succinct descriptive words around it. Formally, we define it as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices” (from Bullying Beyond […]
Our Cyberbullying Scale: Two Decades of Measuring Online Aggression
When Sameer and I first became interested in studying cyberbullying back in 2001, we began our inquiry by simply speaking with folks. We talked with parents and teens, but also with teachers and other school staff, as well as law enforcement officers and anyone else who worked with young people. We wanted to know more […]
Metaverse Risks and Harms Among US youth: Experiences, Gender Differences, and Prevention and Response Measures
Research indicates that participation in metaverse environments and with virtual reality(VR) is increasing among younger populations, and that youth may be the primarydrivers of widespread adoption of these technologies. This will more readily happenif their experiences are safe, secure, and positive. We analyze data from a nationallyrepresentative sample of 5005, 13- to 17-year-olds in the […]
Addressing Youth Sexting Through Rational Legislation and Education
Sexting is defined as “the sending or receiving of sexually explicit or sexually suggestive images or videos,” usually via mobile devices. Our research indicates that at least 14% of US middle and high school students report that they have sent explicit images to others, while about 23% have received these kinds of images from their […]
The Nature and Extent of Youth Sextortion: Legal Implications and Directions for Future Research
Sextortion, the threatened dissemination of explicit, intimate, or embarrassing images of a sexual nature without consent, is an understudied problem. Despite a recent increase in reported incidents among adolescents in the United States, little is known about the nature and extent of sextortion among this population. The current research explores sextortion behaviors among a national […]
Adolescent Digital Self-Harm Over Time: Prevalence and Perspectives
Digital self-harm, the anonymous online posting, sending, or otherwise sharing of hurtful content about oneself, has not received the same amount of scholarly scrutiny as other forms of self-directed abuse. In the current paper, we analyze three independent national surveys of U.S. teens (aged 13–17, M = 14.96) in repeat cross-sectional studies conducted in 2016 […]
Cyberbullying Fact Sheet: Identification, Prevention, and Response
UPDATED for 2024! 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 […]
World Anti-Bullying Forum 2023!
It’s been over a month, but I still catch myself smiling when I think of the memories made at the 2023 World Anti-Bullying Forum (WABF). For those not familiar, WABF is an international forum and biennial conference focused on understanding and preventing bullying, cyberbullying, and other forms of interpersonal violence against children and young people. Delegates […]
Harassment in TikTok Comments: A Pilot Test of the TikTok Research API
In the Spring of 2023, TikTok released a Research API to academic researchers in the United States in an effort to “enhance transparency with the research community” and “stay accountable to how we moderate and recommend content.”1 According to their documentation, approved access allows for the retrieval of: • Public account data, such as user […]
Digital Self-Harm and Suicidality Among Adolescents
Background Research on digital self-harm – the anonymous online posting, sending, or otherwise sharing of hurtful content about oneself – is still in its infancy. Yet unexplored is whether digital self-harm is related to suicidal ideation or suicide attempts. Methods In the current study, survey data were collected in 2019 from a national sample of […]
