Roughly six-in-ten U.S. teens have been bullied or harassed online, according to a new Pew Research Center report that explores teens’ experiences with cyberbullying and their views about it. Senior Researcher Monica Anderson discusses the methods and meaning behind the data. Bullying has been around for decades, centuries even. Cyberbullying is a newer manifestation of bullying. How did you define cyberbullying for this research? We’re aware that cyberbullying can be a very nuanced issue. Our own research has shown that what might be harassment to one person might not be considered harassment by another. Monica Anderson, senior researcher at Pew Research Center At the same time, other studies may use different measures to assess the prevalence of cyberbullying. For this project, we measured six specific incidents that teens might face online or on their cellphone: offensive name-calling, rumor-spreading, being sent explicit images without their consent, having explicit images of themselves…
teens
NATIONWIDE — A new study is showing that a number of adolescents and teens are participating in a new form of self-harm. According to the recent study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, “digital self-harm” is the “anonymous online posting, sending or otherwise sharing of hurtful content about oneself.” The teens who participate bully themselves in order to manage their feelings of “sadness and self-hatred” and to get attention. The study found that about 6 percent of students have “anonymously posted something online about themselves that was mean.” This isn’t necessarily a new phenomenon, as in 2012, 9 percent of teens said they’d bullied themselves. Involvement in digital-self harm was correlated with sexual orientation, experience with school bullying and cyberbullying, drug use participation in various forms of “adolescent deviance” and depressive symptoms. “I think it would be a launching pad for more of a personality disorder that they’re…
Camryn Cowdin was checking her Facebook page when she saw hateful posts from a person she considered a friend. Her name was never used, but she knew the words were about her. “He would directly reference a comment or situation that happened between him and I,” Cowdin, 16, said. He threatened to end their friendship. He’d say, `You’re dead to us.’ ” The comments left her feeling depressed, Cowdin said. She cried every night. She didn’t want to go to school. “He pretty much tried to ruin me,” said Cowdin, a student at Highlands Ranch High School who loves making costumes for Comic Con, journaling and music — a set of headphones often hang around her neck. “I know a lot of beautiful people who have been ruined by social media.” Cowdin’s experience of being bullied over a social media platform is part of an increasing national trend in…