Cyber bullying is prevalent among teenagers and occurs through various electronic devices and social media. It can have serious negative impacts like depression and suicide. Studies show around 15-30% of teenagers report experiencing cyber bullying, either as a perpetrator, victim, or bystander. Cyber bullies tend to have a high self-image and social competence, while victims are more likely to be girls, experience traditional bullying, and be highly dependent on the internet. More research is still needed to fully understand the causes and effects of cyber bullying.

1. Lars Soderberg
Communication & Technology 250

2. Research Question
How prevelent is cyber bullying among
teenagers?

3. What is Cyber Bullying?
• “Willful and repeated harm inflicted through
the use of computers, cell phones, and other
electronic devices.” (Schrock & Boyd, 2011, p.
374)
• Stereotypical widespread problem
• Anonymity
– Private Messages, use of social media, doesn’t
have to be done at school (Farrell, 2012, p.26)

5. Power of Cyber Bullying
• Growth of the internet
• Permanent posts
• Deadly effects
– Depression, suicide, etc. (Cloud, 2010)
• Fast publicity of message (Ringrose, 2011, p.
133)
• Anonymity
– Mystery regarding the root of the message  lack
of control (Ringrose, 2011, p. 132)

6. Cyber Bullying Outlets
• Social Media
– Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.
• Email
• Blogs / Websites (Vandebosch & Van
Cleemput, 2009, p. 1)
• Text Messaging
• Instant Messaging
– AIM, iMessage, etc.

7. “The youngsters who perpetrate acts of cyber
bullying have, in many cases, also experienced
cyber bullying as victims or bystanders and vice
versa.” (Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009,
p.22)

8. Causes of Cyber Bullying
• The internet is a very liberating platform
• Easier establishment of social relationships
• Anonymity
– The identity of the bully is often secret (Erdur-
Baker, 2012, p. 111)
– Provides adoption of “a more aggressive persona”.
(Erdur-Baker, 2012, p. 110)

9. Causes continued…
• Easy access to technology (Farrell, 2012, p.26)
• Increased time spent online spent by
teenagers
– Age of identity exploration (Megan, 2012, p. 703)

10. Types of Cyber Bullying
• Direct involvement of the victim
– Viruses, internet / mobile bullying, social exclusion
(Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 5)
• Initial lack of involvement by the victim
– Online anonymity, internet / mobile bullying
(Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 5)

11. A Cyber Bully’s Effectiveness
• Hyperpersonal communication
– The ambiguity of messages online may cause
under/over dramatization of messages (Farrell,
2012, p.28)
• Channel expansion theory
– The level of knowledge in regards to a channel,
message topic, context, and source will determine
the level of effectiveness (Farrell, 2012, p.28)

12. Exposure to Cyber Bullying
• 72% of 18-29 year olds use social networking
cites (Megan, 2012, p. 703)
• 15.8% of young adults in a study (596 people
ages 14-22) reported cyber-bullying compared
to 12.3% of adolescents (Megan, 2012, p. 705)
• In the study, 15.6% of harassing messages
came from someone unknown to the victim
(Megan, 2012, p. 712)

13. Exposure continued…
• School survey (177 7th graders)
– 14.5% reported to being cyber bullies
– 24.9% reported to being victims of cyber bullying
• Online study (500 teenagers aged 11-15)
(Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 7)
– 32% sent anonymous harassing emails
– 29% sent harassing messages

14. Kristensen and Smith Study
• (Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 16-18)
– 44.8% knew their bully offline
– Half didn’t know their bully
– 14.1% were bullied by someone they only knew
online
– Experienced one form of offensive behavior orver
the internet / phone over the last 3 motnhs
• 61.9% reported to being victims
• 52.5% reported to being perpetrators
• 76.3% reported to being bystanders

15. Exposure Results
• Cyber bullying is different from case to case
• Traditional bullies and victimization online
(Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 11)
• Lack of responsibility by student body

16. Cyber Bully Profile
• Cyber Bullies
– High self image
– Social competence
– High relationship
between traditional
and online bully
– Lack of surveillance by
parents

17. Victim Profile
• Victims
– Girls were more likely to be the victim
(Ringrose, 2011, 122)
– Higher relationship between a strictly online
relationship with their bully
– Tend to be victims of traditional bullying as
well
– High internet dependency
– Not socially competent

18. Ybarra Study
• (Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 10)
– Males who reported as being depressed were
eight times more likely to report being a victim
“Ybarra identified both the amount of internet use
and the use of messenger programs as most
important predictors for the experience with cyber
bullying as a victim among females.” (Vandebosch &
Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 10)

19. Li Study
• (Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 11)
– 1/3 of “youngsters” bullied in school were also
cyber bullies
– 1/3 of “youngsters” reported their bullying in
school to backfire online and result in
victimization
– Majority of victims were females (p. 10)
– Strong correlation between cyber bullies and
cyber bully victims

20. Patchin & Hinduja Study
• (Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2009, p. 11)
– 42.5% of cyber bully victims were frustrated
– 40% of victims were angry
– 17% felt sad

21. Conclusion
• Cyber bullying is evident among teenagers
– Amount of internet use
• Different devices are used
• Age is a factor
• Its’ presence varies on a case to case basis
• More research is needed