Description
1.Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that involves the use of electronic media to taunt,
harass, or threaten others. It includes the deliberate, repeated targeting of an individual
to shame, intimidate, or degrade them and intentionally causing harm or coercing the
victim into doing something against their will or better judgment. While traditional
bullying occurs through direct contact in a shared physical space such as the classroom
or playground, cyberbullying takes place in online spaces or through the use of digital
devices. Cyberbullying is similar to but distinct from trolling, which refers to making
inflammatory statements online to provoke a response from others. Trolls typically target
groups and online communities more often than individuals, usually to garner attention
rather than cause harm.
Cyberbullying creates a challenging set of ethical and legal issues. As cyberbullying
disproportionately affects adolescents and teens, school administrators widely
acknowledge a degree of responsibility in protecting victims. However, most
cyberbullying occurs outside school hours and takes place via media over which
schools have no authority or control, so using school policies to discipline perpetrators
can be complex and difficult. Despite school policies and state laws criminalizing
cyberbullying, the nature of online communication can make it challenging to prove a
perpetrator’s identity. Cyberbullies may conceal themselves by using anonymous email
addresses, bogus social media accounts, or unregistered cell phone numbers. Thus, it
is not uncommon for a cyberbully to go unpunished, even in cases where the victim,
parents, school, and law enforcement are reasonably certain of the bully’s identity.
According to a National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) report published in
2019, more than 15 percent of students in grades nine through twelve who reported
being bullied experienced cyberbullying during the 2016?2017 schoolyear. According to
a 2018 Pew Research Center survey, 60 percent of girls and 59 percent of boys had
experienced at least one of six specific abusive online behaviors. Pew also identified
gender disparities by behavior, with girls significantly more likely than boys to receive
explicit images they did not ask for and have false rumors spread about them. Lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth are also disproportionately
victimized.
CYBERBULLYING TOOLS AND METHODS
Cyberbullying can take place in virtually any digital environment. As internet and
connectivity technologies have expanded, cyberbullying has found its way into different
forms. Social networking and content-sharing platforms, including Facebook, Instagram,
Snapchat, Twitter, and YouTube, among others, have all been used for cyberbullying.
Many video game users convene in virtual spaces for gaming sessions, and the
competitive nature of these communities can intensify cyberbullying behavior. Victims
can also be targeted through a wide range of other digital applications, including email,
text messaging, instant messaging, and many different smartphone apps that have
connectivity features.
Cyberbullies target victims through both overt and covert means. Overt forms include
mocking, shaming, name-calling, and threatening victims; covert forms include isolating
or excluding victims from participating in games, chats, or forums. Some advocacy
groups separate cyberbullying into three types. Direct cyberbullying involves
person-to-person contact between the perpetrator and the victim; proxy cyberbullying
occurs when a perpetrator tricks an unsuspecting third party into posting information or
sending communications meant to harm the victim; and public cyberbullying describes
attempts to shame, embarrass, harass, or threaten the victim in front of a wide
audience, such as a social media network or multi-user online community.
The phenomenon of flaming, which is closely associated with cyberbullying, involves
barraging a victim with a rapid succession of hostile or confrontational content to
provoke a specific emotional response, such as feelings of shame or rejection. Other
cyberbullying tactics include sharing images, audio, video, or other content meant to
embarrass or belittle the victim and impersonating the victim online in an effort to harm
their relationships, reputation, or social standing. Some cyberbullies engage in behavior
suggestive of stalking, such as sending communications indicating they know where a
victim has been and what the victim has been doing. Perpetrators may also exploit the
emotional vulnerability of their victims through catfishing, which involves the adoption of
a fake online identity to lure a victim into a dangerous or hurtful situation.
RISKS AND EFFECTS
Cyberbullying researchers consider not only who is at increased risk of being bullied,
but also how and why bullies become bullies. Children who bully frequently come from
households with low levels of parental investment. They may struggle to follow rules,
display aggressive tendencies, become frustrated easily, or be part of a social group
that actively bullies others. It is also fairly common for bullies to have been bullied
themselves, or to be victims of other forms of physical, sexual, psychological, or
emotional abuse. There are two social subtypes of bullies: well-connected and isolated.
The well-connected bully subtype asserts dominance or authority as a way of protecting
his or her social status. In such cases, the bullying behavior is viewed by the bully as
rewarding. The isolated bully typically has problems identifying with others and may
display a lack of empathy or understanding. Bullies of this subtype frequently have low
self-esteem, have low levels of community investment, and easily succumb to peer
pressure.
Children are more likely to be bullied if they are different from their peers in appearance,
personality, or disposition. Young people of lower socioeconomic status are also at
increased risk of being victimized. Other risk indicators include low self-esteem, anxiety,
depression, and social isolation. Experts also note that bullies may target someone
simply because they perceive the person as incapable of self-defense. According to
NCES data, a smaller share of black and Hispanic students (about 11 percent) report
having been cyberbullied compared to white students (17 percent). Lesbian, gay, and
bisexual students and students who were unsure of their sexuality are significantly more
likely to report having been cyberbullied in the previous year than heterosexual
students.
Cyberbullying can take a serious toll on victims and may lead to declining academic
performance, tension and conflict with family members, and risky, illegal, or
self-destructive behavior. A study published in the Journal of School Violence in 2018,
for example, indicated that about 56 percent of students who experience bullying and
cyberbullying report that it affects their ability to learn and feel safe in school. Social
withdrawal, uncharacteristic outbursts, and evasive explanations for unusually low
online activity may also signal victimization.
Victims of cyberbullying are at increased risk of developing anxiety and depression. In
severe cases, victims may engage in self-harm, have suicidal ideation, and even
attempt or complete suicide. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Medical Internet
Research reported that young people who are repeatedly victimized by cyberbullying
are up to two times more likely to attempt suicide or commit acts of self-harm than their
non-bullied peers. Though relatively rare, cases of cyberbullying-related suicides have
been known since at least 2010. For example, twelve-year-old New Jersey student
Mallory Grossman took her own life in 2017 after several cyberbullies urged her
repeatedly to kill herself for months. In September 2019 sixteen-year-old Tennessean
Channing Smith committed suicide after classmates posted explicit chats on social
media that outed him as bisexual.
RESPONSE AND PREVENTION AT SCHOOL AND HOME
The responsibility of addressing cyberbullying is multifaceted and, depending on
specific circumstances, may include parents, school educators and administrators, and
law enforcement officials. By 2018 all fifty US states and the District of Columbia had
updated their harassment laws and definitions of criminal harassment to include
cyberbullying or electronic attacks or covered cyberbullying under specific laws.
Parents are expected to support victims and partner with schools and local authorities in
preventing, intervening in, and reporting incidents of cyberbullying. Experts suggest
parents watch for cyberbullying warning signs and ensure their children use online
media safely and responsibly. Parents are encouraged to create clear rules regarding
the use of smartphones and social media, define the types of content their children are
allowed to post, and monitor internet use. If cyberbullying occurs, victims should avoid
escalation and begin documenting the activity. If it continues, victims and parents are
encouraged to report it to school administrators or law enforcement.
Many schools have created policies designed to address cyberbullying. Educators have
developed protocols for dealing with suspected and reported cases and created
response strategies that depend on the extent, circumstances, and severity of each
case. School interventions range from conflict resolution mediation and nonpunitive
actions to suspension, expulsion, and police involvement. However, schools may be
somewhat limited if the cyberbullying does not occur on school grounds.
LAWS AND NATIONAL INITIATIVES
In the United States, federal cyberstalking and harassment statutes only apply if
perpetrators physically travel across state lines with the intent of continuing their
harassing behaviors. Additionally, interstate communications are not subject to federal
law unless they contain an expressed threat to kidnap or harm the victim. With the
exception of Montana, all states mandate public schools to create guidelines for
identifying and intervening in both offline and online bullying. In over thirty states, school
discipline policies do not extend to off-campus settings, limiting their applicability to
cyberbullying. However, all US states have instituted some type of criminal sanction for
cyberbullying, such as fines or jail time.
In 2018 First Lady Melania Trump (1970?) unveiled her Be Best initiative, which
includes a cyberbullying component to raise awareness and teach youth positive online
practices that equip them to use internet resources safely. In December 2019 Be Best
trended on social media when President Donald Trump attacked teenage climate
change activist Greta Thunberg on Twitter. Trump responded to Thunberg being named
Time magazine’s Person of the Year by tweeting, “So ridiculous. Greta must work on
her Anger Management problem ? Chill Greta, Chill!” Then his reelection campaign’s
Twitter account posted a photoshopped version of the magazine cover with Trump’s
head on Thunberg’s body. The incident was not the first time the president’s online
behavior had been deemed cyberbullying, but it received particularly fierce criticism for
its targeting of an adolescent girl.
“Cyberbullying.” Gale Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2021. Gale In Context:
Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/PC3010999103/OVIC?u=ucriverside&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=a33d04b4.
Accessed 11 Feb. 2022.
2 Cyberbullying Is Serious but Not an
Epidemic
I’m glad that media outlets and public officials are shining a light on cyberbullying and
bullying in general. It’s important to pay attention to this serious problem, but we need to
keep it in perspective. As bad as it is, cyberbullying is not an epidemic and it’s not killing
our children.
RATES NOT RISING
Yes, it’s probably one of the more widespread youth risks on the Internet and yes there
are some well publicized horrific cases of cyberbullying victims who have committed
suicide, but let’s look at this in context.
Bullying has always been a problem among adolescents and, sadly, so has suicide. In
the few known cases of suicide after cyberbullying, there are likely other contributing
factors. That’s not to diminish the tragedy or suggest that the cyberbullying didn’t play a
role but?as with all online youth risk, we need to look at what else was going on in the
child’s life. Even when a suicide or other tragic event does occur, cyberbullying is often
accompanied by a pattern of offline bullying and sometimes there are other issues
including depression, problems at home, and self-esteem issues.
“Suicide,” said psychologist Dr. Patti Agatston, “is a complex and multifaceted act that is
the result of a combination of factors in any individual. What we need to learn more
about is what are the protective factors, since many youth are bullied and do not
engage in suicidal behaviors.” Agatston is a board member of the International Bullying
Prevention Association (IBPA) that’s planning an upcoming conference themed “Bullying
and Intolerance: From Risk to Resiliency?”
One thing we know about cyberbullying is that it’s often associated with
real-world bullying.
While there is increased awareness of the dangers of bullying and rightful concern over
suicide, the percentage of youth who report being physically bullied actually decreased
between 2003 and 2008 from 22% to 15%, according to a peer reviewed study
published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. And before making any
assumptions about technology contributing to teen suicide, take a look at government
data that shows (with the exception of 2004) a slight gradual decline in teen suicide
rates from the 1990s to 2008.
Certain populations?especially gay, lesbian and transgender (LGBT)
youth?experience a significantly higher rate of bullying. An Iowa State University study
found that 54% of LGBT youth had been victims of cyberbullying within the past 30
days. 45% of the respondents “reported feeling depressed as a result of being
cyberbullied,” according to the study’s authors. 38% felt embarrassed, and 28% felt
anxious about attending school. The authors reported that “more than a quarter (26%)
had suicidal thoughts.”
NUMBERS DON’T SHOW A CYBERBULLYING EPIDEMIC
Research from the Cyberbullying Research Center indicates that about one in five teens
have been cyberbullied at least once in their lifetimes and 10% in the past 30 days.
That’s bad, but not an epidemic. A 2010 study by Cox Communications came up with
numbers similar to those from the Cyberbullying Research Center, finding that
approximately 19 percent of teens say they’ve been cyberbullied online or via text
message and 10 percent say they’ve cyberbullied someone else. Partly because there
is no single accepted definition of cyberbullying, you will find other numbers that are
much higher and much lower.
One thing we know about cyberbullying is that it’s often associated with real-world
bullying. A UCLA [University of California Los Angeles] study found that 85 percent of
those bullied online were also bullied at school.
It may seem counterintuitive but research has shown that exaggeration and scare
tactics can actually increase risk. Exagerating bullying makes it like it’s normal:
“Everyone does it so it must be OK.” Norms research from Professors H. Wesley
Perkins and David Craig has shown that emphasizing that most kids don’t bully actually
decreases bullying. As Cyberbullying Research Center co-director Justin Patchin said in
my CBS News/CNET podcast, kids have a tendency to way overestimate the
percentage of kids who bully…. When reporting on suicide risk, it’s important for media
to study guidelines and be senstive to risk of copycat suicides.
The most commonly recognized definition of bullying includes repeated, unwanted
aggressive behavior over a period of time with an imbalance of power between the bully
and the victim. In theory, that also covers cyberbullying, but some have taken a broader
approach to cyberbullying to also include single or occasional episodes of a person
insulting another person online. Indeed, because of the possibility of it being forwarded,
a single episode of online harassment can have long-term consequences. “‘Power’ and
‘repetition’ may be manifested a bit differently online than in traditional bullying,” Susan
Limber, professor of psychology at Clemson University, said in an interview that
appeared in a publication of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Safe and
Drug-Free Schools. She added, “a student willing to abuse technology can easily wield
great power over his or her target just by having the ability to reach a large audience,
and often by hiding his or her identity.”
Parents and authorities need to avoid jumping to immediate conclusions until
they understand the severity of an incident.
Manifestations of cyberbullying include name calling, sending embarrassing pictures,
sharing personal information or secrets without permission, and spreading rumors. It
can also include trickery, exclusion, and impersonation.
NOT ALL BULLYING IS EQUALLY HARMFUL
Some have a much broader definition of cyberbullying that can include any type of
mean or rude comment, even if it’s not particularly hurtful or traumatic.
When talking about bullying and cyberbullying, it’s important to remember that not every
incident is equally harmful. There are horrendous cases where children are terribly hurt
but there are many cases where kids are able to handle it themselves. That’s not to say
it’s ever right?there is never an excuse for being mean?but parents and authorities
need to avoid jumping to immediate conclusions until they understand the severity of an
incident. And, of course, different children will react differently to incidents depending on
a number of factors including their own physiological makeup, vulnerability and
resiliency.
It’s not always obvious if a child is a victim of cyberbullying, but some possible signs
include: suddenly being reluctant to go online or use a cell phone; avoiding a discussion
about what they’re doing online; depression, mood swings, change in eating habits; and
aloofness or a general disinterest in school and activities. A child closing the browser or
turning off the cell phone when a parent walks in the room can be a sign of
cyberbullying, though it can also be a sign of other issues including an inappropriate
relationship or just insistence on privacy.
There are no silver bullets but at ConnectSafely.org (a site I help operate) we came up
with a number of tips including: don’t respond, don’t retaliate; talk to a trusted peer or
adult; and save the evidence. We also advise young people to be civil toward others
and not to be bullies themselves. Finally, “be a friend, not a bystander.” Don’t forward
mean messages and let bullies know that their actions are not cool.
ACT BUT DON’T OVERREACT
If your child is cyberbullied, don’t start by taking away his or her Internet privileges.
That’s one reason kids often don’t talk about Net-related problems with parents. Instead,
try to get your child to calmly explain what has happened. If possible, talk with the
parents of the other kids involved and, if necessary, involve school authorities. If the
impact of the bullying spills over to school (as it usually does), the school has a right to
intervene.
Magid, Larry. “Cyberbullying Is Serious but Not an Epidemic.” Bullying, edited by Noah Berlatsky,
Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010956217/OVIC?u=ucriverside&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=55cd64e1.
Accessed 11 Feb. 2022. Originally published as “Cyberbullying: A Serious Problem, But Not an
Epidemic,” SafeKids.com, 13 Sept. 2011.
3 The Links Between Cyberbullying and
Suicide Are Oversimplified
The stories pop up on Carol Todd’s computer with distressing regularity.
They are tales with an eerily similar template that chronicle the suicides of young people
who often had endured the torment of prolonged and relentless online bullying.bullying.
In ways, they are much like the story of her own daughter Amanda, a 15-year-old Grade
10 student who took her life a year ago [2012] following months of harassment at school
and online over images posted on the Internet of her body.harassment at school and
online over images posted on the Internet of her body.
“BULLYCIDE”: AN OVERSIMPLICATION
One of the threads tying their deaths together is a cause-and-effect link made by the
media, politicians and parents between persistent bullying and the victim’s decision to
end their life?a phenomenon that generated its own buzzword?”bullycide.”
It is something Todd and health experts say oversimplifies teen suicide and
cyberbullying at the expense of recognizing the complex set of mental health issues that
are usually at play in many cases.health experts say oversimplifies teen suicide and
cyberbullying at the expense of recognizing the complex set of mental health issues that
are usually at play in many cases.
“Amanda’s story, when you look at all the different pieces, it’s very complicated,” Todd
said from her home in Port Coquitlam, B.C., adding that her daughter had a learning
disability that affected her coping skills.
“I don’t really like it when they say Amanda was cyberbullied to death. That wasn’t the
case and I don’t think there’s enough supports for kids for mental health issues, which is
ultimately why they take their own lives.”death. That wasn’t the case and I don’t think
there’s enough supports for kids for mental health issues, which is ultimately why they
take their own lives.”
Todd’s death was one of several that spurred governments across the country to sit up
and respond to what was being portrayed as a worsening problem for young people
who couldn’t easily escape the potential anguish of the online world.
In Nova Scotia, 17-year-old Rehtaeh Parsons was taken off life-support after a suicide
attempt last April [2013] that her family said was brought on by months of bullying. The
family said she was harassed after a digital photograph of her allegedly being sexually
assaulted was circulated.
Being cyberbullied can be the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the
media and politicians at times simplify the issue to bullying equals suicide.
Jamie Hubley, an openly gay Ontario teenager, wrote in a suicide note of the pain of
bullying and depression before taking his life in 2011.
The cases, among others in the U.S., shone an intense light on cyberbullying and its
effects on young people, receiving widespread media coverage and prompting calls for
government action.
MENTAL HEALTH OVERLOOKED
Dr. Jitender Sareen, a psychiatrist and professor at the University of Manitoba, says
much of the coverage gave the facile notion that cyberbullying causes suicide,
overlooking possible mental-health issues.
“Being cyberbullied can be the straw that broke the camel’s back, but the media and
politicians at times simplify the issue to bullying equals suicide,” he said in Winnipeg.
“The vast majority of people who get bullied don’t die by suicide, just like in hockey the
number of people who get concussed don’t die by suicide.”
Sareen uses the example of someone with a lung disorder who then dies from a
common cold to explain that many young people who take their own lives after being
bullied had mental-health issues that affected their coping skills.
A 2012 study of 41 cases of teen suicides found that 32 per cent of the teens had a
mood disorder, while another 15 per cent had depression symptoms.
Kelly McBride, a media ethicist at the Florida-based Poynter Institute, wrote in a blunt
October [2013] post that by simplifying the issues, journalists perpetuated inaccurate
information about suicides and bullying.
“When journalists … imply that teenage suicides are directly caused by bullying, we
reinforce a false narrative that has no scientific support,” she wrote. “In doing so, we
miss opportunities to educate the public about the things we could be doing to reduce
both bullying and suicide.”
Tim Wall, executive director of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention, says
that focusing on cyberbullying prevents discussion of other broader issues related to
mental health. The barrage of coverage of teen suicides also takes away attention from
other groups and their mental health challenges, he says.
“We have a population that is aging rapidly, so that suicide rate is just going to go up
and up and we are not talking about that because so much of the attention is being
focused just in this one area,” he said.
“If we put all of our attention on this one issue of bullying then we’re going to miss all the
other things that are also contributing to it, so it requires a multi-pronged approach.”
EDUCATION BEFORE LEGISLATION
In the wake of Parsons’ death, the Nova Scotia government introduced the
Cyber-Safety Act, which allows people to try to restrict the cyberbully and sue if they or
their children are cyberbullied.
Cyberbullying expert and Dalhousie University law professor Wayne MacKay says the
issue stretches beyond government and law enforcement. MacKay served as chairman
of a task force that submitted a report in February 2012 to the Nova Scotia government
on bullying.
Experts and parents say the response needs to reach beyond punitive,
legislative change and work on improving kids’ mental health and their
coping skills.
The report dismissed the suggestion that there is a rise in teen suicides and strongly
cautioned against making the link between cyberbullying and suicide.
“It’s really important to not in any way popularize or glamorize (suicide), which then can
lead to a kind of bizarre copycat effect,” he said in an interview.
The report included seven recommendations on mental health interventions, including
having schools linked with psychiatrists and training youth workers on identifying suicide
risks. Many of those have been acted on.
Experts and parents say the response needs to reach beyond punitive, legislative
change and work on improving kids’ mental health and their coping skills, while boosting
mental health resources for youth.
“It’s not just about legislation,” said Todd, adding that her daughter died on World Mental
Health Day. “Legislation is the end piece?there’s all the education and prevention
before that.”
Wall agrees, saying governments haven’t found their footing completely when it comes
to addressing the problem.
“We haven’t yet caught up to this issue of cyberbullying in terms of developing a
comprehensive response to it,” he said. “My hope is that we’ll be involved in a national
forum to look specifically at the issue and how we can address it.”
Auld, Alison. “The Links Between Cyberbullying and Suicide Are Oversimplified.” Bullying, edited by
Noah Berlatsky, Greenhaven Press, 2015. Current Controversies. Gale In Context: Opposing
Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ3010956216/OVIC?u=ucriverside&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=41e58c1a.
Accessed 11 Feb. 2022. Originally published as “Link Between Cyberbullying and Teen Suicides
Oversimplified: Experts, Parents,”, 5 Dec. 2013.
4. Suicide risk greater with cyberbullying
Bullying and suicide are inextricably linked, according to a comprehensive review of
medical research published Monday. The findings suggest that cyberbullying may pose
the greatest danger, which experts in the field say underscores the need for more
safeguards to protect vulnerable children. Bullying and suicide are inextricably linked,
according to a comprehensive review of medical research published Monday. The
findings suggest that cyberbullying may pose the greatest danger, which experts in the
field say underscores the need for more safeguards to protect vulnerable children.
There has been considerable debate in recent years about whether young people are
driven to suicide as a direct result of bullying, or as a result of underlying mental-health
problems. The findings of the new study, led by Mitch van Geel of Leiden University in
the Netherlands and his colleagues, suggest bullying is a risk factor in and of itself that
increases the likelihood of suicide. health problems. The findings of the new study, led
by Mitch van Geel of Leiden University in the Netherlands and his colleagues, suggest
bullying is a risk factor in and of itself that increases the likelihood of suicide.
In an e-mail, van Geel said that some children may seek suicide as a “release or
escape” or see it as “a plea for help.”
To conduct the study, researchers did a comprehensive review of the available scientific
research on bullying and suicide. After examining the data from 34 studies, they found
that children who experienced bullying were 2.2 times more likely to think about suicide
and 2.5 times more likely to attempt it than peers who were not bullied. Children who
were cyberbullied were 3.2 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers.
Debra Pepler, co-director of PREVNet, a federally funded national network of bullying
researchers and resources, said the relationship between bullying and suicide is
complex. While victims are at a higher risk for suicide, so are the adolescents who are
doing the bullying. She noted that cyberbullying may be linked to higher suicide risks
because of the public nature of it and the fact that online bullying can be conducted on
such a wide scale over a short period of time.
The study underscores the fact that bullying has a very strong destabilizing effect on
young people at a time in their lives when connections to their peers are more important
than any other relationship, Pepler said. And being directly involved in any aspect of
bullying should be seen as a “red flag.”
“It’s a sign for us that these children just aren’t connected in the way that they should be
to caring people in their world: caring adults who could help them navigate really
complex issues; a school that is pro-active and prevents these issues.”
Although there has been increased discussion about the need to put a stop to bullying,
Pepler said that schools still need to adopt a system-wide approach that involves every
student, teacher and classroom. Every student needs to feel they have a trusted adult
they can speak to and school leaders should create an environment that recognizes
bullying and puts a stop to it before it gets out of control, she said. Parents also have to
develop and maintain strong relationships with their children to ensure they feel they
have someone to talk to.
“A youth’s sense of identity and safety and sense of self are so jeopardized if they don’t
have strong connections to families and school peers and others to help them put it into
perspective and help them buffer the stress that comes with that,” Pepler said.
“Suicide risk greater with cyberbullying.” Globe & Mail [Toronto, Canada], 12 Mar. 2014, p. L5. Gale
In Context: Opposing Viewpoints,
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A361268325/OVIC?u=ucriverside&sid=bookmark-OVIC&xid=142e05b2.
Accessed 11 Feb. 2022.
5. Cyberbullying only rarely the sole factor
identified in teen suicides
By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Mental Health Weekly Digest — NEW
ORLEANS – Cyberbullying – the use of the Internet, phones or other technologies to
repeatedly harass or mistreat peers – is often linked with teen suicide in media reports.
However, new research presented on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the American Academy of
Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans, shows that the
reality is more complex. Most teen suicide victims are bullied both online and in school,
and many suicide victims also suffer from depression (see also Bullying). Mental Health
Weekly Digest — NEW ORLEANS – Cyberbullying – the use of the Internet, phones or
other technologies to repeatedly harass or mistreat peers – is often linked with teen
suicide in media reports. However, new research presented on Saturday, Oct. 20, at the
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Conference and Exhibition in New
Orleans, shows that the reality is more complex. Most teen suicide victims are bullied
both online and in school, and many suicide victims also suffer from depression (see
also Bullying).
For the abstract, “Cyberbullying and Suicide: A Retrospective Analysis of 41 Cases,”
researchers searched the Internet for reports of youth suicides where cyberbullying was
a reported factor. Information about demographics and the event itself were then
collected through searches of online news media and
