This document summarizes research on social media usage and the psychological effects of cyberbullying on youth. It finds that while traditional bullying is overt, cyberbullying occurs through covert online methods like mobile phones and social networking sites. Cyberbullying can negatively impact youth's mental health, lowering their self-esteem and causing feelings of anger, frustration, sadness and anxiety. However, the document notes that emotional intelligence and social support can strengthen youth's psychological resilience against cyberbullying.

1. Social Media Usage & the
Psychological Effects on Youth
Cyberbullying:
By Samantha Jaffe & Jessica Ryan
December 1, 2010

2. Raise your hand if you know
someone who
has been cyberbullied
in any way?

3. Research Questions
 What are the similarities and differences
in the motives behind bullying and
cyberbullying?
 What technologies are youth utilizing
when they cyberbully others?
 What are the psychological effects of
cyberbullying on youth?

4. Preview
 Traditional Bullying
 Cyberbullying
 Social Media Methods
 Psychological Effects

5. Traditional Bullying
 Definition:
– “persistent threatening and aggressive
behavior directed toward other people,
especially those who are smaller or
weaker”
– Debate on the word “Aggressive”
– Overt

6. Cyberbullying
 Definition:
– “forms of bullying that use electronic means such
as the Internet and mobile phones to aggressively
and intentionally harm someone” (Price &
Dalgelish, 2010, p.51).
 “Bullying on Steroids”

7. Methods of Cyberbullying
 Flaming: sending vulgar messages about a person to an online
group or directly to the person via email other text messaging
(Li, 2008, p.225)
 Online harrassment: repeatedly sending offensive messages
via email or other text messaging to a person (Li, 2008, p.225)
 Cyberstalking: online harassment that includes threats of harm
or is excessively intimidating (Li, 2008, p.225)
 Denigration (put-downs): Sending harmful, untrue, or cruel
statements about a person to other people or posting such
material online (Li, 2008, p.225)

8. Methods of Cyberbullying (cont’d)
 Masquerade (or Impersonation): pretending to be someone
else and sending or posting material that makes that person
look bad (Li, 2008, p.225)
 Outing: sending or posting material about a person that
contains sensitive, private, or embarrassing information,
including forwarding private messages or images (Li, 2008,
p.225)
 Trickery: tricking someone into revealing secrets or
embarrassing information and sharing that information with
others (Trolley & Hanel, 2010, p.39)
 Exclusion: cruelly excluding someone from an online group (Li,
2008, p.225)

9. Social Media Usage
 Mobile Phones
 Social Networking
Sites (SNSs)

10. Mobile Phones
 Most preferred
method
 Two to one 15 to 18
female students
preferred harrassing
victims by text
messaging over other
mediums such as e-
mail, websites, and
instant messaging
(Toppo, 2006, p.08d).

11. Mobile Phones
 Advertisements
 “Sexting”
– “Sending or forwarding nude, sexually
suggestive, or explicit pictures on a cell
phone or online” (Siegle, 2010, p.15).

12. Social Networking Sites
 About 55% of
American youths use
SNSs (Trolley &
Hanel, 2010, p.9).
 About 46% of female
participants reported
using SNSs when
cyberbullying (Trolley
& Hanel, 2010, p.55).
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

13. Social Networking Sites
 Profile Creation
 Identity Performance
 “Imagined Audience”
 Online and Offline Relationships
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.

14. Psychological Effects
 Control Imbalance:
– Changing roles
 Associated Feelings:
– Anger
– Frustration
– Sadness
– Anxiety
– Depression
– Lower Self-esteem

15. Psychological Effects (cont’d)
Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2010b)

16. Psychological Effects (cont’d)
 Emotional Intelligence:
– Understanding Emotions
 Psychological Immune System:
– “The higher the level of one’s emotional
intelligence, the healthier one’s psychological
immune system” (Plaford, 2006, p. 59).
 Social Capital

17. Conclusions
 Traditional bullying and Cyberbullying are
different
– Methods
– Time and Space
– Covert vs Overt
 Increased Technology Usage
 Decreased Mental Health
 Limitations on Research

18. “It Gets Better” with Joe Biden
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcyXQJ