非凡的故事

驯服巨魔

Why is cyberbullying so pervasive, and how can we protect ourselves and our children?

By Courtney Suciu

In June 2019, the World Anti-Bullying Forum convened in Dublin, “aimed at broadening understanding of bullying in educational settings.”

根据美国联邦新闻服务发表的联合国教育科学和文化组织（教科文组织）的新闻发布¹，网络欺凌被称为特殊主题，在线骚扰上升。

“Data from seven countries in Europe show that the proportion of children aged 11-16 years who use the Internet and who had experienced cyberbullying increased from 7% in 2010 to 12% in 2014,” the report read.

The consequences of being a victim of bullying are significant. Children who are bullied are more than twice as likely to miss school, the report noted, and “they are more likely to expect to leave formal education after finishing secondary school. Children who are bullied score lower in mathematics and reading tests, and the more often they are bullied, the worse their score.”

With the problem only worsening, it’s critical that we take proactive measures to protect ourselves and our children. The first step is understanding what cyberbullying is. What behaviors does it encompass and who does it affect? Why is it so common? And is there hope for a safer, kinder cyber world of the future?

Defining cyberbullying

In the bookBullying and Young People²，以务实的术语描述了网络欺凌作为：

The deliberate use of social media platforms, information and communication technologies, new media technologies (i.e. email, phones, chatrooms, discussion groups, applications, instant messaging, blogs, video clips, cameras, hate websites/pages, blogs and gaming sites) to repeatedly harass, threaten, humiliate and victimize another with the intention to cause harm, reputation damage, discomfort and intimidation.

However, in her thesis网络欺凌的在线文化³, Molly-Gloria Harper offered a more theoretical understanding of the concept. Harper views cyberbullying as “a culturally constructed phenomenon only able to exist because of the coupling of technology and social media with modern day youth culture.”

Harper pointed out that for previous generations, youth culture has been associated with rebellion, the “digital generation” is unusual and has perhaps wielded more influence over the mainstream than young people have in decades past.

As an example, she looked to the meteoric rise of social media in recent years. First embraced by those 18-24 years-old, communication via the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram is now ubiquitous among most age groups.

而年轻人我一直有着深远的作用n shaping mainstream culture (think of the popularization of rock and hip-hop, fashion trends, slang, etc.), Harper argued that the “digital generation,” through its use of social media platforms – and consequently the way they interact offline – has sparked “systematic changes to the culture.”

换句话说，青年文化的数字沟通的拥抱不仅改变了个人社交互动的方式，而是社会如何互化。

那么，这与网络欺凌有什么关系？哈珀解释说：

Adolescence is a time where youth attempt to establish smaller communities of like-minded peers with the larger culture in attempts to gain an understanding of themselves and experiment with new things and indulge in what is interesting to them. Previously this was predominantly done in neighborhoods, playgrounds, and school yards – anywhere youth would hang out.

作为年轻人努力弄清楚他们是谁以及它们适应的地方，他们一直易于欺凌 - 并且可能是欺负他人。改变的是数字互动在很大程度上是面对面的接触。

On one hand, being able to communicate with a wider variety of people in a wider variety of locations makes it easier to find those smaller communities of likeminded peers. On the other, it also increases opportunities for exploitation, harassment, humiliation and other abuses.

And while all of us are vulnerable to cyberbullying, the consequences for people victimized at this critical time in their social development can be especially damaging.

The psychological impact of victimization

Joshua Taylor博士，在顾问培训视频中展出在21世纪探索网络欺凌：每个顾问都需要知道什么，和年轻人真的想到了什么！⁴, noted, “One of the things that I have found in talking with young people about cyberbullying is there's a sense that no-one's going to protect them. That the bullying won't stop.”

在对网络欺凌的年轻受害者的访谈中，很容易理解他们为什么感受到这种方式。

泰勒与一个名叫Shayna的年轻女子发表讲话，他们讨论了社交媒体在她的生活中是多么的。因为她在另一个国家拥有许多在线连接，她依靠数字沟通来与他们保持联系，而是原因是，就像很多青少年一样，“我的手机总是和我在一起，它总是在我身边。”

But, as a consequence, that means she never gets a break from the constant feedback she’s receiving via social media, and this can interfere with her daily activity and wellbeing. “If someone says something to me, I instantly get it…If you get something instantly that’s negative, it kind of just stops everything you are doing.”

“I think a lot of people,” Shayna added, meaning the adults in her life, “think it's easier to ignore if it's online because you can just read it and go, okay, whatever.”

But it’s not easy to ignore a constant bombardment of the kind of criticism she described:

My first instance of cyberbullying was with my boyfriend at the time and we had, like, a good face to face relationship but then any time we were on Facebook or on MSN he would tell me things like, 'Oh, you looked really fat today.' or like, 'You had a really big lunch.' Just like mean things that just, like, tore down my self-esteem. Made me feel really bad about myself.

As a result, Shayna, who saw herself as a typically boisterous, outgoing person, became self-conscious and stopped spending time with her other friends. “I was always miserable,” she said, and the situation exacerbated her compulsion for self-harm.

She said, “cutting was the only way, the only thing that I really had control over and the only way that I could, like, as dumb as it sounds, make me feel better about myself.”

Shayna透露，她看到的大多数治疗师帮助她处理切割的处理是不屑一顾的“整个欺凌科目”，泰勒解释了为什么这是一个主要问题：

This is a very serious issue because cyber bullying is comorbid with a lot of conditions. Depression, substance abuse, obsessive compulsive behaviors, self-injuring behaviors. So, it's not so much ‘why cyber-bullying?’ but really more of ‘how does cyber bullying play a role in many of the mental health issues that we tackle on a day-to-day basis?’

当年轻人不受成年人的支持或验证的时候，他们转向帮助，它只能提高他们的绝望和孤立的感受。出于这个原因，Taylor说：“我认为传达这一消息是非常重要的，如果他们向前挺身而出，他们与某人交谈，就像临床医生一样，作为教育者，作为父母，我们将尽我们所能保护这个年轻人。“

What is the solution?

When it comes to the prevention of cyberbullying, Taylor suggested it begins with parents, educators, counselors and adults in general:

It starts with us modeling appropriate behavior, modeling empathy and kindness to those around us. Young people don't come out as babies bullying. They learn it. And they learn it from us. If we really want to have a conversation about how we can address cyber bullying I think it starts with us.

虽然他是正确的，但我们都可以更好地努力以更尊重和文明对待彼此，但是网络欺凌的其他专家认为这个问题的解决方案可能必须在肘球本身内部，内置于技术中。

在她的论文中设计网络欺凌预防和缓解工具⁵, Zahara Ashktorab “employ[ed] multidisciplinary methods to evaluate data generated by teens on social media and work[ed] with teens to develop and test potential cyberbullying mitigation solutions.”

Ashktorab argued that “solutions focused on improving users’ wellbeing after being targeted online offer designers a valuable tool in fighting back against the harm caused by cyberbullying” and based on the interdisciplinary studies conducted in her dissertation, provided recommendations for the design of cyberbullying prevention and mitigation tools.

“我认为，网络欺凌的复杂性质因社交媒体的可承受而挑战，无法通过严格的算法方法来解决，”她写道。

换句话说，在线滥用不会通过创建俯视遭受最大损害的人的实际，个人经历的计算机程序来弥补。

Because the motivations of teenagers using social media and other digital spaces are often very different from – and poorly understood by – their adult counterparts, designers and programmers may not take into consideration the factors and features that can abet online harassment and abuse.

“In recent years,” Ashktorab explained, “the few attempts of designing for cyberbullying prevention have not included the perspective of those most affected: young people.”

相比之下，她看着潜在的技术解决方案，以考虑到关于的数据和洞察，并由青少年及其在线习惯和经验提供。这是一种革命性的角度，可以改变 - 或者甚至可以节省 - 像Shayna这样的年轻人的生命。

但这些事情需要时间。尚未开发出这样的百元网预防和缓解工具。Ashktorab与未来研究的建议结束了她的论文，以评估她的设计建议的有效性和功能。

Meanwhile, heed Taylor’s advice and contribute to the mitigation and prevention of cyberbullying. We can take seriously and support young people who are suffering from online abuse.

And maybe we can all make a better effort to model more respectful and empathetic behavior online (and off).

Notes:

1. NEW EVIDENCE ON BULLYING REVEALED AT WORLD ANTI-BULLYING FORUM. (2019, Jun 25).美国喂养新闻服务，包括美国州新闻.ProQuest One Academic.
2. HEALEY，J.（ED）。（2018）。Bullying and Young People. Available fromProQuest One Academic.
3. Harper, M. (2017).网络欺凌的在线文化: Examining the Cycle of Subcultures Through Media Constructions of Cyberbullying As a Deviant Youth Internet Phenomenon. (Order No. 10268485). Available fromProQuest One Academic.
4. Microtraining Associates（生产者）。（2012）。在21世纪探索网络欺凌：每个顾问都需要知道什么，以及年轻人真的想到的！[Video file]. Available fromProQuest One Academic.
5. Ashktorab, Z. (2017).设计网络欺凌预防和缓解工具(Order No. 10615598). Available fromProQuest One Academic.

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Courtney Suciu is ProQuest’s lead blog writer. Her loves include libraries, literacy and researching extraordinary stories related to the arts and humanities. She has a Master’s Degree in English literature and a background in teaching, journalism and marketing. Follow her @QuirkySuciu

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