Gender Issues in Psychology: Cyberbullying - Term Paper Example

?Running head: CYBERBULLYING Gender Issues in Psychology: Cyberbullying Introduction The advent of the digital age has undeniably brought a thorough change and revolution in our day-to-day living. For instance, computers that would once have taken up an entire room all to themselves have shrunk considerably. Today, not only do computers exist that can fit in a knapsack, they have made it possible for us to complete tasks that once would have required an entire office to complete on its own. Where people would once have had to write letters and then wait weeks for a reply, overseas communication is now as simple as a few keystrokes. Needless to say, our lives have become much easier and more convenient than ever before. The internet is the most triumphant example of the convenience brought about by the digital age. Using the internet, one can view his favorite TV shows, listen to his favorite songs and even go shopping. Where would have had to search an entire library for information needed for his dissertation, one can now simply go online and look for it on Yahoo or Google. And of course, as already mentioned, communication is made easier, to the point that even people from different parts of the world can easily communicate with each other in real-time. Truly, the advent of the internet is one of the biggest highlights, if not the biggest highlight, of the 21st century. Unfortunately, the internet has its own dark side. For instance, the ease with which communication can be carried out online also means that bullies can throw their way around more easily. Researchers such as Patchin and Hinuja (2009) have described this phenomenon as one in which technology such as internet are used to inflict deliberate and repeated harm on others. A wider variety of acts fall under the broad definition of cyberbullying, which is said to range from simply spamming someone’s mailbox to threatening, insulting or otherwise degrading him online. Depending on the severity of the act, the consequences on the victim’s wellbeing can be very catastrophic, and can even drive him or her to suicide. Quite literally anyone and everyone can become either a victim or instigator at different moments; whether boy or girl, young or old, one will most likely experience this at some point in his life. What has yet to be determined, though, is which side is more likely to engage in and/or be more affected by this phenomenon – which shall be the objective of this particular study. Cyberbullying: An Analysis Most of the data on cyberbullying is more or less solid and cohesive, but one glaring inconsistency exists pertaining to which gender is more likely to be on the giving and the receiving end. It does not help much, either, that one can easily hide or otherwise fake his or her identity while online, as per the saying that ‘there are no girls on the internet’. In fact, others often say that on the internet, ‘the men are men, the women are men, and the children are FBI agents’. What is known, though, is that cyberbullying is something that is more prevalent among teens and young adults than any other age group, though exceptions to this rule do exist. In fact, says the National Crime Prevention Council (2011), this is something almost half of all American teens have or will experience in their everyday lives. The anonymity provided by the internet allows users a greater degree of freedom, which can easily be abused by means of unwarranted online attacks against others. As noted by some netizens, the combination of anonymity and the presence of an audience can be very strong motivators in adopting a mean or otherwise antagonistic attitude while online. Hinduja and Patchin (2008) have even noted how some of these attacks can be so severe and damaging as to drive the victims to take their own lives. Among the more recent cases is that of Megan Meier (Collins, 2008), a young girl who took her own life after having been victimized by an adult woman who gained her trust in a bid to destroy her psychologically. It was this particular incident that led to the legislation of HR 6123, more appropriately known as the ‘Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act’, in order to prevent any more such cases from recurring (Schwartz, 2008). For instance, a report by MacDonald (2010) notes an increased participation in cyberbullying among girls, especially those in middle school. According to this report, Facebook in particular is a popular venue for heated exchanges between parties, which can and often do develop into cheap shots and attacks by way of insults, threats and innuendos made by one party to another. As issues and disputes are formed between two or more parties, their social circles will inevitably get involved and take sides, which may make things awkward if not messy at school. What is specifically mentioned is that girls tend to engage in this activity more often, usually through hurtful words and comments, or by otherwise spreading rumors – as opposed to boys who, while not as engaged in cyberbullying, will invariably inflict far greater hurt through the use of unflattering videos, pictures or audio clips. These findings, however, are disputed by Li (2005), who instead notes that males are more likely than girls to engage in both traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Girls are said to be more likely to report cyberbullying incidents to adults, though not by much; the study also notes how cyberbullying tends to go unreported and unpunished in 9 times out of 10. In short, whenever instances of bullying, traditional or otherwise, take place, bystanders are conditioned to stand by, watch and do nothing, rather than intervene on the victim’s behalf. If anything, they tend to regard such incidents with a rather disturbing degree of amusement. Scarier still is that both traditional bullying and cyberbullying are said to become more and more commonplace in one’s life as he advances in age (Cross et al, 2009). Coupled with the aforementioned observations, this has some unfortunate implications that merit thorough understanding and attention. Not only will one become more and more exposed to instances of cyberbullying around him, these incidents will also be more likely to go unpunished as time goes by, thanks to an apathetic mindset that leads such youths to stick with what is already familiar under the misguided perception that it is no big deal. Even worse, such apathy on their part tends to come with a certain degree of cynicism, which leads them to believe that not only would it be futile to intervene, they would also be liable to be subjected to abuse themselves due to their intervention on the victim’s behalf. This is particularly troubling, considering how both bullies and victims will suffer as a result of cyberbullying in the future (Ybarra and Mitchell, 2007). While the victims of cyberbullying will end up suffering from social problems, the instigators are in danger of developing issues with lawbreaking and aggression. Through this, one conclusion can be derived: regardless of which side of the equation one happens to be on, cyberbullying will definitely serve as an impediment to his development. Discussion As noted in the previous section, cyberbullying will always be a problem growing up. Regardless of whether one is male or female, young or old, instigator or victim, such occurrences will definitely have a marked impact on one’s emotional and psychological wellbeing. Though the exact effect may vary depending on whether one is on the giving or receiving end, cyberbullying will definitely not end well for anyone involved. No matter who the victims or bullies are, everyone suffers. Given the ambivalence of researchers on the matter, what can be noted with respect to the relationship between cyberbullying and gender is its weakness. While there may indeed be a relationship between cyberbullying and gender, it is nowhere near significant enough to make that much of a difference. The main reason bullying is so easy over the internet is because of the anonymity provided by such a channel - however, this anonymity goes both ways. Not only would it be very difficult to tell what the gender of one’s victim is, it would be equally impossible for the victim to tell whether his tormentor is male or female. And in any case, the situation is such that issues of gender would be considered beside the point – the focus would more likely be directed toward the bullying taking place, which will definitely be offensive and hurtful on at least some level. What has been noted from the above is that girls show a high tendency of becoming cyberbullies, but that their forms of bullying are mostly verbal in nature. In contrast, boys are said to be less likely to participate in such acts, but that the acts they are able to perpetrate tend to be much more creative and severe in nature, foregoing simple verbal insults in favor of more painful and long-term results – that is, what their acts lack in frequency, they more than make up for in their impact. Regardless of their gender and their methods, though, cyberbullies will no doubt cause a lot of suffering for everyone involved, including themselves. This being the case, the main issue should not be which gender is more likely to be on which side of the cyberbullying equation. Instead, one should consider what members of each gender could do to diminish cyberbullying in our society. References Collins, L. (2008). Annals of crime: Friend game, behind the online hoax that led to a girl’s suicide. The New Yorker. Retrieved on September 16, 2011 from http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/21/080121fa_fact_collins Cross, D., Shaw, T., Hearn, L., Epstein, M., Monks, H., Lester, L., & Thomas, L. (2009). Australian Covert Bullying Prevalence Study (ACBPS). Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Perth National Crime Prevention Council. (2011). Cyberbullying. Retrieved on September 16, 2011 from http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying Hasebrink, U., Livingstone, S., Haddon, L. and Olafsson, K.(2009). Comparing children’s online opportunities and risks across Europe: Cross-national comparisons for EU Kids Online (2nd edn). LSE, London. Hinduja, S. and Patchin, J. W. (2008). Cyberbullying: An exploratory analysis of factors related to offending and victimization. Deviant Behavior, 29(2), 129–156 Hinduja, S. and Patchin, J. W. (2009). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Li, Q. (2005) Cyberbullying in Schools: A research on gender differences. Social Psychology International, 27(2), 157-170 MacDonald, G. (2010). Cyber-bullying defies traditional stereotype. Fairfax Times. Retrieved on September 16, 2011 from http://ww2.fairfaxtimes.com/cms/story.php?id=2078 Schwartz, M. (2008) Malwebolence: The world of web trolling. The New York Times. Retrieved on September 16, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/03/magazine/03trolls-t.html Ybarra, M.L. & Mitchell, K.J. (2007). Prevalence and frequency of Internet harassment instigation: implications for adolescent health. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(2), 189-95 Read More