Revolution of Social Bullying via the Internet - Literature review Example

Revolution of social bullying via Internet The appearance of advanced forms of communication, such as Internet, has been highly related to globalization. Indeed, globalization has set the basis for the limitation of barriers in regard to communication and movement worldwide: this culture has been a core characteristic of Internet, a technological platform that allows the communication and the exchange of data of various forms on real time. However, the expansion of Internet, as supported by globalization, had also certain drawbacks: social bullying via Internet, known also as cyber bullying, has been one of the most severe disadvantages of Internet. The development of social bullying via Internet is explored in this paper. Reference is also made to globalization, at the level that this framework has been related to cyber bullying. The literature review developed on this subject revealed that the relationship between globalization and cyber bullying cannot be doubted. Moreover, the timeline of the development of cyber bullying shows a trend of continuous increase of cyber bullying, a trend that it has been combined with the expansion of globalization. It is clear that the existing measures for controlling the problem are not adequate or, at least, gaps and failures exist in regard to the monitoring of the relevant plans as of all their parts. In general, globalization is related to the worldwide expansion of practices and products that have similar characteristics; these practices/ products are not necessarily negative. Lule (2012) refers to the example of the mobile phone use in Africa for explaining the above view. More specifically, most people in Africa suffer from important health problems not having access to critical medical infrastructure/ materials (Lule 2012). Also, the conditions of daily life for these people are quite poor: food and housing needs are not covered and threats for life are several on a daily basis (Lule 2012). Moreover, infrastructure is poor leading to ‘the lack of landline phones and electricity’ (Lule 2012, p.12) for a high percentage of the population. Still, about ‘80% of people in Africa has a mobile phone’ (Lule 2012, p.13), even if these mobile phones are of older technology, i.e. they ‘are not smart phones’ (Lule 2012, p.13). The above phenomenon may be considered as non-explicable but if reviewed more carefully it should be characterized as totally logical: mobile phones are the only means for communication that can be used in areas where people do not have access to electricity or to advanced technology, such as computer (Lule 2012, p.12-13). From this point of view, globalization, in the form of mobile phones, has benefited people in Africa offering to them the potential to communicate which can be vital for their life. For example, through their mobile phone people in these areas can call for medical assistance if a health problem appears (Lule 2012, p.13). However, emphasis should be given to the following fact: globalization is not a narrow term. It can cover various issues and objects, such as ‘communication, immigration, foreign foods, global economy and so on’ (Lule 2012, p.15). However, the historical roots of globalization, identified about at the beginning of the 20th century, have been related more to ‘transport and communication’ (Lule 2012, p.22). Today, globalization could be rather characterized as ‘an unstoppable force’ (Lule 2012, p.25) or ‘a rising tide’ (Lule 2012, p.26). When referring to the relationship between globalization and communication another metaphor would be most appropriate: in this case, globalization can be described rather as ‘a networked world’ (Lule 2012, p.28). In such context, the development of advanced communication schemes, such as the digital technology, could be considered as inevitable and as non-controllable. However, such trend could hide certain threats, as in the case of cyber bullying which is analyzed below. In order to understand the development of social bullying via the Internet, or, else, of the cyber bullying, it would be necessary to refer to the terms under which cyber bullying is developed. Cyber bullying is a form of harassment which takes place online, i.e. through the Internet. The timeline of the development of cyber bullying is presented below (Figure 1); the relevant table needs to be reviewed in combination with the table in Figure 1a. Actually, cyber bullying can be traced back to the 1999; then, the US Attorney General had sent a letter to the US President informing him on the rapid expansion of cyber bullying in schools across USA (Campbell 70). According to Kraft and Wang (2009) cyber bullying is a ‘phenomenon of the 21st century’ (Kraft and Wang 513). Date Facts 1980s Appearance of ‘inappropriate online interaction’ (Li et al. 118) 1999 In a letter of the US Attorney General to the US President the problem of cyber bullying is reported officially, for the first time (Campbell 70) 2009 Cyber bullying was included in the Agenda of United Nations for the 16th of June 2009 (Shariff and Churchill 3) 2000-2014 Continuous growth of cyber bullying, as also analyzed in the table in Figure 1a/ in a survey of 2011 90% of participants admitted that they had experienced cyber bullying (Notar et al. 1) Figure 1 – Timeline of the development of cyber bullying It should be noted that the development of cyber bullying worldwide has not been similar. In fact, different rates of the problem’s expansion have been reported, as made clear through the findings of the empirical studies developed in this field (Figure 1a). In this context, the response of governments to the particular phenomenon has been different. For example, in UK it was just in 2007 that an official guide for the protection of ‘children and young people’ (Shariff and Churchill 270) from cyber bullying was published; the guide was entitled as ‘Cyber-bullying Guidance’ (Shariff and Churchill 270). As a concept, cyber bullying could be described as an activity based on ‘the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to intimidate, harass, victimize or bully an individual or a group of individuals’ (Bhat 54). In other words, cyber bullying requires the use of platforms based on different types of communication technology, such as ‘e-mail, social networking sites (SNS), chat rooms, blogs and so on’ (Bhat 54). Through the above platforms content related to an individual is published so that the individual’s social image or health is threatened (Bhat 54). The posts with images from the personal life of an individual in a blog or a SNS are common examples of cyber bullying. The messages sent to an individual and which contain threats for the individual’s life or his social image, are also included in cyber bullying (Bhat 54). Several studies have been developed for measuring the rate of development of cyber bullying worldwide. The findings of these studies are presented in the Table in Figure 1a below. The findings have been placed in a table so that their comparison is easier. According to the timeline in Figure 1 the following trend is made clear: during the last decade, cyber bullying has been radically increased. This trend can be explained by the high expansion of digital technology for communication purposes. According to Notar et al. (2013) the percentage of young people who have access to Internet in US has reached the ‘97% in 2011’ (Notar et al. 1). Place/ Organization Year Type of study Findings National Children’s Home/ Britain (source: Campbell 70) 2002 Survey 1 out of 4 children have faced cyber bullying Australia/ National Coalition Against Bullying & ‘Girlfriend’ Magazine (source: Bhat 54) 2004 Survey 42% have faced cyber bullying Kraft and Wang (514)/ National Crime Prevention Council 2007 Survey/ 832 participants from 13 to 17 years 43% have faced cyber bullying Shariff and Churchill (270)/ Anti-bullying Alliance, UK 2008 Online Survey 22% of participants have faced cyber bullying Juvonen and Gross 2008 Online Survey/ 1,544 participants, aged from 12 to 17 years 72% have faced cyber bullying at least once Wong-Lo and Bullock (in Notar et al. 1) 2011 Survey/ 137 participants 90% have faced cyber bullying ‘as victim or as a bystander’ (Notar et al. 1) Smith and Steffgen (167)/ National Student Health Survey/ Finland 2012 Survey/ 4,403 participants At least 1% have been victim of cyber bullying Smith and Steffgen (167)/ Portugal 2012 Survey/ 311 participants About 7.5% have faced cyber bullying Figure 1a – Studies on the rate of development of cyber bullying worldwide From a different point of view Shariff and Churchill (2010) claimed that the public perceptions over the rate of cyber bullying are often out of reality; as a result, many parents refuse to allow their children to participate in online seminars arranged by teachers on the basis that the risk for cyber bullying is high (Shariff and Churchill 3). In this context, it is suggested that the findings of empirical research are carefully reviewed by parents before developing their decision in regard to the participation of their children in online activities arranged by their school; otherwise, the harm caused to learning by cyber bullying could be quite high (Shariff and Churchill 3). Figure 2 – Timeline of Social Networking Sites (Cachia 49) On the other hand, most of studies developed in this field have verified the rapid expansion of cyber bullying among the users of digital technology. Social networking sites (SNS) seem to have a critical role in this trend. A timeline of these sites is presented in Figure 2 above. The names of these sites are in different colour, according to their country of origin. Up today, additional SNS have appeared which are also quite popular among Internet users; reference can be made, as an example to Twitter. When being a member of a SNS an individual has more chances to suffer cyber bullying than if he had not subscribed in such site (Cachia 28). The reason is that through his account in a SNS an individual reveals a significant part of private data, except from the case of accounts that are totally based on fictious data (Cachia 28). In addition, it has been proved that the risk for cyber bullying is increased for individuals who have created an account in more than one SNS since in that case the volume of private data of the individual available online is quite high (Cachia 28). The study of Wolak et al. (2007) has revealed that among those who suffer cyber bullying a high percentage, about 65%, is likely to receive threatening messages while only a 35% has to deal with cyber bullying in the form of posts published in blogs and chat rooms (Wolak et al. S52). Also, it has been proved that cyber bullying is developed at lower level among the children of primary schools, compared to adolescents, since the latter are more expected to use Internet as a communication tool (Campbell 70). Particular reference should be made to the findings of study of Hinduja and Patchin (2009); according to the above researchers a quite high percentage, about 82%, of those who face cyber bullying are aware of the identity of the perpetrator (Livingstone and Brake 78). At the same time, Smith and Steffgen (2013) have noted that cyber bullying incidents tend to be caused by specific events or conditions, such as the problems faced by the bully to keep a relationship or the negative perceptions of the bully in regard to a group of people with particular characteristics, such as ethnicity or financial status (Smith and Steffgen 168). In any case, the exposure of an individual to cyber bullying usually results to severe psychological problems, such as ‘anxiety, depression and, even, paranoia’ (Smith and Steffgen 168). As a form of harassment, cyber bullying has particular characteristics: a) different approaches can be used for bullying a person through the Internet. Indeed, cyber bullying can be developed through words or images or by specific ‘emotional tactics’ (Bhat 55); for example, cyber bullying can be developed simply by sending messages to an individual with no content, from unknown e-mail addresses at the same time, late in the night and for several nights; b) the person who commits the bullying is at higher position, as of his ‘physical strength or his social position’ (Bhat 55) compared to the person that suffers the bullying; in regard to this issue Dooley et al. (184) has noted that in cyber bullying the perpetrator need not to have more physical strength than the bullied; he could just be stronger in terms of his mental abilities (Dooley et al. 184); and c) the harassment is continuous for a particular period of time; in many cases, cyber bullying can go on for months if the problem is not reported to the relevant authorities (Bhat 55). However, it is possible for cyber bullying to be developed only through a single act, i.e. only through a message, under the terms that ‘threats have been also developed against the bullied offline’ (Cleemput 2008, in Dooley et al. 183). Dooley et al. (184) emphasize on the following characteristic of cyber bullying: the victim is not able to escape from the threat, like in the case of face-to-face bullying where the victim can just leave the area where the bullying takes place (Dooley et al. 184). The literature published in regard to cyber bullying shows the rapid development of the specific activity in countries worldwide. On the other hand, the rate of development of cyber bullying has been found to be depended on certain factors, such as the age and the gender of the victims: adolescents are more likely to become victims of cyber bullying while girls are more exposed to cyber bullying than boys. This means that cyber bullying is favoured by the extensive use of digital technologies for communication purposes. At this point, the following question appears: could the control of globalization lead to the limitation of cyber bullying? The answer to this question could be negative. Indeed, globalization has resulted to the radical increase of popularity of digital technology but now the development of digital technology and Internet, as a communication tool, cannot be controlled, mostly due to the change of the style of life, compared to the past. In other words, digital technology has become part of the modern life style and its use cannot be set under restrictions; such efforts have already made but their results have been disappointing, as explained above. Therefore, the limitation of cyber bullying would be depended on the introduction of laws that could secure the safety of Internet users; the establishment of monitoring mechanisms in regard to such laws would be also necessary. Otherwise, the development of cyber bullying worldwide would continue to be rapid, with all the consequences that such trend would have for people of all ages, but especially of adolescents, as analyzed above. Works Cited Bhat, Christine. “Cyber Bullying: Overview and Strategies for School Counsellors, Guidance Officers, and All School Personnel.” Australian Journal of Guidance & Counselling 18.1(2008): 53-66. Cachia, Romina. “Social Computing: Study on the Use and Impact of Online Social Networking.” European Commission - Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (2008): 1-49. Campbell, Marilyn. “Cyber bullying: An old problem in a new guise?” Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling 15.1(2005): 68-76. Dooley, Julian, Pyzalski, Jacek and Donna Cross. “Cyberbullying Versus Face-to-Face Bullying - A Theoretical and Conceptual Review.” Journal of Psychology 217.4(2009): 182-188. Juvonen, Jaana and Elisheva Gross. “Extending the School Grounds?—Bullying Experiences in Cyberspace.” Journal of School Health 78.9(2008): 496-505. Kraft, Ellen and Jinchang Wang. “Effectiveness of Cyber bullying Prevention Strategies: A Study on Students’ Perspectives.” International Journal of Cyber Criminology 3.2(2009): 513-535. Li, Qing, Cross, Donna and Peter Smith. Cyberbullying in the Global Playground: Research from International Perspectives. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Livingstone, Sonia and David Brake “On the rapid rise of social networking sites: new findings and policy implications.” Children & society, 24.1(2010): 75-83. Lule, Jack. Globalization and Media: Global Village of Babel. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012. Notar, Charles, Padgett, Sharon and Jessica Roden. “Cyberbullying: A Review of the Literature.” Universal Journal of Educational Research 1.1(2013): 1-9. Shariff, Shaheeh and Andrew Churchill. Truths and Myths of Cyber-bullying: International Perspectives on Stakeholder Responsibility and Childrens Safety. New York: Peter Lang, 2010. Smith, Peter and Georges Steffgen. Cyberbullying Through the New Media: Findings from an International Network. East Sussex: Psychology Press, 2013. Wolak, Janis, Mitchell, Kimberly and David Finkelhor. “Does Online Harassment Constitute Bullying? An Exploration of Online Harassment by Known Peers and Online-Only Contacts.” Journal of Adolescent Health 41 (2007) S51–S58. Read More