New kid on cyberbully block
Some youngsters switch between being perpetrators and being abused
NADIA Jacobs and Ana Pillay* live more than 1 000km apart and have never met, but an invisible thread binds them: both are haunted by cyber bullying.
Jacobs, from Cape Town, was bullied for years in person and on her phone by jealous classmates, and “hated going to school”.
Pillay, from Durban, was racked with shame that nearly led to a suicide attempt after an ex-boyfriend began sharing pictures of her in skimpy clothing on social media accompanied by derogatory comments about her body.
“Each message cut her deeper,” said Pillay’s mother.
The alarming growth of cyberbullying has led to new research into a previously neglected category of abuser: bully-victims.
These are people who fluctuate between being “perpetrators” and “victims” in cyberspace.
Professor Michael Kyobe of the University of Cape Town was recently awarded a National Research Foundation grant to “investigate the nature and factors influencing mobile bully-victim behaviour in South African high schools”.
He will conduct his research in six provinces among pupils, teachers, school administrators, parents and law enforcement agents.
“It is hoped that this study will identify appropriate interventions that schools can use to prevent the escalation of bully-victim behaviour,” he said.
The Centre for Justice and Crime Prevention has found that nearly half of adolescents in South Africa have been victims of mobile bullying, while global research indicates that bully-victims can be even more of a threat than pure bullies and often have deeper psychological issues.
According to online publication Parenting Science, pure bullies are “confident aggressors” who “dish out intimidation and harassment”. In general, they are not victimised by other bullies.
Bully-victims tend to be more “anxious, depressed, lonely and highly strung”. Surveys in 25 countries have shown they “suffer the worst psychological health of any group — including pure bullies and passive victims”, and “may pose a greater threat to their peers”.
Nikki Bush, parenting expert and co-author of Tech-Savvy Parenting, said: “Someone who has been put down might bully someone else to feel better. They may think, ‘If I can make them feel worse than me, I will feel powerful and better.’ This has the potential of a vicious cycle.”
She said the choice came down to bystander or “up-stander”.
“Children need to make very conscious decisions, regardless of whether they are the victim or it’s someone else,” said Bush.
“An up-stander will tell an adult who can help report it in some way.”
Children who witness cyberbullying and do nothing are bystanders and are playing along.
Pillay’s mother said: “She hurt to see friends — male and female — just keeping quiet. But that is how bullies work — people were scared to say anything in case they became the next person dragged through the mud.”
Jacobs said that throughout high school she had received abusive messages from classmates — which left her traumatised and embarrassed.
“Some people were jealous of me. I was 13, quiet and new at my high school. I started hating going to school. I didn’t have the courage to fight back because they were bigger and older than me. I was left feeling scared and embarrassed.”
Recent research by Kyobe and his team found that smartphone features such as image/video sharing, e-mail and instant messaging are frequently used means of cyberbullying.
They also found that “boys usually adopt direct forms of aggression” and “send threatening messages online” whereas girls “prefer more indirect approaches such as gossiping or spreading rumours”, or “excluding others”.
They said “compared with other technologies used for bullying, mobile technologies greatly enhance anonymous communication”, which made retaliation harder.
* Names have been changed MOBILE MISERY: Smartphones have become a much-used medium for cyberbullies
They tend to be more anxious, depressed, lonely and highly strung