The Scotsman

We must teach young people to understand the difference

Social media sites allow 24-hour abuse, says Sarah Pedersen

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TRADITIONA­L face-toface bullying may be confined to one or two spheres of life – for example, school – and one group of people.

Since the introducti­on of social media websites it has become possible for the bully (and the victim) to interact 24 hours a day. Such cyber-bullying may even involve people who have never met. Cyber-bullying can be more appealing to the bully and more difficult for the victim to defend against.

It has been suggested that the indirect aggression of cyberbully­ing is a “girl thing”, while boys are more likely to engage in physical bullying. Cyber- bullies often do not understand the effect that their bullying has on their victim, seeing their actions as funny and entertaini­ng. Meanwhile, their 24-hour victims feel hounded, attacked and, in the worse cases, suicidal.

But cyberspace can also provide a safe space for the exploratio­n of identity associated with adolescenc­e. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter are now an essential part of teenagers’ lives. Adolescenc­e is a time of identity formation, of exploring who you want to be and experiment­ing with the way you present yourself to the world – whether through the way you dress, the music you listen to or the people you hang out with. While such rites of passage used to be enacted in bedrooms, youth clubs and bus shelters, the internet now offers a convenient venue for adolescent experiment­ation. Therefore it is important that we do not respond to cyberbully­ing by expecting teens to simply cut their connection to social media.

Different studies have found different rates of cyber-bullying among teenagers. The UK charity 2012 Beatbullyi­ng’s Virtual Violence II report suggested that 28 per cent of all teens have been deliberate­ly targeted, threatened or humiliated by an individual or a group through the use of mobile phones or the internet. Another UK anti-bullying charity, Ditch the Label, published a report suggesting that seven out of ten young people have experience of cyber-bullying and one in five experience it on a daily basis.

My research agrees with these figures but also points to another issue. In 2010, I collaborat­ed with Shed Media Scotland to conduct a survey of the fans of their teen soap opera Being Victor. The survey asked the teens “How safe are you online?” and investigat­ed risk-taking behaviour on the internet. Some 60 per cent of respondent­s admitted they had been victims of cyber-bullying, such as having untrue rumours spread about them, being sent threatenin­g messages or having embarrassi­ng photos posted online.

Both boys and girls were

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