Comparing electronic and traditional bullying in embarrassment and exclusion scenarios

Abstract

Electronic bullying continues to increase yet remains under-researched (e.g., Waasdorp & Bradshaw, 2015). This is especially true for college populations, a group that often uses online technology (Duggan & Brenner, 2014). A paucity of experimentally designed studies have examined and compared behavioral and emotional responses to bullying situations in both electronic and traditional formats. This study seeks to elucidate differences and similarities between the two bullying formats specifically examining cognitive, strategic, and emotional responses. We utilized an experimental design with hypothetical scenarios to investigate college students' social-cognitive responses to two forms of relational bullying: embarrassment and exclusion, presented in traditional and electronic formats. Participants were 124 college-age students at a mid-size Northeastern university. Results demonstrated different emotional responses and behavioral responses depending on the medium (electronic versus traditional). Specifically, in terms of emotions, participants felt higher embarrassment in traditional bullying scenarios and higher anger in electronic bullying scenarios. In terms of behavioral responses participants were more likely to seek help in traditional bullying scenarios compared to using the avoidance strategies of joking when bullying occurred online. Additionally, qualitative responses regarding the impact of bullying medium were analyzed and significant differences were found regarding reasons for the bullying severity and impact depending on medium. This study demonstrates several important differences between electronic and traditional bullying in terms of emotional and behavioral responses as well as qualitative reports of severity.