Cyberbullying Research Articles

Online Abuse, Emotion Work and Sports Journalism

ABSTRACT This article generates new insights into the changing profession of journalism. Empirically, we present the findings of 21 interviews with journalists working in the Irish and UK sports beats on their experiences of online abuse. Conceptually, we address the under-theorising of emotions in journalism by extending the utility and entanglement of emotion work and emotional labour. In doing so, we posit future lines of theoretical enquiry about individual and social regulation. Several key discoveries are presented. First, sports journalism is a distinctive profession because significant authentic emotional work is undertaken. This is only accentuated when online abuse occurs. Journalists are deeply affected by this abuse, personally and professionally. Second, online abuse towards sports journalists is now so ubiquitous as to be habitually accepted, and it has obscured the distinction between public and private spaces. Third, in response, sports journalists have been compelled to develop their own emotional strategies, including self-censorship, to cope with and manage online abuse. The findings presented here also pose practical and existential questions about the sustainability of the profession, especially in the absence of formal institutional supports or even an informal code of practice about how to cope with and respond to online abuse.

Apprehending digital hostility and online abuse: Feminist care ethics in/and digital ecologies

Apprehending digital hostility and online abuse: Feminist care ethics in/and digital ecologies

Citizens’ perceptions of online abuse directed at politicians: Evidence from a survey experiment

AbstractOnline abuse is becoming an increasingly pressing issue for democratic societies. Citizens play an important role in curtailing abuse as they often moderate online content through counter speech and by reporting abusive messages. However, we know little about when citizens actually perceive negative comments directed at politicians as being abusive, and the factors shaping these perceptions are also understudied. In this study, we therefore investigate how citizens perceive criticism, insults, threats and sexist remarks directed at politicians on social media. Based on a survey experiment with 2,000 Danish citizens, we show that citizens’ assessments of the abusiveness of such remarks are not only affected by the content of the messages, but also by political ideology, political trust and gender. Surprisingly, partisanship does not seem to substantively affect perceptions of abuse. Our study provides novel insights into what exactly citizens consider to be abusive behaviour on social media.

The online exchange of conspiracy theories within an Irish extreme right wing Telegram group during the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT While the extreme right wing (ERW) has not gained a foothold in local or national Irish politics, the country has witnessed a growth in online activism and harassment, and physical protest and violence. This paper explores a case study based on 4876 unique posts from one Irish-based Telegram group active during six months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main findings are that: (a) this group was heavily influenced by foreign content and influencers, in particular, American ERW content and conspiracies associated with QAnon; (b) conspiracy theories were not adopted wholesale but adapted for an Irish audience; (c) Irish actors were not passive receivers of US content, and multi-directional exchanges of ideas were witnessed. While generalising beyond the case study analysed in this paper would require further data, this may suggest that Irish influencers are part of a transnational online ecosystem in which ideas and theories are shared and adapted to local contexts. These findings offer insights into the ERW in Ireland and, more generally, how the ERW communicates and spread conspiracy theories across national borders.

Risk of online abuse in social media: Legal and safety risk management strategies for athlete welfare in a technology-driven era.

Risk of online abuse in social media: Legal and safety risk management strategies for athlete welfare in a technology-driven era.

Exploring the Relationship Between Cyberbullying and Technology Addiction in Adolescents.

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between cyberbullying/victimization and technology addiction among Turkish adolescents. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 572 adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18. The study employed the Bullying and Cyber Bullying Scale for Adolescents (BCS-A) to evaluate cyber victimization (BCS-A VCSs) and cyberbullying (BCS-A BCSs) subdimensions, in conjunction with the Technology Addiction Scale (TAS). Among adolescents, 38.5% exhibited a moderate level of technology addiction. The results revealed positive and weak correlations between TAS scores and BCS-A VCSs (p < 0.001), as well as between BCS-A VCSs and BCS-A BCSs scores at a moderate level (p < 0.001). The study revealed that exposure to inappropriate content, encountering humiliating expressions on social media, sending inappropriate messages or videos to friends, and facing threats were significant predictors of BCS-A VCS scores. Furthermore, the transmission of inappropriate messages or videos, the encounter of cyberbullying victims, the exclusion of friends from online platforms, the experience of distress caused by humiliating expressions, and the sharing of private content were identified as significant predictors of the total BCS-A BCSs score. The study demonstrated a correlation between elevated technology addiction and involvement in cyberbullying or victimization among adolescents. Moreover, the study identified significant predictors of cyberbullying and cyber victimization. It is recommended that health professionals develop intervention programs for safe technology use and the prevention of cyberbullying and victimization. These programs should aim to raise societal awareness, particularly among parents and teachers.

스마트폰중독의 사이버불링피해에 미치는 영향과 두 변인의 조절효과와 남녀 차이

This study tests a gender difference in the effect of smartphone addiction on cyber bullying victimization. In addition, this study examines the moderating effect of both cyber bullying peers and low self-control between smartphone addiction and cyber bullying victimization. In surveying 256 male and female college students in Seoul, results show that the effect of smartphone addiction on bullying offending is significant in male, while its effect is not significant on female. However, it is shown that the effect of smartphone addiction on bullying victimization is significant in both male and female but its effect is stronger in female. In testing whether the moderating effect of both cyber bullying peers and low self-control are different and stronger in female than in male, it is found that the interaction effect between smartphone addiction and cyber bullying peers on cyber bullying victimization is significant in female and it is not significant in male. It is also found that the interaction effects between smartphone addiction and low self-controls on cyber bullying victimization are not significant in both male and female. Those results imply that an explanation of bullying victimization is different across male and female.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH

Introduction – For many young people dealing with mental illness, social media has bas become an important part of their life to dealing with mental illness. Social media is a wide term that refers to mobile platforms and the web that allow people to communicate with one another in a network. Instagram Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, etc are some of the most popular social media platforms among young people. Methods – This paper results from literature that talks about social media and mental health. Results – Social media have a lot of positive content and negative content. Many young people appear to use social media to share their personal experiences, look for information about mental health, and give and get support from others who have similar or same mental health challenges experiences. Discuss – The positive impact of social media will affect young people’s promotion of mental health and awareness about mental health. The positive impact of social media has a benefit where they can find social support about mental health. Social media also can make young people or individuals receive negative peer feedback in social media may have negative consequences for psychological development and well-being. Conclusion – Besides the many positive impacts in social media uses, social media has a lot of negative impacts with the consequences. Negative content such as online harassment, sexting, and cyberbullying will hurt mental health which will cause young people stress, anxiety, and depression. Keywords: social media, mental health, young.

Sexual Abuse Among Adolescents (13 to 19 Years) of Boys and Girls in Three Private Schools in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Background: Sexual abuse in adolescents is a global public health issue with severe physical, psychological, and long-term effects. In Bangladesh, societal stigma, underreporting, and weak legal enforcement further exacerbate the issue. Objectives: The primary objective is to evaluate the prevalence and patterns of sexual abuse among adolescents in three Dhaka schools, with secondary objectives to assess their clinical, demographic, and mental health status. Method and Materials: This cross-sectional study aims to evaluate the prevalence of sexual abuse among 130 adolescents (aged 13-19) from three private schools in Dhaka, selected through purposive sampling. Data will be collected using a pre-tested questionnaire administered by trained research assistants. The data will be analyzed using SPSS and STATA for both descriptive and inferential statistics. Result: The study included 130 adolescents, with boys making up 53.8% and girls 46.2%. The most prevalent form of sexual abuse was verbal abuse, reported by 46.2% of participants, followed by physical touch (30.8%) and online abuse (15.4%). Peers or schoolmates were the primary perpetrators in 38.5% of cases, while 19.2% reported abuse by strangers. Notably, 46.2% of the adolescents did not report the abuse to anyone. Of those who did, 30.8% informed school authorities, and 23.1% confided in their family. Conclusion: Children, particularly girls, are highly vulnerable to sexual abuse due to lack of parental awareness, weak reporting systems, and difficulty in disclosing abuse. Strengthening community vigilance and reporting mechanisms is essential to protect them.

Cyber Bullying Prevention in Learning Institutions: Systematic Approach

Cyberbullying has been identified as a biggest problem for the last decade. In this paper we will discuss some recent findings and focus on general concepts within the area. This paper covers issues like repetition and power imbalance, types of cyberbullying, age, cyberbullying and traditional bullying, motives for and impact of cyber victimization, coping strategies, and prevention/intervention possibilities. Understanding the characteristics and methods of typical cybercrimes can help us better arm ourselves with the information and resources needed to reduce risks, improve cyber-security, and protect our online identities. However, hackers, phishing fraudsters, and other cybercriminals seized the chance to profit greatly from this chaos. Phishing assaults and cybercrime complaints have skyrocketed throughout the epidemic, putting a great deal of people &amp; small organizations at danger of identity theft, credit card fraud, or data breaches.

CYBER LAW AND CYBER CRIME

Inthe rapidly evolving digital landscape, the proliferation of technology has brought about unprecedented opportunities for innovation and connectivity, but it has also given rise to new challenges and threats. Cyber law, as a field, has emerged to navigate the legal dimensions of this digital realm, addressing issues ranging from data privacy and intellectual property rights to cybercrime and cybersecurity.This abstract explores the intersection of cyber law and cybercrime, delving into the evolving legal frameworks designed to govern cyberspace and combat illicit activities within it. With the internet transcending geographical boundaries, traditional legal frameworks often struggle to keep pace with the complexities of cyber incidents. Consequently, the development of specialized cyber laws becomes imperative to ensure effective regulation and enforcement. Keywords: Data correction, online behavior, cyber bulling, ethical hacking

Lodging complaints against platform power: how Lebanese journalists and activists experience reporting mechanisms, platform failures, and techno-alienation

ABSTRACT Since Western technology platforms began colonizing online spaces, they have neglected Majority World populations, including those in MENA/SWANA countries like Lebanon. This neglect exacerbates harassment and violence against marginalized individuals, reinforcing systemic harms in Lebanon's cisheteropatriarchal and sectarian society. Our study draws on 14 in-depth interviews with women and queer journalists and activists in Lebanon who have faced online harassment and violence. Utilizing Sarah Ahmed’s feminist notion of complaint, we explore the flaws in platforms’ reporting mechanisms and document what we term ‘techno-alienation’: a state where those marginalized by these platforms feel abandoned and unable to envision an inclusive digital future. Participants highlighted that online platforms are addressing these issues too little, too late, leading to estrangement and disengagement among users who feel left behind.

From the Screen to the Streets: Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Public Health Professionals

This qualitative study sought to explore the experiences of public health professionals in Canada who were targets of harassment, abuse, and threatening behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public health professionals from across Canada who held responsibility for public health measures in their respective jurisdictions participated in in-depth interviews. Using constructivist grounded theory and constant comparative analysis a cycle of violence was identified. Results revealed that as infections and deaths due to COVID-19 began to rise across the globe, participants engaged in efforts to educate the public through mainstream media and social media. While education efforts were generally positively received at the onset of the pandemic, as collective frustration with public health restrictions rose and misinformation began to proliferate, social media fueled outrage and polarization, and public anger began to focus on public health officials. Harassment, abuse, and threats on social media were followed by threats delivered through telephone and paper mail, and finally direct physical threats and confrontation—which were then glorified and amplified on social media. As reported by others, harassment and abuse were particularly virulent for public health professionals who were women or visible minority individuals. We conclude that the pattern of abuse identified in this study is reminiscent of the cycle of violence previously identified with respect to those who become radicalized on social media. These findings serve as a poignant example from which to develop guidelines for all professionals and researchers at risk of online abuse both in the health sector and beyond.

“Cutie, click on the link”: A forensic analysis of URLs

This article presents an examination of the technological components of the online sexual grooming abuse process. While much of the existing literature on online grooming and child exploitation focuses on the broader behavioral patterns of offenders, our study examines the specific affordances of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) that enable and exacerbate these behaviors. Through a multidisciplinary lens, we conducted a digital forensic analysis of 371 URL links obtained from two studies with active online groomers. The analysis reveals that online groomers use URLs to engage in social engineering, distribute malware, solicit Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), and share images. These findings suggests that previous models and stage descriptions of the online grooming process overlook how different ICT tools can be adopted and adapted to facilitate the online grooming and abuse process. We draw on the technology acceptance model to explain that the perceived affordances of a platform, particularly those that facilitate covert or malicious activities, are likely to influence offenders' choices in using these ICTs. The implications of these findings extend to theoretical, methodological, and policy considerations.

Use of Natural Language Processing for the Detection of Hate Speech on Social Media

Our society’s communication patterns have fundamentally changed as a consequence of the emergence of social media platforms. One effect of these changes is a rise in unpleasant behaviours like making rude and derogatory comments online. Speaking harshly or disrespectfully to someone in person may be difficult. However, online abuse and posting of improper material are considered to be acceptable. Hate speech has the potential to hurt a person or a group of people. Inappropriate material must be identified, in order to be filtered or banned from the web. CNN is a type of deep machine-learning model that has been suggested for such identification, because it performs better than conventional techniques in resolving text categorization problems. Our goal investigates how hate speech may be detected using NLP. In addition, a recent technique has been used in this field to a dataset. This classifier is assigned in each tweet to one of the three Twitter dataset categories of hatred, foul language, or neither. This model’s performance has been assessed with accuracy. The Naïve Bayes, the Decision Tree, KNN, Linear Regression, and the Random Forest are five algorithms that have been used. Of these, Linear Regression provided the greatest accuracy of 94%. It should be noted that when looking at each class separately, many hateful tweets have been mislabelled. It is advisable to look at the outcomes and faults in much detail, in order to comprehend the misclassification. Our analysis shows a better outcome in detecting hateful speech in social media.

“You Did It to Yourself”: An Exploratory Study of Myths About Gender-Based Technology-Facilitated Violence and Abuse Among Men

Gender-based technology-facilitated violence and abuse (GBTFVA) is a common experience for those engaging with digital technologies in their everyday lives. To better understand why GBTFVA persists, it is necessary to understand the false beliefs and cultural narratives that enable and sustain them. Drawing on the literature on rape myths, this paper explores the prevalence of seven gender-based online violence myths among Canadian men. To achieve this, we adapted the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (IRMA) (Payne et al., in J Research in Personality 33:27–68, 1999) to assess GBTFVA, and surveyed 1,297 Canadian men between 18 and 30 years old on their GBTFVA beliefs. Our results show that GBTFVA myths and cultural narratives are prevalent across participants, though endorsement levels vary. Four myths were more strongly endorsed: It Wasn’t Really Gender-Based Online Abuse, He Didn’t Mean To, Gender-Based Online Abuse Is a Deviant Event, and She Lied. Overall, these findings help to name and thus begin to address the narratives that sustain and perpetuate gender-based online violence.

Deciphering Digital Discourse: Detecting Cyberbullying Patterns in Filipino Tweets Using Machine Learning

The research addresses the escalating challenge of cyberbullying in the Philippines, a concern magnified by widespread social media use. A dataset of 146,661 tweets is analyzed using a pre-trained natural language processing model tailored to detect derogatory Filipino terms. The methodology is designed to preprocess data for clarity and analyze derogatory phrases, using the 23 key terms to indicate cyberbullying. Through quantitative analysis, specific patterns of derogatory term co-occurrence are uncovered. The research specifically focuses on Filipino digital discourse, uncovering patterns of derogatory language usage, which is unique to this context. Combining data mining and machine learning techniques, including Frequent Pattern (FP)-growth for pattern identification, cosine similarity for phrase correlation, and classification technique, the research achieves an accuracy rate of 97.91%. To assess the model’s reliability and precision, a 10-fold cross-validation is utilized. Moreover, by examining specific tweets, the analysis highlights the alignment between automated classifications and human judgment. The co-occurrence of derogatory terms, identified through methods like FP-growth and cosine similarity, reveals underlying cyberbullying narratives that are not immediately obvious. This approach validates the high accuracy of the models and emphasizes the importance of a comprehensive framework for detecting cyberbullying in a linguistically and culturally specific context. The findings substantiate the effectiveness of the targeted approach, providing essential insights for developing cyberbullying prevention strategies. Furthermore, the research enriches the literature on digital discourse analysis and online harassment prevention by addressing cyberbullying patterns and behaviors. Importantly, the research offers valuable guidance for policymakers in crafting more effective online safety measures in the Philippines.

Perception, use of social media, and its impact on the mental health of Indian adolescents: A qualitative study.

Mental illness is a health challenge faced by adolescents that has grown worse after the Coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Research on social media and young people's mental health has recently increased, and numerous studies have examined whether frequent use of social media is linked to issues such as anxiety, stress, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, frustration, feeling alone, and externalizing problems among adolescents. This influence of social media on adolescents' lives is clear, with many platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube playing an important role in daily interactions and self-expression. Even though social media offers numerous benefits, such as connectivity and information sharing, excessive usage can have detrimental effects on mental health, particularly among adolescents. To study the impact of social media on the mental wellbeing of adolescents, and the associated potential dangers in India. A total of 204 adolescents aged 14 years to 23 years were included in the study. This study explored the intricate relationship between social media usage and adolescent mental health in India. The study employs a cross-sectional survey design to capture a snapshot of adolescent mental health and social media usage patterns. Data collection involved administering structured questionnaires and the analysis utilized quantitative methods, including descriptive statistics. Excessive use of social media is correlated with increased stress, anxiety, and depression. Adolescents engage in compulsive behaviors such as scrolling in the middle of the night, which negatively impacts their mental and physical health, and leads to significant sleep disruption. Findings from the study aim to provide insights into the current state of adolescent mental health and inform strategies to promote positive wellbeing in the Indian population. The study underscores the need for further research to better understand the complex interplay between social media and adolescent mental health, and need for effective strategies to combat online harassment.

What's Love Got To Do With It? An Examination of Perceived Prosocial Motivations for the Perpetration of Intimate Partner Cyber Aggression

Recent technological advancements have facilitated cyber relationships and in turn, cyber dating abuse has become more prevalent than ever. The present study examined cyber aggression perpetration in the form of excessive monitoring as a function of perceived prosocial motives. It was hypothesized that perpetrators reporting prosocial motivations would be significantly related to high levels of perpetration. Additionally, relationship investment was predicted to be a moderator of the relationship between perceived prosocial motives and perpetration. The third hypothesis was that gender would moderate the relationship, such that females would exhibit a stronger relationship than males. To examine these hypotheses, undergraduate university students (N = 513) completed questionnaires reporting the frequency and type of cyber dating abuse they perpetrated, the underlying motivations perpetrators reported lead to perpetration, and relationship investment. This research has relevant implications for the development of intervention and prevention programs aimed at reducing the occurrence of online dating violence.

Influence of cyber violence and online victimization on cognitive development of female students from Pakistani higher education institutions

PurposeCyber violence is a global emerging issue which is growing with technology or online spaces, having a great influence on individual’s development. The purpose of this study is to identify the dominant factors of cyber violence and its influence on the cognitive development of female undergraduate students.Design/methodology/approachIn this quantitative study, a questionnaire is used as a data collection tool. Moreover, this research is conducted on female undergraduate students (n = 300). Whereas, the purposive sampling technique is used and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS 27.0) software is used to analyze the data.FindingsThe findings of this study show that cyber bullying is the dominant factor of cyber violence, whereas cyber doxxing has high influence on cognitive development of female undergraduate students. In addition, the value of correlational coefficient is 0.683, which indicates a strong positive correlation. Therefore, it supports that the null hypothesis is rejected and alternative hypothesis is accepted.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study are of great importance for policymakers to update the regulations for cyber violence and provide the protection laws for victims whereas it is helpful for the investigation agencies and cybercrime units to be more active and needs to take immediate actions on reported incidents to minimize its further spread and support victims of it. Also, it helps society to understand the influence of it on cognitive health, which helps them to create a safer environment. Similarly, parents and teachers need to make a safe and comfortable environment around children and keep an eye on them. Further, it is beneficial for companies or online platforms to keep their sites or apps more secure for the users. Moreover, future research studies could expand the topic by involving different genders and age group peoples by using different methodologies to explore in depth.Originality/valueThis study is unique as there are limited studies, which identify the factor of cyber violence and its influence on cognitive development. Also, fewer studies can be seen in the context of Pakistan.