The CDC defines bullying as unwanted behavior(s) that are intended to cause harm by an individual or group of individuals, who are not siblings or romantic partners. Bullying can be physical (tripping or hitting), verbal (calling names), and the most pressing form of concern, now, is cyberbullying.  

An Increase in Cyberbullying and its Difference from More Traditionally Known Bullying Tactics.

UNICEF specialists, international cyberbullying and child protection experts have defined cyberbullying as something that takes place online, whether on a mobile device, messaging platform(s) or social media. Although both traditional and cyberbullying have traumatizing effects on the victim, the key difference between them is the method of execution.  

The United States and other parts of the world are experiencing a sharp increase in cyberbullying. In fact, school bullying was increase by 35% from 2016 to 2019.

We reached out to an expert in child and adolescent mental health Eugene Beresin, MD, to understand the effects of cyberbullying and what steps need to be taken by organizations, research funding entities and scientists. Beresin is the Executive Director of the Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds at Massachusetts General Hospital, a Senior Educator in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Mass General and a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School

Below, Beresin sheds light on some key aspects related to cyberbullying.

What are your thoughts on cyberbullying, and the effects on the mental health of people affected by cyberbullying?

It’s unbelievably important. When I was growing up, bullying was largely physical, name-calling, fights and physical aggression. Now, with the advent of digital media, it’s turned into a much more powerful and I think dangerous force.

It is dangerous because of the power digital media holds. For instance, if you call somebody a name, send photographs or spread false rumors about abusive behaviors or threatening language that was never true, it can go viral. And that means it can be viewed by large numbers of people, even strangers.

In my experience I have seen plenty of kids who’ve had false, scathing, critical, harsh lies said about them, and they’ve been excluded by friends, by their entire school community, by their spiritual communities, by organizations that they belong to, and it can be incredibly damaging.

And as the JAMA report has shown, and others have shown, it can have lifelong effects. The effects of cyberbullying are anxiety, depression, fear or shame, low self-esteem, frustration and anger. It can cause physical symptoms like stomachaches, headaches, panic attacks, distractibility, and it can impair academic, recreational, social, and family functioning. It can even increase suicidal thinking.

What variables do you think contribute to cyberbullying?

Among young people we have constituents that are bullies, bully victims (ones who are both bullied and victimized themselves) and observers/bystanders. Most of the bullies and bullied victims perpetuate this for numerous psychological reasons, whether it’s a way of escalating themselves in the social hierarchy, wanting to take the light off of themselves, expressing their own frustration and displace it on somebody else, or because of their own psychological problems — if they’re angry, depressed, frustrated — the one very dysfunctional way of coping with one’s own problems is to hurt and blame someone else.

Who is most susceptible to bullying? 

The victims most susceptible to bullying, whether traditional or cyber, are kids with emotional, physical, psychiatric or neuropsychological disabilities. Kids who belong to a marginalized group such as people of color, LGBTQIA population — which is at one of the highest risks, kids on the autism spectrum and immigrants are often targeted for bullying. All in all, targeted individuals are often perceived as, “different”.

It’s much like Animal Farm, the bullies often go for the kids who are unable to stand up for themselves and fight back.

Bully victims have the longest-term effects on their lives. They have a huge increase in anxiety, depression, and rates of suicide. And so, when you’re both a victim and a bully, you are inclined to do unto others as you had done unto you in a very destructive way. They’re the ones who I think are the most dangerous and vulnerable, and they’re also at highest risk for psychiatric disorders later in life.

What can scientists and other stakeholders do to help educate about the importance of cyberbullying, and how can we give people the right resources? 

I think we need more research and funding to understand the scope of the problem and develop solutions on how to prevent bullying in any capacity. There needs to be an emphasis on understanding the social-emotional learning model that will help prevent bullying in all the domains in which the kids live. In conjunction to all the above, we need proactive ways of intervening at the initial stages of bullying.

So, in other words, do you bring in the bystanders? Do you stand up to the bully? Do you bring your parents? Do you bring in the parents of all those involved? Do you bring in the teachers, the administrators, mentors and other people, coaches, who are involved in the child’s life?

The answer to all of these questions is probably yes, but we need more research on these interventions to demonstrate that they are effective. In conjunction, we need more public mental health education for parents, teachers, coaches and young people themselves.

These kinds of preventative programs and social-emotional learning would be very effective. Understanding what works and what doesn’t is a crucial part of this process.

We need active schools, and communities, and families to participate in these kinds of research, and then I can say with the highest of optimism that the product will be fruitful.

It is apparent that cyberbullying is a serious problem, not just nationally but internationally as well. If not combated at an initial level, bullying of any sort will lead to long-term impacts on mental health and well-being. However, by coming together as a community, this issue can be tackled. Check out some of the amazing resources available through The Clay Center for Young Health Minds. 

Stay tuned for future posts where we’ll talk to some of the leading public health researchers and experts from Massachusetts General Hospital.

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Research at Massachusetts General Hospital is interwoven through more than 30 different departments, centers and institutes. Our research includes fundamental, lab-based science; clinical trials to test new drugs, devices and diagnostic tools; and community and population-based research to improve health outcomes across populations and eliminate disparities in care.
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