A wave of research reports from the world of academia gives us new insights into the phenomenon of cyberbullying. You may say "duh" to some of the conclusions but it's a reminder that if our understanding of a topic deepens, perhaps some solutions will emerge. OK, one can dream, can't one?
First up: our very own US based Center for Disease Control (CDC) is up with their study of teens and aggression (aka cyberbullying.)
Next, from Antwerp, a qualitative study on cyberbullying (abstract is free but full article is $29) that had some particularly interesting suggestions for those who study the issue. They noted that doing studies of cyberbullying by electronic or phone survey doesn't allow for the back and forth discussion that illuminates levels of cyberbullying or even that some of what we adults describe as cyberbullying can be allowable teasing when done between friends or between teens sharing the same level of "power." They conducted focus groups and the resulting information is highly informative about what constitutes real cyberbullying versus cyberteasing; what other forms of online bad behavior they are experiencing; how they feel about it and so on.
Last week I moderated a panel in NY on the topic of cyberbullying which featured the phenomenal research on "cybercrimes" conducted by Dr. Sam McQuade from Rochester Institute of Technology. You can review his findings online. One item that stood out to me and other panel attendees was the age at which online aggression begins: kindergarten. We've seen in other studies that these little ones often have their online gaming passwords stolen, which certainly counts as cyberbullying. They might have a school friend who convinces them to share a password, maybe while they are sitting side by side in the school computer room.