home
RSS
September 21st, 2010
08:48 AM ET

Cyber bully victims 'isolated, dehumanized'

There is no question that venomous, nasty insults hurled across the cafeteria or in school hallways hurt. A new survey published in the Journal of Adolescent Health finds that for victims of cyber bullying (insults that occur online or via text), that hurt may be more pronounced.

"Unlike traditional bullying which usually involves a face-to-face confrontation, cyber victims may not see or identify their harasser," according to the survey. "As such, cyber victims may be more likely to feel isolated, dehumanized or helpless at the time of the attack."
 
A group of 7,508 adolescents in 6th through 10th grade filled out a health survey including how (face-to-face or online) and how often they had been bullied. The survey measured the type of bullying - physical, verbal, relational (exclusionary behavior) or cyber - and the level of depression reported by both the victim and the bully.

With traditional bullying, both bully and victim report feeling depressed. But when it comes to cyber bullying, it is the victim who is more likely to report depression. The instigator tends to emerge unscathed.

It would seem like any insult (virtual or face-to-face) would sting, but the viral nature of the internet may be what makes cyber bullying feel worse for victims.

"The fact that the audience can be quite broad is a concern," said Ronald Iannotti, the principal investigator of the survey and a staff scientist at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Health. "With Facebook, YouTube and everything else, the victim may not even be sure who else has seen or heard the bullying, and because it is not face-to-face, [he or she] can't retaliate as easily."

"Being bullied over the internet is worse," said one 14-year-old from New Jersey who posted on a website for the Cyberbullying Research Center, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching the effects of cyber bullying. "It's torment and hurts. They say 'sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.' That quote is a lie and I don't believe in it."

Another cyber bullying victim, a 14-year-old from New York, said "It makes me feel bad and rather depressed. Like I don't want to be a part of this world any more."

"Behind a keyboard or the textpad of their phone, and physically distant from the victim, emboldens [cyber bullies] and frees them from normal constraints on their behavior such as their conscience, morals, social norms, and the law," said Sameer Hinduja, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center.  "Plus, there are no authorities monitoring these communications in cyberspace."

Previous studies find that having supportive parents is associated with lower levels of bullying and victimization, Iannotti added. So the key to alleviating depression for all forms of bullying - cyber and otherwise - may reside in the home.

 Post by:
Filed under: Bullying • Children's Health • Depression • Psychology
Next entry »
« Previous entry
soundoff (1,847 Responses)
  1. Nearby RV Repair

    You've made some decent points there. I looked on the web for more info about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this site.

    https://webapps-olr.cscprovidence.ca/Via/Account/SetLanguage?langtag=en&returnUrl=http://ocrvmotorsports.us/

    June 29, 2021 at 09:58 | Report abuse | Reply
  2. Airstream Van Repair

    Howdy! This post could not be written much better! Looking at this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I am going to send this article to him. Fairly certain he will have a great read. Thank you for sharing!

    http://www.best-gyousei.com/rank.cgi?mode=link&id=1649&url=https://www.www.rvcollisionrepairpaintshop.com

    June 29, 2021 at 12:22 | Report abuse | Reply
  3. 2800 Suspension Repair Sprinter Van

    http://www.skladcom.ru/(S(qdiwhk55jkcyok45u4ti0a55))/banners.aspx?url=https://www.fleetvehiclerepairshop.com

    June 29, 2021 at 18:36 | Report abuse | Reply
  4. Sprinter Repair Near Me

    http://www.aarss.com/redir.php?siteref=&aarsslink=https://ocrvpaintandservice.com

    June 29, 2021 at 18:46 | Report abuse | Reply
  5. Sprinter Van Repair

    https://member.findall.co.kr/stipulation/StipulationLicensee.asp?targetpage=http://www.findall.co.kr&basehost=https://commercialvanrepairshop.com

    June 29, 2021 at 19:34 | Report abuse | Reply
  6. RV Repair Shop

    Hello there! I just wish to offer you a big thumbs up for your excellent info you have right here on this post. I'll be returning to your site for more soon.

    http://www.mchammer.com/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=ocrv.vip/

    June 29, 2021 at 21:29 | Report abuse | Reply
  7. Camper Repair Shop Near Me

    https://www.siretoko.com/rsslist/rsslist/feed2js.php?src=https://www.ocrvmotorsports.us/

    June 29, 2021 at 21:43 | Report abuse | Reply
  8. Camper Repairs Near Me

    I was able to find good advice from your blog posts.

    http://feed.thepund.it/?url=http://ocrv.tv/

    June 29, 2021 at 21:50 | Report abuse | Reply
  9. Best Tucker Sprinter Repair

    Aw, this was a very good post. Spending some time and actual effort to produce a superb articleÖ but what can I sayÖ I procrastinate a whole lot and don't seem to get nearly anything done.

    http://m.17ll.com/apply/tourl/?url=https://www.ocrvfleetservices.com

    June 29, 2021 at 22:26 | Report abuse | Reply
  10. Ford Transit Conversion

    https://kamaz.ru/away.php?url=https://www.fleetservicesorangecounty.com/

    June 29, 2021 at 23:05 | Report abuse | Reply
  11. RV Repair Shop Near Me

    Very good post! We will be linking to this particularly great post on our site. Keep up the good writing.

    https://www.imp.mx/salto.php?va=https://ocrvmotorcoaches.com/

    June 29, 2021 at 23:15 | Report abuse | Reply
  12. Dodge Sprinter Auto Repair

    https://lozd.com/index.php?url=https://fleetautorepairshop.com/

    June 29, 2021 at 23:20 | Report abuse | Reply
  13. Luxury Sprinter Van

    http://www.irs.lg.gov.ng/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=fleetservicerepairshop.com/

    June 29, 2021 at 23:34 | Report abuse | Reply
  14. Nearest RV Repair

    Oh my goodness! Impressive article dude! Many thanks, However I am encountering difficulties with your RSS. I donít know why I can't join it. Is there anybody getting the same RSS issues? Anybody who knows the solution can you kindly respond? Thanks!!

    https://masteram.us/away?url=https://ocrv.life

    June 30, 2021 at 00:16 | Report abuse | Reply
  15. Luxury Sprinter Van

    https://www.streetmap.co.uk/redirect.srf?id=toshibam&d=http://www.fleetvehiclerepairshop.com

    June 30, 2021 at 00:27 | Report abuse | Reply
  16. Diesel Sprinter Repair Near Me

    https://ltp.org/home/setlocale?locale=en&returnUrl=https://ocrvfleetservices.com

    June 30, 2021 at 03:28 | Report abuse | Reply
  17. Camper Repair Places Near Me

    Having read this I believed it was really enlightening. I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put this informative article together. I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worth it!

    https://www.mhc.ie/?URL=ocrv.rocks/

    June 30, 2021 at 03:55 | Report abuse | Reply
  18. Mercedes Benz Sprinter Service Locations

    https://arakhne.org/redirect.php?url=http://www.fleetservicesocrv.com/

    June 30, 2021 at 04:07 | Report abuse | Reply
  19. RV Repair Near Me

    http://www.c9wiki.com/link.php?url=http://ocrvpaintandservice.com/

    June 30, 2021 at 05:49 | Report abuse | Reply
  20. Delta 8

    Say, you got a nice blog.Really thank you! Keep writing.

    https://www.kitsapdailynews.com/marketplace/best-thc-gummies-top-3-marijuana-edibles-on-the-rise-in-2021/

    June 30, 2021 at 08:03 | Report abuse | Reply
  21. Sprinter Van Side Repair

    http://www.ediagroup.it/adredir.asp?url=https://www.fleetrepairshops.com/

    June 30, 2021 at 08:09 | Report abuse | Reply
  22. Freightliner Sprinter Service

    Great post. I'm going through some of these issues as well..

    https://www.sportsbook.ag/ctr/acctmgt/pl/openLink.ctr?ctrPage=https://commercialrepairshop.com

    June 30, 2021 at 09:19 | Report abuse | Reply
  23. RV Repair Garden Grove

    Hi, I do think this is a great site. I stumbledupon it 😉 I'm going to revisit once again since I book-marked it. Money and freedom is the best way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide others.

    http://www.mmmtravel.com.tw/sys/adver/adver_c_count.php?adver_zone=2a&id_count=1888&url=ocrv.biz/

    June 30, 2021 at 11:09 | Report abuse | Reply
  24. RV Repair Shops Near My Location

    http://www.globalbx.com/track/track.asp?ref=GBXBlP&rurl=http://ocrvcenter.com

    June 30, 2021 at 13:05 | Report abuse | Reply
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35

Leave a Reply to Sprinter Van Side Repair

Click here to cancel reply.

 

CNN welcomes a lively and courteous discussion as long as you follow the Rules of Conduct set forth in our Terms of Service. Comments are not pre-screened before they post. You agree that anything you post may be used, along with your name and profile picture, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the license you have granted pursuant to our Terms of Service.

Next entry »
« Previous entry
Advertisement
About this blog

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the latest stories from CNN Chief Medical Correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen and the CNN Medical Unit producers. They'll share news and views on health and medical trends - info that will help you take better care of yourself and the people you love.