May 04, 2021 20:00:00

Research shows social media addiction is likely linked to cyberbullying

A survey of teenagers has revealed that young people who are addicted to social media, unable to stop using social media, are more likely to be involved in

cyberbullying . Based on these results, experts are urging that 'it is important to address social media addiction before something happens in order to prevent cyberbullying.'

Understanding Adolescent Cyberbullies: Exploring Social Media Addiction and Psychological Factors: Journal of Child and Adolescent Counseling: Vol 7, No 1
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23727810.2020.1835420

Social media addiction linked to cyberbullying
https://news.uga.edu/social-media-addiction-linked-to-cyberbullying/

With the spread of the internet and social media, the problem of cyberbullying has been increasingly reported. As a result, a research team led by Amanda Giordano, who studies addiction and counseling at the University of Georgia, conducted a survey of American adolescents.

The survey targeted 428 adolescents aged 13 to 19. Of the 428, 214 (50%) were female, 210 (49.1%) were male, and 4 (0.9%) reported other. The research team analyzed the relationship between the subjects' internet usage and cyberbullying and found that 'young people who spend more time online are at a higher risk of cyberbullying.' The average internet usage time of the subjects was over seven hours per day, with some spending up to 12 hours a day.

The survey revealed that cyberbullying takes many forms, including personal attacks, harassment, discriminatory acts, spreading defamatory information, impersonation, spreading personal information, social exclusion from the community, and cyberstalking.

'Some people take advantage of the anonymity and lack of retaliation to engage in online bullying,' Giordano said. 'The scary thing about cyberbullying is that, unlike regular bullying, the consequences of the bullying are invisible, so there's no chance for cyberbullying to realize how hurtful their actions are and to change their ways.'

He also explained why children spend nearly half their day on the internet and social media, saying, 'Even when they're not using social media, they crave it, and they use it even though they know it has a negative impact. It's a state of 'social media addiction.' This can lead to children staying up late at night and feeling exhausted during the day, which can lead to lower grades at school, conflicts with family, and even regrettable online behavior, but they continue to use social media.'

The survey found that factors predicting involvement in cyberbullying, such as a high tendency toward social media addiction and spending a lot of time online, as well as being male, are also factors. This is consistent with previous research showing that aggressive behavior is often driven by men.

Based on these findings, Giordano advises educators in the field, 'When school counselors and clinicians witness bullying, they need to investigate not only the bullying but also its relationship to social media and address social media addiction. In addition, it will be important to raise awareness of the addictions that games and social media can cause, and to prevent social media addiction through education, which will be important in preventing cyberbullying before it happens.'