As everyone knows by now, bullying happens all the time online. It's wrong and unfortunate but the blacktop bully that used to shake down kids for their lunch money has now upgraded to Facebook and torments kids with the click of the button. Like bullying in real life, cyberbullying often occurs in plain sight. Plenty of kids can see bullies in action on a Facebook post or a series of tweets. Some choose to intervene while others choose to be bystanders.
Now this does seem very similar to regular bullying except on a different platform. However, recent research by UCLA indicates that bystander actions are influenced differently. When a victim is bullied based on a certain post on social media, the content of the post largely determines whether or not a bystander will intervene. There seem to be unwritten rules on social media that dissuade people from publicly sharing highly personal sentiments regarding private life. When the vicim shares such information and then gets bullied, bystanders are less likely to intervene and more likely to think that the individual "deserved it."
Maybe we all just need to open our hearts and have more empathy online. I'd say that'd solve a whole lot of problems.
Now this does seem very similar to regular bullying except on a different platform. However, recent research by UCLA indicates that bystander actions are influenced differently. When a victim is bullied based on a certain post on social media, the content of the post largely determines whether or not a bystander will intervene. There seem to be unwritten rules on social media that dissuade people from publicly sharing highly personal sentiments regarding private life. When the vicim shares such information and then gets bullied, bystanders are less likely to intervene and more likely to think that the individual "deserved it."
Maybe we all just need to open our hearts and have more empathy online. I'd say that'd solve a whole lot of problems.