teens bullying via IM and blogs

Internet Gives Teenage Bullies Weapons to Wound From Afar is an article in the NYTimes today about how teens are using IM and blogs to bully other teens. The whole article focuses on the psychology of teen bullying, about how it’s so much easier to engage in such cruel behavior from a distance.

One thing that caught my eye was the gender differences in bullying: “Online bullying had a particular appeal for girls, who specialize in emotional rather than physical harassment and strive to avoid direct confrontation.”

There’s something about this behavior that is not really explained, something very psychological. The closest explanation we have comes from Milgram’s obedience experiments where he noted that people are more comfortable executing cruel acts when they don’t see the ramifications. But i really want to have a clear psychological explanation for emotional distance and digital behavior. Nothing that i’ve read gives a full explanation for this phenomenon.

That said, i really love NYTimes articles like this that don’t try to explain everything, but just open up a situation and explore it through anecdote.

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8 thoughts on “teens bullying via IM and blogs

  1. lindharma

    Maybe I’m off base here, but articles that swell with anecdotal information as the one you refer to, are used-knowingly or not- to inflame a social issue.

    I find it to be interesting human behavior when Fear is the stallion pulling the chariot.
    I think some people are fearful of digital interaction because (a) they don’t understand it, or,(b) they see it as a threat to their philosophical paradigm of how humans should interact.

    On the other hand, perhaps the NYTimes are sincerely looking to instigate a dialog- maybe they should blog it

  2. lindharma

    Maybe I’m off base here, but articles that swell with anecdotal information as the one you refer to, are used-knowingly or not- to inflame a social issue.

    I find it to be interesting human behavior when Fear is the stallion pulling the chariot.
    I think some people are fearful of digital interaction because (a) they don’t understand it, or,(b) they see it as a threat to their philosophical paradigm of how humans should interact.

    On the other hand, perhaps the NYTimes is sincerely looking to instigate a dialog- maybe they should blog it

  3. lindharma

    Maybe I’m off base here, but articles that swell with anecdotal information as the one you refer to, are used-knowingly or not- to inflame a social issue.

    I find it to be interesting human behavior when Fear is the stallion pulling the chariot.
    I think some people are fearful of digital interaction because (a) they don’t understand it, or,(b) they see it as a threat to their philosophical paradigm of how humans should interact.

    On the other hand, perhaps the NYTimes is sincerely looking to instigate a dialog- maybe they should blog it

  4. lindharma

    Maybe I’m off base here, but articles that swell with anecdotal information as the one you refer to, are used-knowingly or not- to inflame a social issue.

    I find it to be interesting human behavior when Fear is the stallion pulling the chariot.
    I think some people are fearful of digital interaction because (a) they don’t understand it, or,(b) they see it as a threat to their philosophical paradigm of how humans should interact.

    On the other hand, perhaps the NYTimes is sincerely looking to instigate a dialog- maybe they should blog it

  5. Lois

    It’s an interesting article but with very little new information. Check out the following for more detail into the phenomena:

    Simmons, Rachel (2003). Odd Girl Out: The Hidden Culture of Aggression in Girls. Harvest Books.

    Wiseman, Rosalind (2003). Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends, and Other Realities of Adolescence. Three Rivers Press.

    An offline process moves to an online forum with few changes beyond the usual time and space issues.

    Bullying is a huge issue with many of the teens I talk to. One that we as a society have only begun, post-Columbine, to recognize.

  6. Erica

    Hi Danah! I am interested in technology and social issues and during one of my surfs I found your blog, which is bookmarked now, together with misbehaving.net. It was interesting to read about bullying on your site because this weekend I read an article about it on the Sydney Morning Herald – I live in Australia. I thought you would like to check it out.
    http://smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/27/1093518082647.html?oneclick=true
    They call the people trolls.
    See ya

  7. SocialTwister

    Damned Bullies, Again

    danah boyd points to yet another body of research that looks at the increasing use of technology as a bullying mechanism for young teenagers. I’ve covered this on several occassions (1,2,3), but this offers some new insights. The whole article…

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