Is technology to blame? Cybersafety for young people is not about
'cyber'.
Introduction
The Internet, particularly, Social Networking has become the target
of blame for the negative behaviour that young people are
exhibiting online. Young people are earning the reputation of using
online technology for cyber bullying and unwanted sexual
solicitation, causing damaging effects on their peers and
themselves .1
Findings also suggest that middle school students who are early
adolescents are beginning risky behaviours on the internet,
especially acts of cyber bullying and sharing intimate personal
information2 (i.e. photos, videos, through webcam) with people they
know or don't know very well online.
The purpose of this article is to establish a reasonable level of
understanding that there are underlying mental health factors that
could possibly cause young people to become either perpetrators or
victims of cyber bullying and unwanted sexual solicitation. This is
a more constructive view for the purpose of prevention, compared to
one that seeks only, to blame technology.
The Case
The majority of young people online are not involved in cyber
bullying or unwanted sexual solicitation either as victims or as
perpetrators. This is good news. Unfortunately, "among those who
are, however, psychosocial problems are apparent."3
It is evident that Web 2.0 is changing the nature of human
interaction, in a way that "accentuates deficits in the capacity
for self sustaining, reciprocal peer relationships".4 However, is
the talk of banning Social Networking Sites and controlling the
Internet the right solution? Many schools in the Northern Territory
have a ban on the use of Facebook in school, due mostly to cyber
bullying activities.
How does the defendant plead?
There is reasonable doubt that Social Networking sites are the
direct cause of negative behaviour, able to cause young people to
become either perpetrators or victims of bullying or unwanted
sexual solicitation. If this assumption is true then banning social
networking as a preventative effort will not have any effect on
behaviour or protect young people who are most at risk. Other
avenues for perpetration and victimisation will eventually
surface.
The Evidence
So, why does this happen to young people? There are many changes
and therefore also many challenges that occur in the life of an
adolescent. Changes and challenges that is both physical and mental
in nature. For example, in adolescence, the importance of sexuality
increases dramatically and so does sexual curiosity. The internet
is then used in unsafe ways to satisfy this curiosity.5 Young
people consequently are known to search for sexual partners online,
send intimate information to strangers or make unsafe sexual
contacts.
The effect of peer influence also has a role to play in adolescent
behaviour. Findings suggest that "adolescents future risk behaviour
can be partly predicted by their perceptions of their friends'
behaviour".5 Peer pressure has always been around, even before the
idea of computers ever dawned in the minds of inventors. The nature
of young people to identify 'in groups' and 'out groups' in their
social environment, coupled with the lack of education to embrace
diversity in society, has led to consequences such as 'name
calling' and other forms of bullying.
The claims of bullying and victimisation associated with social
networking do not seem justified. Both these types of online
problems faced by young people are associated with emotional
distress and concurrent psychosocial problems, including depressive
symptomatology and offline victimisation. Suggestions to regulate
or prevent youth from using social networking sites as a
preventative methods is yet to be examined empirically.6
The Appeal
I appeal to have more funding for online youth outreach, school
anti bullying programs and online mental health services. These
prevention efforts supported by evidence made available through
research5 will be more effective in the long run.
Paediatricians, public health professionals, parents and schools
should educate themselves and their youth on what contributes to
the likelihood of online bullying and unwanted sexual solicitation.
"Parents should also focus not only on their children's social
networking site activity but also on their psychosocial profile and
general online behaviour (e.g. harassing others, meeting people in
multiple different ways online, and talking with people known only
online about sex). Parents should also be aware of with whom, where
and about what topics their children are talking online".6
I rest my case
Policy makers and health professionals should focus on prevention
that focuses on young people's behaviours online and their
psychosocial profile instead of particular technologies. Programs
on online mental health interventions for vulnerable youth and
Internet safety education can be designed and offered in schools
for students and parents that apply to all types' of online
communications.
What do you think?
1. Is there over sexualisation in the media today?
2. Have young people's behaviour changed because of technology or
has technology made it more visible?
3. What makes a young person to decide who to friend on a social
networking site by just looking at a photo and profile
information?
References
1. Guan SS, Subrahmanyam K. Youth Internet use: Risk and
opportunities. Current Opinion Psychiatry 2009
Jul;22(4):351-6.
2. Dowell EB, Burgess AW, Cavanaugh DJ. Clustering of Internet risk
behaviours in a middle school student population. Journal of School
Health. 2009 Nov; 79(11):547-53.
3. Ybarra ML, Espelage DL, Mitchell KJ. The occurrence of internet
harassment and unwanted sexual solicitation victimisation and
perpetration: association with psychosocial indicators. Journal of
Adolescent Health. 2007 Dec;41(6 Suppl. 1):S31-41.
4. Pridgen B. Navigating the internet safely: recommendations for
residential programs targeting at risk adolescents. Harvard Review
of Psychiatry 2010 Mar 4; 18(2):131-8.
5. Baumgartner SE, Valkenburg PM, Peter J. Assessing Causality in
the Relationship between Adolescents' Risky Sexual Online Behaviour
and Their Perceptions of this Behaviour. Journal of Youth
Adolescents. 2010 October; 39(10): 1226-1239.
6. Ybarra ML, Mitchell KJ. How risky are social networking sites? A
comparison of places online, where youth sexual solicitation and
harassment occurs. Pediatrics 2008;121;e350-e357
Kishan Kariippanon MD,
MPH
Is technology to blame? Cybersafety for
young people is not about 'cyber'.
Introduction
The Internet, particularly, Social Networking has become the
target of blame for the negative behaviour that young people are
exhibiting online. Young people are earning the reputation of using
online technology for cyber bullying and unwanted sexual
solicitation, causing damaging effects on their peers and
themselves .1
Findings also suggest that middle school students who are early
adolescents are beginning risky behaviours on the internet,
especially acts of cyber bullying and sharing intimate personal
information2 (i.e. photos, videos, through webcam) with people they
know or don't know very well online.
The purpose of this article is to establish a reasonable level
of understanding that there are underlying mental health factors
that could possibly cause young people to become either
perpetrators or victims of cyber bullying and unwanted sexual
solicitation. This is a more constructive view for the purpose of
prevention, compared to one that seeks only, to blame
technology.
The Case
The majority of young people online are not involved in cyber
bullying or unwanted sexual solicitation either as victims or as
perpetrators. This is good news. Unfortunately, "among those who
are, however, psychosocial problems are apparent."3
It is evident that Web 2.0 is changing the nature of human
interaction, in a way that "accentuates deficits in the capacity
for self sustaining, reciprocal peer relationships".4 However, is
the talk of banning Social Networking Sites and controlling the
Internet the right solution? Many schools in the Northern Territory
have a ban on the use of Facebook in school, due mostly to cyber
bullying activities.
How does the defendant plead?
There is reasonable doubt that Social Networking sites are the
direct cause of negative behaviour, able to cause young people to
become either perpetrators or victims of bullying or unwanted
sexual solicitation. If this assumption is true then banning social
networking as a preventative effort will not have any effect on
behaviour or protect young people who are most at risk. Other
avenues for perpetration and victimisation will eventually
surface.
The Evidence
So, why does this happen to young people? There are many changes
and therefore also many challenges that occur in the life of an
adolescent. Changes and challenges that is both physical and mental
in nature. For example, in adolescence, the importance of sexuality
increases dramatically and so does sexual curiosity. The internet
is then used in unsafe ways to satisfy this curiosity.5 Young
people consequently are known to search for sexual partners online,
send intimate information to strangers or make unsafe sexual
contacts.
The effect of peer influence also has a role to play in
adolescent behaviour. Findings suggest that "adolescents future
risk behaviour can be partly predicted by their perceptions of
their friends' behaviour".5 Peer pressure has always been around,
even before the idea of computers ever dawned in the minds of
inventors. The nature of young people to identify 'in groups' and
'out groups' in their social environment, coupled with the lack of
education to embrace diversity in society, has led to consequences
such as 'name calling' and other forms of bullying.
The claims of bullying and victimisation associated with social
networking do not seem justified. Both these types of online
problems faced by young people are associated with emotional
distress and concurrent psychosocial problems, including depressive
symptomatology and offline victimisation. Suggestions to regulate
or prevent youth from using social networking sites as a
preventative methods is yet to be examined empirically.6
The Appeal
I appeal to have more funding for online youth outreach, school
anti bullying programs and online mental health services. These
prevention efforts supported by evidence made available through
research5 will be more effective in the long run.
Paediatricians, public health professionals, parents and schools
should educate themselves and their youth on what contributes to
the likelihood of online bullying and unwanted sexual solicitation.
"Parents should also focus not only on their children's social
networking site activity but also on their psychosocial profile and
general online behaviour (e.g. harassing others, meeting people in
multiple different ways online, and talking with people known only
online about sex). Parents should also be aware of with whom, where
and about what topics their children are talking online".6
I rest my case
Policy makers and health professionals should focus on
prevention that focuses on young people's behaviours online and
their psychosocial profile instead of particular technologies.
Programs on online mental health interventions for vulnerable youth
and Internet safety education can be designed and offered in
schools for students and parents that apply to all types' of online
communications.
What do you think?
- Is there over sexualisation in the media today?
- Have young people's behaviour changed because of technology or
has technology made it more visible?
- What makes a young person to decide who to friend on a social
networking site by just looking at a photo and profile
information?