Your teen can face all kinds of things on the Internet today, from cyberbullying, explicit material and even sexual advances. New research shows, however, that most teens aren’t phased by these experiences by the time a week passes.
While initially there may be negative effects, it appears teens are resilient and can handle these online hazards, according to a web-based diary study of 68 teens between the ages of 13 and 17, from the University of Central Florida, Pennsylvania State University and Ohio State University. Researchers will present the results of the study, funded by the National Science Foundation, next year at a conference.
For the study, researchers tracked teen’s online excursions over the course of eight weeks, analyzing the participants with psychological scales to determine their emotional state and well-being. Weeks that teens faced cyberbullying and explicit content brought about more negative emotions, though by a week later these feelings went away.
This could have to do with support they receive from social media communities or separate online communications with friends, according to Bridget McHugh, who contributed to the study. McHugh was a Ph.D. student at the University of Central Florida at the time of the study and is currently a leadership development consultant at Ohio State University.
So what does this mean going forward?
“I know parents are afraid of all the dangers out there, especially because teens seem to be practically tethered to the internet with their mobile devices,” Pamela Wisniewski, a computer science assistant professor at University of Central Florida and co-author of the study, said in a statement. “But we may be over problematizing online risks and creating another stressor for teens and parents. What we should be looking at is, what does this all mean for the everyday teen?”
This study confirms other research that for most teens cyberbullying doesn’t cause serious problems, according to Larry Magid, CEO of ConnectSafely, a California-based nonprofit looking to educate connected technology users about safety, privacy and security. He notes that cyberbullying itself is still a serious problem.
“We have these occasional horrible, horrible stories and they need to be taken very seriously and addressed but that doesn’t mean that every kid who was bullied is going to have a severe reaction that could lead to self-harm,” he tells U.S. News. That doesn’t mean it’s good that kids have a way to deal with this, but that results are not always tragic, he says.
Online bullying, though, also has been linked to a “host of negative outcomes,” including anxiety, depression, substance abuse, decreased performance in school and absenteeism, says Michael Robb, director of research at Common Sense, a nonprofit that works to educate kids about media and technology.
Justin W. Patchin, co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, thinks the study can be used to inform other research but shouldn’t be looked at for anything definitive.
He wrote in an email to U.S. News that in the organization’s “recent study of over 5,700 middle and high school students from across the United States, nearly two-thirds of those who had been bullied online said it ‘really affected their ability to learn and feel safe.’ We agree that one key differentiating factor between those youth who were deeply impacted by cyberbullying and those who were not is resilience.”
Wisniewski acknowledged that incidences of suicide do happen on account of cyberbullying, but called them “extreme cases.” “The good news is that in our study, we found that these extreme scenarios aren’t the average teen experience,” she continued.
Still, there are reasons for parents to be concerned: Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for 10- to 24-year olds. A study earlier this year linked the Netflix series ” 13 Reasons Why” — about high school student Hannah Baker’s suicide and all the people who “played a part” in it — to increased suicide-related internet searches. The series depicted a graphic, three-minute scene of her suicide.
“I understand that online technologies come with their own risks, but they also present benefits to our youth,” Wisniewski wrote in an email to U.S. News. “The key is finding a balance so that teens can learn to engage online safely and beneficially with others.”
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Cyberbullying Doesn’t Affect Most Teens for Long, Study Says originally appeared on usnews.com
