Elizabeth Howard
CYSE 201S
March 29, 2025
Article Review #2: Clarification on Cyberbullying and How to Mitigate its Effects.
Cyberbullying on social media has become a growing concern, yet inconsistencies in its definition hinder effective prevention and intervention strategies. The article Cyberbullying on social media: Definitions, Prevalence, and Impact Challenges (available at Oxford Academic) aims to establish a universal definition of cyberbullying to facilitate the development of actionable tools and methods for mitigating its negative social effects. Through an in-depth analysis of multiple cyberbullying-related studies, the authors compare existing tactics with current challenges to identify gaps between efforts to address cyberbullying and the intended goals. This review highlights the need for a standardized framework to enhance future research and policymaking.
Relation to Social Science
This article focuses on understanding and mitigating issues that affect societal well-being. Its commitment to rigorous research methodologies point to its relationship to social science. In addition, the focus on defining and refining theoretical constructs to enhance clarity and comparability across studies is principle of social science as well. The social psychology and criminology principles that examine how individual behaviors interact with broader social phenomena is a prominent social science theme in the article. Finally, the study contributes to the evolution of knowledge in the field, a key goal of social sciences.
Research Questions
To gain a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding cyberbullying, several key questions must be explored. This article set out to answer certain questions to unify and improve responses to cyberbullying. First it asked, “how is cyberbullying defined in the literature?” Then, “what factors contribute to cyberbullying, and how can they be measured?” Next, “what is the impact of personality traits on the likelihood of engaging in or being victimized by cyberbullying?” After that, “how do direct involvement and indirect experiences influence the prevalence of cyberbullying?” Finally, “how does cyberbullying affect individuals, and what measures can be taken to mitigate its effects?” (Ray, et. al., 2024) By examining these questions, we can better understand the challenges in combating cyberbullying and the necessity of a standardized framework to guide future research and policy efforts.
Use of Research Methods and Analysis of Data
According to the article “a systematic review exploring cyberbullying on social media, meticulously evaluating relevant literature and following the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” was used as the research method. (Ray, et. al., 2024) The social scientists for this article conducted a literature review to deliver its conclusions. “Literature review is commonly done today using computerized keyword searches in online databases.” (Bhattacharjee, A., 2012). “The following databases were used to identify articles: Scopus, Google Scholar, and Science Direct. Manual searches were performed on all databases, and some advanced settings were selected from the databases.” (Ray, et. al., 2024)
“The following keywords were applied to the three databases, ‘Cyberbullying’, ‘Cyberbullying Definitions’, ‘Cyberbullying’ AND Social Media, ‘Cyberbullying AND Social Media AND Children OR Adolescents’, and ‘Cyberbullying AND Social Media AND Adults OR Young Adults’, ‘Cyberbullying AND Social Media AND Children OR Adolescents’ with the following excluded words, ‘Machine-Learning-Artificial-Intelligence-Sexual’, ‘Cyberbullying AND Social Media AND Adults OR Young Adults AND Machine-Learning-Artificial-Intelligence-Sexual’. Articles were searched and screened based on research conducted from any time or the last two decades, the last five years of research the previous year 2021 and the current year 2022 at the time of formulating this paper. Articles from the following fields of study, psychology, social sciences, and computing science were selected. Articles were also screened for study relevance, abstract, methods, discussion, and findings.” (Ray, et. al., 2024, par.6). In the end 71 articles were chosen to support their research.
PowerPoint Concepts
It is important to see the relationship to the course and the concepts that are being taught about social science and cybersecurity. I have noticed the paper has some connection to Module 3’ s PowerPoint because it is relating to studies and the use of archives to study a topic related to cybersecurity such as cyberbullying. It also relates to the PowerPoint from Module 5 in discussing behavioral theories and cyber offending examples like cyberbullying.
Challenges, Concerns and Contributions
This article is critical in an approach to resolving challenges in the way we view and analyze cyberbullying today. According to Ray et. al., this study is “a comprehensive synthesis of the field’s current understanding. Our findings highlight notable inconsistencies in the definition of cyberbullying across studies, underlining a critical need for a standardized conceptual framework.” They have identified concerns of marginalized groups, stating that “cyberbullying amongst adults is an under-researched demographic”, and “Adolescents and young adults have been observed to be the most at-risk groups” (Ray, et. al., 2024). This work not only consolidates the diverse strands of research in cyberbullying but also sets the stage for more targeted and cohesive future studies. (Ray, et. al., 2024).
Conclusion
Cyberbullying on social media remains a significant issue, yet the lack of a universal definition complicates efforts to address it effectively. The article Cyberbullying on social media: Definitions, Prevalence, and Impact Challenges emphasizes the importance of establishing a standardized framework to guide the development of actionable tools and strategies. By analyzing existing research and comparing current interventions, the study identifies critical gaps between efforts to combat cyberbullying and their intended outcomes. Addressing these gaps through clearer definitions and targeted policies is essential for improving prevention and mitigation strategies in the future.
References:
- Bhattacharjee, A. (2012). Social science research: Principles, methods, and practices (2nd ed.). University of South Florida. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=oa_textbooks
- Ray, G., McDermott, C. D., & Nicho, M. (2024). Cyberbullying on social media: Definitions, prevalence, and impact challenges. Journal of Cybersecurity, 10(1), tyae026. https://doi.org/10.1093/cybsec/tyae026