Introduction and BLUF
The article “Cyberbullying: Its Social and Psychological Harms Among Schoolers” talks about the effects on adolescents, that have been victims of cyberbullying, having both adult and peer support. The study conducted in the article aims to answer four separate hypotheses. All four hypotheses presented have to do with cyberbullying victims being less likely to experience either social or psychological harm with adult or peer support (Lim & Lee, 2021).
Literature Review
The topic of this article relates to a couple of principles of social sciences. Relativism and Determinism can both be well connected to the information presented in this article. For Relativism, this article clearly shows a connection between psychological impacts from cyberbullying. It does a great job of relating how psychology relates to cyberbullying. As for determinism, which states that behavior is determined by preceding events, can easily relate due to how much of an impact cyberbullying has on individuals. Or how much of an impact peer and adult support have on an adolescents’ likelihood to experience social or psychological harm.
A few examples from the information included in the PowerPoint slides that relate to the content of this article are some of the various psychological theories that have been discussed. Specifically, the psychodynamic theory which suggests that early life of childhood experiences affect behavior in life. One of the examples of this is Cyberbullying, how some individuals might act the way they do online because of childhood experiences. Behavioral theories are another example, like the psychodynamic theory, that suggests that behavior is a learned process. Adolescents most likely conduct cyberbullying because they’ve either been a victim or they’ve witnessed someone else cyberbullying.
Research and Analysis
Some of the methods used in this study were data from external sources, dependent, independent, and control variables. The external data source was from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) School Crime Supplement (SCS). The dependent variables were social and psychological harm. The independent variables were adult and peer support. Finally, the control variables were school experience and safety features. All the variables were measured by conducting surveys for over 800 adolescents by having the individual rank each item on various scales.
The results showed that all four hypotheses were supported by the study. Both peer support and adult support resulted in cyberbullying victims to be less likely to experience social or psychological harm (Lim & Lee, 2021).
Conclusion
In conclusion, it seems like the more technologically advanced we become the less likely we are to attempt to seek real, in-person, human socialization. Which is not a good thing, as the study in this article proves. The more cyber advanced our society becomes; the more likely cyberbullying will continue at a higher rate. In the discussion portion of the article, the authors share a common phrase from South Korea, it states: “Wounds from people are eventually healed by people” (Lim & Lee, 2021). This is a fantastic quote to really bring the entire analysis and results together. We are social beings, and it is so important that everyone has someone they can count on for support.
References
Lim, H., & Lee, H. (2021). Cyberbullying: Its social and psychological harms among schoolers. International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime, 4(1), 25–45. https://doi.org/10.52306/2578-3289.1089