Transcript I Did It For the LULZ”

“I Did It For the LULZ”
Inside the Minds of Cyberbullies
and Their Targets
Linda R. Young, Ph.D.
[email protected]
Your Brain on Digital Tech
Adaptation to:
– Rapidly changing
shocking content
– Immediate
gratification
– More windows than
walls
– Emotional & physical
distance
• Mirror neurons missing
• Compensatory written
communication
• Disinhibition
• Groupthink
• Polarization
Forms of Cyberbullying and
Harassment
1. Flaming. Short online exchanges using electronic
messages with angry and vulgar language.
2. Harassment. Repeated offensive messages to
target. Ex: Text or email blitzing, “griefers” in
MMORPGs
3. Denigration. Online untrue derogatory rumors or
representations (e.g altered photo, slam book, ) of a
person to damage his or her reputation or
friendships.
Forms of Cyberbullying and
Harassment
4. Impersonation. Pretending to be someone else and
sending or posting material to get person in trouble
or danger or to damage that person’s reputation or
friendships.
5. Outing & Trickery. Sharing someone’s secrets or
embarrassing information or images online. May be
obtained through trickery (gaining their trust and
getting them to disclose secrets)
6. Exclusion. Intentionally and cruelly excluding
someone from an online group.
Forms of Cyberbullying and
Harassment
7. Cyberstalking. Repeated, intense harassment and
denigration that includes threats or creates significant
fear.
8. Happy Slapping/ Hopping – started in England, one
person slaps or otherwise assaults another in public
while accomplice takes camera phone picture, then
posts – Shaun Noonan suicide
“Bullying Circle” (Olweus)
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Initiator
Henchmen - followers who actively join in
Supporters - laugh, call attention to it
Passive supporters
Disengaged onlookers
Inactive defenders of victim
Active defenders -try to help
Bullied student
Characteristics of the Target
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Marginalized because of differences
– Race, sexuality, appearance, religion, mental or
physical disability
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Emotionally intelligent, sensitive
Non-violent, passive, respectful
Apologetic
Self-reliant, socially isolated
Anxious or depressed
May be more comfortable with adults than
peers
Naive
Characteristics of Cyberbully
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High self-regard / self-focus
 Entitled, Alpha, power-driven
 Impulsive, easily frustrated & bored
 Attention seeking
 Lacking empathy, compassion, accountability
 Good manipulator (lie, deceive, charm, deflect.
evade)
 Tech savvy
 Rewarded for aggressive behavior
 Inconsistent discipline & supervision
 Higher exposure to domestic violence & parental
discord / absence
Fame Junkies - Halpern
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1950s: 12% of teens thought they were
“truly important”
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1980s: 80% of teens thought they were
“truly important”
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31% of teens today expect to be famous
Characteristics of Bully/Victim
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Many of social and emotional features
of passive both target and bully
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Are the most avoided kids at school
• Juvonen et al 2003
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Depression, suicidality, self-injury
• Kim, Koh & Levinthol, 2005
P.E.R.P. Motives
P = Power seeking
 E = Entertainment / Ego
 R = Revenge
 P = Protecting target
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Why?
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Because they can
Fun, funny
Don’t think it is a big deal
Encouraged by friends
They think they won’t get caught
Normalized by media
Culture of narcissism
Contradictory cultural messages
Longing to belong
Immature cortex - Lack self-regulation
Our 3 Brains
Identity Splitting Online
Real Self
 Ideal Self
 False Self
 Repressed Self
 Objectified Self
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Ideal Self
Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab “Proteus Effect”
False Self
Suppressed Self
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Bullying &
Harassment
Web Trolls
“LULZ” - Post for “the
joy of disrupting
another’s emotional
equilibrium”
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Sexual Acting Out
Objectified Self
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Rating & Ranking
Status Seeking
Self-Promotion
Advertising
Ryan Patrick Halligan
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Committed suicide at 13
 Instant Messaged a
friend saying “tonight’s
the night. I think I’m
going to do it.”
 The friend replied “It’s
about f**ing time!”
Ryan's Father speaks to students
JuicyCampus.com Victim
Star Wars Kid
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Ghyslain Raza 2002
 76 million views
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Why Targets Don’t Tell
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Don’t think it’s serious
(Nearly 50% in Teenage Research Unlimited study)
Fear losing tech privileges
 Fear it will make things worse
 Don’t want to break code of silence
 Don’t think adult will do anything helpful
 Think adult will over-react
 Fear being blamed
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Opposing Intervention Views
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“The primary focus of our interventions should be (1)
protection from repeat bullying and (2) limiting the
effects of past bullying. If mental health professionals
focus primarily on how these young people should
prevent future bullying with their own actions, we risk
confirming their belief that the bullying was their
fault”.
– Stop Bullying Now Tip sheet
http://www.stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/adults/tip-sheets/tipsheet-26.aspx
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Words “can only hurt us if we let them. If you insult
me and I get hurt, it is not really you who hurt me. I
hurt myself! So why should you get punished?” Don’t
punish the bully.
– Izzy Kalman bullies2buddies.com Parent/Teacher Manual
Bullies to Buddies - Izzy Kalman
What Not to Do
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Treat bullying as a conflict to be resolved
Zero tolerance
Treat target as partly to blame
Rescue student, speak for them
Label child as shy, fragile, emotional
Assume you can’t help
Assume kids can’t help themselves
Avoid talking about sex
What to Do
Model and teach assertiveness
 Explore and practice humor limits
 Model and teach delayed gratification,
self regulation
 Peer social norming
 Student-generated curricula
 Bystander education - especially impt.
 Whole school approach - keep improving
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What to Do
Role play comebacks to verbal
aggression
 Provide leadership & service
opportunities
 Provide social opportunities for
ostracized students
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– In RL, virtual worlds, MMORPGs
– Webwise Kids games
Teach Mature Decision Making
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The “Golden Rule” test
– How would you feel if someone did the same thing to
you?
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The “Mom or Dad” test
– What would your Mom or Dad think?
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The “Front Page” test
– If your actions were reported on the front page of a
newspaper what would other people think?
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The “If Everybody Did It” test
– What would happen if everybody made the decision to do
this?
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The “Check Inside” test
– How do you feel inside?
Source: What is Right and What is Wrong? By Nancy Willard http://netizen.uoregon.edu