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Newswise When smartphones and social media became ubiquitous for students, cyberbullying rates went up. This makes sense, of course, because there was now an almost limitless number of potential targets and aggressors, said Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D., a professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice within FAUs College for Design and Social Inquiry, and co-director of the Cyberbullying Research Center. Well, during this unprecedented time when theyre all stuck at home, those same students will be using apps even more than they already do with them being forced to use online platforms for learning, regardless of their level of comfort or proficiency. Teachers are delivering education not just in learning management systems like Canvas, Blackboard, and Moodle, but even on Roblox, Twitch, and YouTube, among others.

In the midst of major crises where everyone is already on edge, Hinduja says hostility toward others tends to escalate along with self-preserving and self-defensive behaviors. This may manifest even more so between students in their online interactions their posts, comments, pictures and videos. Some of it will be mild, and some of it will be severe. Some of it will be what students are used to and will not bother them, but some of it will be brand new and a jarring, wounding experience. This may be especially true for those who are not used to learning and interacting in online-only spaces (and may also disproportionately affect more vulnerable populations of youth).

Hinduja cautions that many cyberbullying targets will hesitate to get help from their parents. When it happens, they may suffer silently since there will not be any visual cues for educators to see or investigate because the student is not physically at school. In addition, with everyone now receiving instruction online, students cannot readily stop by the guidance counselors office, chat with a teacher after class, or let their coach know about what is troubling them and affecting their ability to play sports (since youth sports also are shut down). Those opportunities for meaningful, connective conversations and check-ins largely will not happen organically.

Its also very possible that xenophobic/racist cyberbullying may go up. Some continue to call COVID-19 a foreign virus and parents have complained that their children are being accused as carriers just because they are Asian, said Hinduja. Im Asian and have dealt with my share of bullying based on race/ethnicity, and so I am particularly sensitive to this issue and simply do not want to see it spiral out of control.

Hinduja provides a number of suggestions for educators:

Students also are going to struggle with feelings of isolation because they are not able to go to school and connect and interact with their peers in person, said Hinduja.

He also suggests that parents need to be creative to make sure that their children do not suffer from extremes of social isolation:

With intentionality, graciousness, and good will, we dont have to just survive through this crisis. We can actually thrive, and our relationships with the youth we care for can be better off than they were before all of this even began, asserts Hinduja.

Additional information and tips can be found at the Cyberbullying Research Center.

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University: Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAUs world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAUs existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit fau.edu.

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Another Unintended Consequence of COVID-19: Cyberbullying Could Increase - Newswise

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