Social Media Risks and Opportunities Lecture Notes
Lecture 1
Social media= websites and applications that enable users to create and share content
and/or to participate to social networking
Risk: a situation involving exposure to danger
Lecture 2 – Online Aggression
Online aggression: intentional harm delivered by the use of electronic means to a
person or group of people irrespective of their age, who perceives such acts as
offensive, derogatory, harmful or unwanted
(Cyber) Bullying: aggressive, intentional act or behavior that is carried out by a group
or an individual repeatedly and overtime against a victim who cannot easily defend
him pr herself
Dark personalities= those characterized by socially offensive traits
Narcissism
- Associated with offline aggression among adolescents
- Narcissists function well in online environments (e.g., due to the controllability of
the online selkf-preservation
- Narcissistic exploitativeness (exploitative of others, only your own interest in mind,
no moral compassion), a sub-construct of narcissism, is associated with cyber-
aggression among adolescents
Machiavellianism
- Associated with offline aggression among adolescents
Psychopathy
- Associated with offline aggression among adolescents
- Associated with cyber-aggression among adolescents
Some overlap between the three traits
But, each component may still be viewed as a distinct aspect of socially aversive behavior
Dark triad study by Pabian et al.
First to study association between Dark Triad traits (as combined Dark Triad cluster)
and cyber-aggression among an adolescent population
Cyber-aggression= online aggression
- Aggressive, intentional act
- Using electronic means
- To a person or a group of people irrespective of their age, who perceive(s) such
acts as offensive, derogatory, harmful or unwanted
Results
35.8% engaged at least once in the past three months in one or more than one of the
eight cyber-aggression activity
“Saying things about someone to make the person a laughing stock” was the most
used activity
, Followed by “sending insulting Facebook messages or comments to someone
repeatedly
Implications
As personality traits are fairly stabilized in this age group, cyber-aggression may be
used as an indicator of psychopathy in adolescent individuals
Preventions?
- Social perspective-taking skills have been proven successful in overcoming
egocentrism and antisocial behavior
- Include training of these skills in prevention programs
Limitations
Short Dark Triad instrument did not allow to investigate sub-constructs of
Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy
- More recently: Dark Tetrad: Sadism as fourth trait
Self-reports: Solution: Social desirability scale
Convenience sample (more girls than boys)
Theory of Planned Behavior study by Pabian & Vandebosch (2014)
Shortcoming proximal determinants
Received few attention in previous research
Studied in isolation from other proximal determinants
Importance of studying proximal determinants
Modifiable by interventions
Research questions
Is the theory of planned behavior (TPB) a good framework for explaining cyberbullying
perpetration?
Which are the underlying beliefs of the attitude, subjective norm and perceived
behavioral control?
,Profiling preparators
Attitude values: more favorable attitude with regard to cyberbullying
Subjective norms, normative beliefs: normative beliefs that approve cyberbullying
Risk perception: having less concerns about being caught and socially punished
Use of TPB by previous research
Adolescents´ offline and online (risk) behavior
Gambling, (un)safe sex, fighting
Sexting
Herman & Walrave (2012): Cyberbullying
Shortcoming: only use of DIRECT measures, not underlying beliefs of A, SN, PBC
Focus of the study
Adding underlying beliefs
Attitudes: why are attitudes positive or negative? Which are the expected positive and
negative outcomes of CB?
Subjective norm: which reference groups ultimately generate a positive or negative
influence?
Perceived behavioral control: what makes CB easy or difficult to perform?
Implications
The theoretical model (TPB)= applicable
Evidence-based intervention and prevention studies can make an informed selection
Importance of peers
Limitations
Large portion of self-reported behavior unexplained
, - General measurement CB, concrete behaviors might have varied considerably
- Temporal distance (six-months) between intention and behavior
Cyberbullying is not always a planned behavior
- Impulsive action
- Willingness better prediction than intention?
What does it mean for victims?
Adolescents are confronted with traditional bullying and cyberbullying
Traditional bullying has been linked to short and long-term mental health and well-
being problems
Also cyberbullying has been linked to short-term mental health and well-being
problems
Until now, no investigation of long-term consequences
Evidence for short-term consequences of cyberbullying victimization:
Cross-sectional data: anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, suicidal ideation, social
anxiety, pessimism, unhappiness
Longitudinal data (6months to two years): general mental health problems, depressive
symptoms, anxiety, social anxiety
Evidence for short- and long-term consequences of traditional bullying victimization:
Long-term: longitudinal and retrospective data
Differences between victims and non-victims
General psychological complaints, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidality,
psychotic symptoms, dissociative and traumatic symptoms, post-traumatic stress, self-
esteem, eating disorders
Present study
Long-term outcomes of early victimization, both offline and online
- CB now exists for +15 years
- Strong overlaps between both forms of victimization
- Offline and online interactions are strongly intertwined
From the victims´ perspective, qualitative data
Focus on both aversive and non-aversive outcomes
RQ: how do emerging adults perceive the long-term impact of being bullied both offline and
online during childhood and/or adolescents?
Method
Biographic-narrative interpretative method (BNIM)
Exploration of life histories, lived situations & personal meanings
Can you share your experience with offline and online bullying and how these
experiences have impacted your life?
Results
Victims´ bullying history
Lecture 1
Social media= websites and applications that enable users to create and share content
and/or to participate to social networking
Risk: a situation involving exposure to danger
Lecture 2 – Online Aggression
Online aggression: intentional harm delivered by the use of electronic means to a
person or group of people irrespective of their age, who perceives such acts as
offensive, derogatory, harmful or unwanted
(Cyber) Bullying: aggressive, intentional act or behavior that is carried out by a group
or an individual repeatedly and overtime against a victim who cannot easily defend
him pr herself
Dark personalities= those characterized by socially offensive traits
Narcissism
- Associated with offline aggression among adolescents
- Narcissists function well in online environments (e.g., due to the controllability of
the online selkf-preservation
- Narcissistic exploitativeness (exploitative of others, only your own interest in mind,
no moral compassion), a sub-construct of narcissism, is associated with cyber-
aggression among adolescents
Machiavellianism
- Associated with offline aggression among adolescents
Psychopathy
- Associated with offline aggression among adolescents
- Associated with cyber-aggression among adolescents
Some overlap between the three traits
But, each component may still be viewed as a distinct aspect of socially aversive behavior
Dark triad study by Pabian et al.
First to study association between Dark Triad traits (as combined Dark Triad cluster)
and cyber-aggression among an adolescent population
Cyber-aggression= online aggression
- Aggressive, intentional act
- Using electronic means
- To a person or a group of people irrespective of their age, who perceive(s) such
acts as offensive, derogatory, harmful or unwanted
Results
35.8% engaged at least once in the past three months in one or more than one of the
eight cyber-aggression activity
“Saying things about someone to make the person a laughing stock” was the most
used activity
, Followed by “sending insulting Facebook messages or comments to someone
repeatedly
Implications
As personality traits are fairly stabilized in this age group, cyber-aggression may be
used as an indicator of psychopathy in adolescent individuals
Preventions?
- Social perspective-taking skills have been proven successful in overcoming
egocentrism and antisocial behavior
- Include training of these skills in prevention programs
Limitations
Short Dark Triad instrument did not allow to investigate sub-constructs of
Machiavellianism, Narcissism, and Psychopathy
- More recently: Dark Tetrad: Sadism as fourth trait
Self-reports: Solution: Social desirability scale
Convenience sample (more girls than boys)
Theory of Planned Behavior study by Pabian & Vandebosch (2014)
Shortcoming proximal determinants
Received few attention in previous research
Studied in isolation from other proximal determinants
Importance of studying proximal determinants
Modifiable by interventions
Research questions
Is the theory of planned behavior (TPB) a good framework for explaining cyberbullying
perpetration?
Which are the underlying beliefs of the attitude, subjective norm and perceived
behavioral control?
,Profiling preparators
Attitude values: more favorable attitude with regard to cyberbullying
Subjective norms, normative beliefs: normative beliefs that approve cyberbullying
Risk perception: having less concerns about being caught and socially punished
Use of TPB by previous research
Adolescents´ offline and online (risk) behavior
Gambling, (un)safe sex, fighting
Sexting
Herman & Walrave (2012): Cyberbullying
Shortcoming: only use of DIRECT measures, not underlying beliefs of A, SN, PBC
Focus of the study
Adding underlying beliefs
Attitudes: why are attitudes positive or negative? Which are the expected positive and
negative outcomes of CB?
Subjective norm: which reference groups ultimately generate a positive or negative
influence?
Perceived behavioral control: what makes CB easy or difficult to perform?
Implications
The theoretical model (TPB)= applicable
Evidence-based intervention and prevention studies can make an informed selection
Importance of peers
Limitations
Large portion of self-reported behavior unexplained
, - General measurement CB, concrete behaviors might have varied considerably
- Temporal distance (six-months) between intention and behavior
Cyberbullying is not always a planned behavior
- Impulsive action
- Willingness better prediction than intention?
What does it mean for victims?
Adolescents are confronted with traditional bullying and cyberbullying
Traditional bullying has been linked to short and long-term mental health and well-
being problems
Also cyberbullying has been linked to short-term mental health and well-being
problems
Until now, no investigation of long-term consequences
Evidence for short-term consequences of cyberbullying victimization:
Cross-sectional data: anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, suicidal ideation, social
anxiety, pessimism, unhappiness
Longitudinal data (6months to two years): general mental health problems, depressive
symptoms, anxiety, social anxiety
Evidence for short- and long-term consequences of traditional bullying victimization:
Long-term: longitudinal and retrospective data
Differences between victims and non-victims
General psychological complaints, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicidality,
psychotic symptoms, dissociative and traumatic symptoms, post-traumatic stress, self-
esteem, eating disorders
Present study
Long-term outcomes of early victimization, both offline and online
- CB now exists for +15 years
- Strong overlaps between both forms of victimization
- Offline and online interactions are strongly intertwined
From the victims´ perspective, qualitative data
Focus on both aversive and non-aversive outcomes
RQ: how do emerging adults perceive the long-term impact of being bullied both offline and
online during childhood and/or adolescents?
Method
Biographic-narrative interpretative method (BNIM)
Exploration of life histories, lived situations & personal meanings
Can you share your experience with offline and online bullying and how these
experiences have impacted your life?
Results
Victims´ bullying history
