Pew Research - Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network site

Lenhart, A. & Madden M. (2011). Teens, kindness and cruelty on social network sites. Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. Retrieved from: http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/11/09/teens-kindness-and-cruelty-on-social-network-sites/

This research was focused on the types of experiences teens are having on social network sites and how they address negative behavior when they see or experience it.  It also examined who influences the teens and instructs them on being good digital citizens.  The findings are from a report conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project in partnership with the Family Online Safety Institute and come from a study that included interviews with experts, seven focus groups with middle and high school students, and a nationally representative random-digit-dial telephone survey of teens and parents. 

Though most American teens who use social media find people their age to be mostly kind on social network sites, 88% have witnessed other people being cruel on these sites.  A small percent (12%) say they witness mean behavior frequently, though 47% have witnessed it only occasionally.  15% of teens say they have been the target of online meanness.  There are no significant differences by age, gender, race, or socio-economic status between those who have experienced unkind behavior online.  I would have thought that girls experience it more frequently than boys.

Teens report more positive personal outcomes that make them feel good about themselves than negative ones from contacts with others on social network sites.  Yet 41% of teens say that they have experienced negative outcomes, such as a face-to-face confrontation (25%), an ending of a friendship (22%), a problem with their parents (13%), nervousness about going to school (13%), a physical fight with someone (8%), and trouble at school (6%).

The study examined teens’ responses and reactions to cruel online behavior.  Teens report that people seem to mostly ignore online cruelty, though sometimes they notice people defending the harassed person or telling someone to stop the behavior.  When asked about their own reaction to meanness, a majority of teens (90%) say they ignore it, and more than a third say they ignore it frequently.

The part of the study that surprised me was that 21% of the teens who witnessed online cruelty have also joined in the harassment.  As a middle-school teacher, I frequently witness student meanness, especially among 7^th and 8^th grade girls, so I shouldn’t be surprised that this happens online.  Girls who proclaim to be best friends can suddenly turn on each other.  However, it seems such a shame that teens can witness online bystanders responding positively by standing up for or defending the attacked, and then become a bully by joining in the harassment.  Do they get some sort of sick pleasure from this, or are they trying to make themselves look cool?

Teens go to their parents and peers most often to gain advice about online behavior and coping with challenging experiences.  Teens also receive advice from teachers, other adults, friends, and siblings.  Girls are more likely to seek advice than are boys.  The daughter of a friend of mine had an experience with online cruelty.  Someone set up a Facebook account in her name.  The person apparently knew a lot about this girl and the page was totally believable.  The girl didn’t use Facebook; in fact she was too young to have an account.  The person who set up the Facebook account was later found to be a boy in her class who liked her without the interest being reciprocated.  He used this fake account to “friend” many of her classmates and then began to post and comment nasty things about other people using vile language, which caused the girl’s friends to be angry and shocked.  She sought advice from her parents and the principal of her school.  It took almost a year of investigation and legal action to finally uncover the culprit.  These were eleven-year- olds!

The majority of parents have had conversations with their teens about safe and risky online practices.  They also have taken various steps to manage and monitor their child’s online activities, such as “friending” them, checking the websites they visit, checking their social network site profile, and using parental controls or other means of filtering and monitoring.  Even so, this does not always prevent online trouble for the teen.  This is apparent in the experience of my friend’s daughter.

The study reports that as teens get older, they begin to think about how things they post online may affect their future and reputation.  More than half of all teens say they have decided not to post something online because it may reflect badly on them.  Older teens who are preparing for college or the workforce report the highest levels of digital withholding.

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