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Factors that Influence Bystander Behavior in the Cyberbully Context

Technology and Youth: Growing Up in a Digital World

ISBN: 978-1-78560-265-8, eISBN: 978-1-78560-264-1

Publication date: 24 September 2015

Abstract

Purpose

Despite growing attention to the prevalence and consequences of cyberbullying within the social sciences, research on cyber-bystander reactions has been largely overlooked. Drawing from Latane and Darley’s (1970) bystander engagement model, the current study sought to fill this gap by exploring how common it is for adolescents to encounter cyberbullying on social networking sites (SNS), how youth react to the cyberbullying witnessed on SNS, and most importantly to uncover factors that may be related to two potential bystander trajectories on SNS, namely traditional bystanding and prosocial bystander engagement.

Methodology/approach

Data was drawn from the 2011 Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project (Princeton Survey Research Associates International, 2011). The secondary analysis was restricted to only adolescents who ranged in age from 12 to 17. Grounded in existing research on face-to-face bystander behaviors, two Ordinary Least Squares regression models were run testing which independent variables (age, gender, frequency of SNS use, perceived peer norms, and prior cyberbully victimization) were related to traditional and to prosocial bystander behavior online.

Findings

Approximately 88% of youth reported they’ve witnessed a cyberbullying exchange on an SNS. Among these witnesses, the majority reported engaging in both prosocial (62%) and traditional (74%) bystander practices. Based on the regression analyses, a key factor for bystander practice online appears to be observed peer behavior.

Originality/value

The findings from this research provide an initial exploration into cyber-bystander behavior, with potential implications for both future research directions and cyberbully prevention programming.

Keywords

Citation

Niblack, J. and Hertzog, J.L. (2015), "Factors that Influence Bystander Behavior in the Cyberbully Context ", Technology and Youth: Growing Up in a Digital World (Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 47-72. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1537-466120150000019002

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2015 Emerald Group Publishing Limited