New Scientist - USA (2021-12-11)

11 December 2021 | New Scientist | 25

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The columnist

Chanda Prescod-

Weinstein on science

funding cuts p26

Letters

At last, survival

of the kindest is

centre stage p28

Aperture

The eerie glow

of ghost fungi

in Australia p30

Culture

Riz Ahmed fights

parasitic aliens

in Encounter p32

Culture columnist

Sally Adee enjoys two

sci-fi dystopias about

language’s power p34

C

YBERBULLYING was
already a problem before
the covid-19 pandemic hit.
In Australia, for example, one in
five young people reported in 2017
that they had been socially
excluded, threatened or abused
online, and the same proportion
said they had participated in
cyberbullying themselves. Then
lockdowns and work-from-home
orders came into force, meaning
even more time was spent online.
Yet when it comes to
cyberbullying, the pandemic has
had a different effect than you
might expect. Although we have
been online more, some studies
show that cyberbullying has
decreased. The reasons behind
this could tell us how to better
tackle this problem once we
emerge from the pandemic.
Unlike in-person bullying,
cyberbullying can occur 24/7 and
has a stronger association with
suicidal ideation. We know that
teenagers already spend a lot of
time online, and that is increasing.
A survey of people aged 10 to 18 in
11 European countries during the
2020 spring lockdowns found that
nearly half of them felt they were
experiencing “online overuse”.
They were online for 6.5 hours per
weekday on average, and around
half of that time was related to
school. In 2018, the comparable
number was 2.7 hours per day.
Previously, more time online
had been linked with an increased
chance of participating in
cyberbullying. Studies have also
SIMshown that stress and anxiety have

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increased during the pandemic,

both of which can drive increases

in anger and cyberbullying.

Yet this phenomenon has

actually decreased during the

pandemic. One study looked at

school cyberbullying in the US

using Google search data. Trends

in the search term “cyberbullying”

have previously matched up with

actual survey data about it. This

study found that searches for both

“cyberbullying” and “bullying”

dropped by 30 to 40 per cent

relative to historical norms after US

schools adopted remote learning.

Another study involving

South Korean schoolchildren

found that the proportion of

school-aged children that were

either cyberbullying or being

cyberbullied decreased from 27 per

cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2020.

What’s going on? One reason

for the decline is that in-person

interactions can fuel both online

and in-person bullying. Bullying

tends to start in unstructured time,

which doesn’t exist in the same

way in online schooling. This

suggests if we focus prevention

efforts on unstructured time, it is

likely we will stop both traditional

bullying and cyberbullying.

Bullying rates aren’t fixed.

When children feel nurtured and

socially and emotionally safe, they

bully less. During the pandemic,

young people have spent more

time at home with their parent or

carer. For some, this has probably

provided feelings of safety – a

positive effect well known to

occur in times of disaster or crisis.

Positive relationships also

help reduce bullying. While some

families have had interpersonal

conflicts during the crisis, most

households worldwide have

reported increased cohesion and

positive bonding between family

members. Studies have shown

that children reflected positively

about spending more time with

family. Keeping these positive

relationships strong may also

help prevent bullying in the future.

Unstructured play is key to

the development of self-esteem,

self-determination and the ability

to self-regulate – all vital parts of

emotional development that help

prevent children bullying and

protect them from being bullied.

The answer isn’t to get rid of

unstructured time. But by making

it a more nurturing environment

backed up by positive relationships,

the reduction in cyberbullying

seen during the pandemic may

stick around for some time.  ❚

Need a listening ear? UK Samaritans:

116123 (samaritans.org). Visit

bit.ly/SuicideHelplines for hotlines

and websites for other countries

Digital tyranny

The way the pandemic changed cyberbullying tells us how to reduce

it in the future, say Alexandra Martiniuk and Joseph Freeman

Alexandra Martiniuk and Joseph Freeman

are at the University of Sydney in Australia