Cyberbullying with Dr. Robin Kowalski

The instinct to respond immediately to incorrect, negative, or hurtful comments online almost seems to be hardwired. How we respond can lead to unintended detrimental consequences and lead us down a dark path.

Today's guest is Dr. Robin Kowalski. Dr. Kowalski is a professor of Psychology at Clemson University. She obtained her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. Her research interests focus primarily on adverse interpersonal behaviors, most notably complaining, teasing, and bullying with a particular focus on cyberbullying.

Show Notes:

• [0:57] - Welcome to the show, Dr. Kowalski! She shares her focus on cyberbullying and how she found herself interested in this research.
• [2:27] - Traditional bullying is intended and repeated aggressive behavior. Cyberbullying is similar but there are some differences.
• [4:24] - Perceived anonymity in the online world gives bullies a great deal of power.
• [5:42] - People who are involved in traditional bullying tend to also participate in cyberbullying.
• [7:05] - There are many different reasons why someone bullies another either traditionally or virtually.
• [9:18] - In the virtual world, anyone can be a victim and anyone can be a perpetrator.
• [10:31] - Cyberbullying can take several different forms.
• [11:56] - If it happens once, simply walk away and don't respond. But what happens if it keeps happening?
• [13:10] - Young people may not want to be honest with their parents out of fear that their technology might be taken away from them.
• [15:29] - The feelings involved with cyberbullying range from anxiety to suicidal ideation.
• [17:22] - Academic issues become a problem as well, even though cyberbullying takes place off of school grounds.
• [18:58] - Robin describes "mattering" and how this can impact youth in school.
• [20:38] - Social isolation is a warning sign for a lot of things. Parents need to be on the lookout and open up lines of communication.
• [22:40] - Anonymous reporting needs to be present, effective, and people need to be educated.
• [23:51] - Cyberbullying is not limited to youth. It happens in the workplace as well.
• [26:47] - Through Covid-19, prevalence rates did not change as much as Robin expected.
• [29:15] - If we receive something negative, Robin advises to pause before responding emotionally.
• [30:55] - There's such a familiarity with technology that it has become normalized to cyberbullying.
• [32:57] - Suicide is a possible and horrible result of cyberbullying.
• [35:05] - There's a more permanent feeling to cyberbullying.
• [36:32] - Employers can also search for evidence of behavior patterns in potential employees.
• [38:57] - Education is key and victims speaking out about their experience helps people understand the impact.
• [41:42] - Robin shares about a time she experienced some level of cyberbullying.

Thanks for joining us on Easy Prey. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes and leave a nice review.

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• Clemson University - Dr. Robin Kowalski
• Cyberbullying: Bullying in the Digital Age by Dr. Robin Kowalski