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Cyberbullying, Fear and Silence:
From Bystanders to Cyber-Samaritans
Magdalena Hodalska
Abstract
In the last decade, the media all over the world have covered the stories of teens
who committed suicide or suffered severe harm following periods of online
harassment. Cyberbullying statistics of 2014 are alarming. Only last year, 52
percent of young people reported being cyberbullied, 11 percent reported
embarrassing or damaging photographs taken without their knowledge or consent.
55 percent of teenagers who use social media have witnessed bullying via that
medium.
1
On the Internet every information may become a permanent record,
following the users who were not aware of the consequences of their ‘click’ when
they shared a photo or posted a text. The aim of the chapter is to demonstrate how
academic research findings can have practical implications for prevention and
intervention programs designed by marketing practitioners, foundations and
organizations that aim to reduce online harassment, through various campaigns
worldwide, which remain the focus of the study. The first part of the chapter offers
(1) an overview of risky online behaviours related to bullying, the nature of (2)
online tortures, (3) cyberbullies, (4) their victims and (5) limitless audience, with
special emphasis on (6) the witness-bystander’s role in escalating or reducing the
abuse, to demonstrate the recent (7) anti-cyberbullying campaigns, launched in
Europe, North and South America, which aim to transform silent Bystanders into
Cyber-Samaritans. Content analysis of anti-cyberbullying posters and commercials
launched in the last decade, shows the shift of emphasis: from 1. bully-focused
campaigns, through 2. victim-focused advertisements, to 3. bystander-focused
efforts, aimed at developing dissenting communication models and encouraging
bystander intervention. Given the growing number of cyberbullied, and inadvertent
witnesses of online abuse and hate speech, every effort to make the Internet safer,
or at least a less threatening space, is worth sharing.
Key Words: Cyberbullying, sexting, online harassment, internet safety,
campaigns, social marketing, content analysis, media.
*****
‘I have nobody, I need someone’
2
wrote Canadian schoolgirl, Amanda Todd,
on one of the flash cards she used to tell her story in a video she posted on You
Tube a month before committing a suicide. The cards displayed in the video
reported years of cyberbullying, suffering, anxiety, physical assault, and blackmail
resulting from one mistake Amanda had made on a video chat, where an unknown
male had lured her to expose her breasts via webcam. Her nude photo surfaced
Cyberbullying, Fear and Silence
__________________________________________________________________
2
online and began circulating, following the girl wherever she moved. The
blackmailer used her topless photograph as his profile picture on Facebook. ‘I can
never get that photo back’, stated the teen on one of the cards she held up in the
haunting video. ‘It's out there forever’. 15-year-old Amanda told her story through
a series of white cards with brief sentences in black marker. Her silent message
was extremely powerful. After she took her life on September 7, 2012, the video
entitled ‘My Story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm’ went viral and since
then has been viewed more than 17 million times. Some of the audience ridiculed
her suicide and made fun of her drama, writing that the girl deserved what had
happened to her.
3
A similar hate campaign continued in the case of Hope Witsell, who killed
herself, but even in death could not escape the bullies, who posted comments on
her Facebook and MySpace, such as: ‘I can’t believe that whore did that’. Hope
was called a whore, a slut, in school corridors she was attacked, once pushed into a
locker, after her topless photo had gone viral. The 13-year-old girl had ‘sexted’ a
photo of her breasts to her boyfriend. The nude picture was stolen by another girl
who sent it around via social media. Online harassment was centred around ‘Hope
Hater Page’ launched by cyberbullies who didn’t let up even after the girl’s suicide
in 2009.
4
Jessica Logan sent her nude photos to her boyfriend. When they broke up, he
sent her topless pictures to other school girls who uploaded the pics on social
networking sites, started bullying Jessica, calling her a slut, porn queen and whore.
The 18-year-old shared her story in a television interview. Two months later, in
July 2008, Jessica’s mother found her hanging in the bedroom. ‘The cell phone
was in the middle of the floor’.
5
Rebecca Sedwick, a 12-year-old girl, ‘became one of the youngest members of
a growing list of children and teenagers apparently driven to suicide’ after being
taunted online by cyberbullies who asked: ‘Can u die please?’, or ‘Why are you
still alive?’, and ‘You’re ugly’. After months of torment she jumped to death in
September 2013.
6
Zoe Johnson, 13 year-old cheerleader, ended her life on July 6, 2015. Her
mother said: ‘Cyberbullying killed my daughter’.
7
Even after Zoe’s death her
Facebook account was full of mean comments, including: ‘Good ur gone’ and
‘Deleting u’.
Amanda, Hope, Jessica, Rebecca, Zoe – how many more? The cyberbullying
statistics of 2014 are alarming. In the last decade, the media all over the world have
covered the stories of teens who committed suicide or suffered severe harm
following periods of cyberbullying,
8
which is the ‘wilful and repeated harm
inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices’.
9
Claiming that cyberbullying causes suicide is an oversimplification,
10
nevertheless
‘research has shown that being involved in bullying (both as a victim and a bully)
as a young person increases the risk of experiencing factors which are associated
Magdalena Hodalska
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3
with suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completed suicides’.
11
Very often the victims
cannot stand up for themselves, facing continuous and relentless acts of aggression.
Only last year, 52 percent of young people reported being cyberbullied, 25
percent experienced repeated bullying on the Internet or via cell phone, 11 percent
reported embarrassing or damaging photographs taken without their knowledge or
consent. 55 percent of teenagers who use social media have witnessed bullying via
that medium.
12
Online harassment is likely to be a growing problem, with the
increasing use of social networking sites, which have become the perfect venue for
teenagers’ identity exploration and unfortunately, an equally perfect platform for
bullies to stalk their victims.
Over 80 percent of teens use Facebook and other services such as Twitter,
Instagram for interacting with friends.
13
Today teens are confined to their homes
much more than in past generations, so it’s natural ‘they turn to the Internet as a
means of socializing with peers’.
14
Heather Bezmiller points out that social media
users do not realize how visible their profiles are to the public, sharing delicate
personal information they open themselves to attack. Young users also fail to
understand that the information that appears on the Internet becomes a permanent
record, following them into the future. On the Internet, there are no second
chances, says Benzmiller: once information about your misconduct leaks online, it
cannot be concealed. Past mistakes haunt people throughout their lives, turning
them into ‘prisoner[s] of [their] recorded past[s]’.
15
Research showed that the daily use of social media, emotional attachment to the
interactions within the social networking sites, Internet access via cell phones and
engaging in risky online behaviours (like lying about age, harassing others or
sexting) ‘increased the likelihood of being both cyberbullied and bullied offline’.
16
Online harassment can be more devastating than traditional bullying for several
reasons: bullies hide behind anonymity, cyberbullying invades personal space, and
damaging messages can be sent to a large audience, remaining online forever.
17
The permanent nature of the Internet, the ease to repeat and replicate, the lack of
control over harmful massages that are available to everyone, everywhere, and
anytime – these traits of online communication facilitate cyberbullying, which
starts with a simple keystroke.
On social networking sites we can observe the ‘reincarnation of traditional
bullying’,
18
which moved from the school playground to cyberspace. There are no
bruises or torn clothing any longer. But there are emotional scars, torn
psychological defences and completely devastated sense of security.
Cyberbullying plagues the victims in traditionally safe environments such as
the home, which is particularly distressing, because a target of harassment is left
with no safe space to escape.
19
Online stalking has no space or time limits. Twenty
four hours a day young people remain connected with their online friends and
perpetrators.
Cyberbullying, Fear and Silence
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4
In 2014 one in five teenagers reported sending nude photos or videos via
emails, and cell phones, 31 percent of youth received such images/videos. The
transmission of nude or partially nude photos, called ‘sexting’, has been recognized
as a growing social problem and one of risk factors of cyberbullying.
‘I shared a photo’ campaign, launched by Children of the Street Society, was
inspired by the tragic story of Amanda Todd. The video and posters show a girl
sitting on a bed, and holding a series of placards which tell her story: ‘I sent a
photo to someone I trusted and now, thousands of people I don’t know, know me’.
The ending message reads: ‘There's no such thing as 'just one photo’. Protect
yourself from sexual exploitation. Be safe online’.
20
The dangers of sexting were also reflected in a powerful Brazilian campaign,
launched last year by SaferNet. A persuasive ad showing a young woman in front
of a mirror reflecting a line of people who receive her nude picture that the woman
had sent to one man who shared it with others. ‘The Internet can't keep your secret’
says the ad, ‘Keep your privacy offline’.
21
Less direct, but still meaningful and persuasive, is the Think b4 U post
campaign, launched by the European Commission in 2010. The spot and posters
depict a computer mouse blushing after taking a nude selfie and sharing the photo
with others. Red-faced computer mouse is a very fresh and suggestive metaphor.
22
Recent campaigns acknowledge the risky behaviours of young Internet users
and focus on raising awareness of the dangers of social networking, sending
personal information, videos and photos that make youngsters vulnerable to online
predators. Since ‘a friend of a friend can be an enemy’,
23
campaigns addressed to
potential targets of cyberbullying illustrate the consequences of ‘sharing’. I want to
demonstrate how academic research findings can have practical implications for
awareness raising campaigns.
At the beginning, the efforts of social marketing practitioners, foundations and
organizations that aim to reduce online harassment, were focused on spreading
awareness of the devastating consequences of cyberbullying.
Much research shows that cyberbullies hide behind anonymity which gives
them the impression that there will be no consequences and they will not be
blamed for hate speech, so online they speak more harshly than offline,
24
online
harassers make themselves anonymous or invisible.
25
Cyberbullies use false names,
nicknames, temporary email addresses, and unknown phone numbers. Studies have
found that the target’s feelings of fear, frustration and powerlessness may increase
if the identity of the bully is unknown as the target does not know who they can
trust.
26
Anonymous bullies feel more powerful in their threats and teasing, also
because they cannot see the impact of their acts on the victim. ‘In face-to-face
bullying the bully can see the impact as the attack happens, whereas the cyberbully
cannot see any of the outcomes, perhaps resulting in further aggression’.
27
Internet
users are disembodied and impersonalized.
28
Magdalena Hodalska
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5
Heather Benzmiller points out that The use of electronic
communication decreases the sender’s awareness of how the
receivers will perceive and react to the communications. Bullies
therefore seem not to understand that their behaviour has real-life
costs.
29
‘Don’t Say, Don’t Send’ is the most recent campaign launched by Kidscape,
and produced by Saatchi & Saatchi London, which produced a video showing a
series of young people: the embarrassed, worried, uncomfortable expressions on
their faces are in opposition with the meanness of online messages they have sent.
They read out loud their own aggressive texts, abusive name-calling, and threats of
violence. The same people are shown crying at a funeral. ‘We didn’t mean it’ and
‘It was just banter’, they say as the camera shows a grave of their target. The spot
ends with the memo: ‘If you wouldn’t say it, don’t send it’.
30
Similar message was delivered in Talent Show, produced by Ad Council, which
asked: ‘If you wouldn’t say it in person why say it online?’.
31
The stunning video
begins on stage where a sweet and innocent girl is getting ready to perform in a
school talent show, and suddenly she starts speaking about Patty, another girl from
her class, saying that Patty’s dirty, ugly and everyone hates her, even the teachers,
and so the bashing continuous and we see Patty sinking in her chair and members
of the audience shocked but silent. The performer encourages: ‘get a life, Patty’, as
she finishes her stunt with a sweet ‘thank you’, gently bowing to the audience. The
contrast of the Talent show video is persuasively effective. What we saw on the
screen was ‘a good girl’.
Researchers pointed out the association between cyberbullying and low
academic achievements.
32
On the other hand, Hinduja and Patchin found that
students who reported earning grades of mostly A’s were just as likely to be
involved in cyberbullying students with poor grades.
33
‘In fact, some parents and
teachers would be shocked to know that some “good” students are also involved in
the problem behaviour’.
34
So we can no longer claim that only those who get poor
grades at school become bullies, even the best students torment their classmates
and online friends in cyberspace.
Bullies tend to believe that bullying is normal and the victim deserved to be
bullied.
35
Many of them think they are just ‘having fun’ or ‘messing around’,
36
that
their comments are harmless, online jokes are entertaining. Willard labelled such
perpetrators ‘inadvertent cyberbullies’,
37
Vandebosch and van Cleemput found that
that the aggressors harassed or insulted their classmates, thinking their actions were
‘rather funny’, while their victims perceived the same actions as ‘rather hurtful’.
38
Australian campaign Cyberbullying hurts too, illustrates the devastating
consequences of online abuse.
39
It shows a girl looking at the camera as if she was
looking at the computer screen. Every time she clicks to see more, more bruises
Cyberbullying, Fear and Silence
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6
appear on her face as if she was punched. Similarly brutal metaphor was employed
in the excellent Swiss campaign, created in Zurich for Pro Juventute, a crusader
against cyberbullying.
40
On billboards across the country and on Facebook there
was this hard-hitting image of a boy, showing that he has been attacked by multiple
cursors that have cut his flesh drawing blood. All these efforts were aimed at
potential cyberbullies who tend to ‘dismiss the gravity’ of their actions ‘because
they do not make the connection between their online behaviour and the offline
consequences’.
41
Nevertheless, the offline consequences are severe for all
participants of online harassment: the bullies, the victims and the bystanders as
well.
Victims suffer from depression and anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, which
are still detected when they are adults.
42
Bullies are also more likely to suffer from
anxiety and depression, have lower self-esteem and life satisfaction, but higher
levels of loneliness,
43
they experience negative social and health outcomes,
becoming involved in criminal activity, forming abusive relationships, abusing
alcohol and drugs.
44
Witnesses to bullying are also at a greater risk of alcohol and
drug abuse, they have lower academic achievements and suffer from depression
and anxiety.
45
Cyberbullied victims may feel lost and hopeless, especially when
harassment and insults follow them home and are visible to hundreds of
witnesses,
46
when harmful comments, texts and embarrassing images are posted on
social networking sites and addressed to the ‘infinite audience’,
47
which only adds
insult to injury. Unable to erase embarrassing content which is replicated online,
the targets of cyberbullying may experience far greater distress then those who
were bullied on school corridors and playgrounds years ago.
48
The bigger the
audience, the greater the humiliation of the victims.
49
The audience consists of bystanders who become either (1) passive observers,
whose presence and tacit support encourage the bully by providing attention to his
demonstration of power, or (2) active participants, who join the bullying.
50
This
way or the other, silent bystanders become part of the harmful interaction. And in
some cases they become bullies themselves, when they click to forward harmful
texts or embarrassing pictures.
One cannot forget that bystanders may experience huge distress as well. They
witness violence, yet fail to defend the victim out of fear of retribution. They fail to
report bullying to adults out of fear of becoming ‘the next target of the bully’s
ire’.
51
This fear results in reported feelings of anxiety and insecurity.
52
Traditional
bullying researchers referred to the bystander as a passer-by, observer, witness, or
participant.
53
Cyberbullying scholars recognize an important role the witness-bystander plays
in escalating the abuse, as online harassment is no longer perceived as an
interaction between the bully and the victim only.
54
The bystanders of bullying are
never innocent, claimed Barbara Coloroso, and Heather Bezmiller proposed that
the witnesses of cyberbullying should be held liable for failing to report the most
Magdalena Hodalska
__________________________________________________________________
7
severe forms of bullying’.
55
where does this quote begin? The tacit support which
the silent observers give to the bully, through their silence, may contribute to the
escalation of the bullying and the victimization of its target.
56
Heather Bezmiller suggested that the witnesses of cyberbullying should be
‘held liable for failing to report the most severe forms of bullying’
57
and discussed
the legal implications of turning a witness of online abuse into a Cyber-
Samaritan.
58
Numerous witnesses of online harassment remain silent out of fear of
retaliation, but also because many of them may feel that other witnesses are
involved and surely someone else would help if help is really needed. That is how
the Bystander’s Effect works. The term coined by Bibb Latane and John Darley
refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of
people present, the less likely people are to help a person in
distress. (…) Being part of a large crowd makes it so no single
person has to take responsibility for an action (or inaction).
59
The Bystander’s Effect, diffusion of responsibility, and conformism push the
cyberbullying witnesses into the trap of inaction, even when they disagree with
what they see on the screen. Researchers found that that bystanders were more
likely to defend the victim when dissenting behaviour was modelled, when they
read supportive comments posted by other participants of the interaction: ‘When a
bystander challenges the bully or supports the victim, this models dissenting
behaviour’,
60
stated Anderson, Bresnahan and Musatics who tested the conformity
effect, the dissenter effect, and the bystander effect in responses to weight-based
cyberbullying and found that modelling dissenting behaviour is an effective way to
combat online harassment. Without a model for dissenting communication (like:
‘Don’t listen to haters!’; or ‘You guys are so mean! Leave her alone’) or positive
communication, people are far less likely to express positive messages.
61
Superstar. Genious. Beautiful – are the positive antonyms of harmful words,
placed on phone skins, which makes them ‘badges of honour, as well as reminders
not to misuse technology’.
62
That’s the latest idea of Fathom agency that designed
the ‘Be True to your word’ campaign in 2015, encouraging bystanders to send even
more positive posts.
Before they turn into Cyber-Samaritans, Internet users must be aware of the
reality of cyberbullying. Researches help to understand the phenomenon, its
dynamics and participants, which can be beneficial to social marketing
practitioners, foundations and organizations that aim to reduce online harassment.
Given the growing number of cyberbullied, and witnesses of online abuse and hate
speech, every effort to make the Internet safer, or at least a less threatening space,
is worth sharing.
Cyberbullying, Fear and Silence
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8
Notes
1
‘Cyber Bullying Statistics 2014’, No Bullying, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-statistics-2014.
2
Amanda Todd, ‘My Story: Struggling, Bullying, Suicide, Self-Harm’, You Tube,
2012, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOHXGNx-E7E; Brandon Baur and Reena
Ninan, ‘Bullied Teen Amanda Todd’s Video Passes 17 Million Views’, ABC,
Viewed on 13 February 2016, http://abcnews.go.com/US/bullied-teen-amanda-
todds-video-passes-13m-views/story?id=17548856.
3
Anonymous, ‘The Unforgettable Amanda Todd Story’, No Bullying, Viewed on
13 February 2016, http://nobullying.com/amanda-todd-story/.
4
Randi Kaye, ‘How a Cell Phone Picture Led to Girl’s Suicide’, CNN, 7 October
2010, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/10/07/hope.witsells.story/.
5
Mike Celizic, ‘Her Teen Committed Suicide Over “Sexting”’, Today, 6 March
2009, Viewed on 13 February 2016, http://www.today.com/parents/her-teen-
committed-suicide-over-sexting-2D80555048; Penny Spiller, ‘Alarm Bells Ring
Over “Sexting”’, BBC, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8043490.stm.
6
Philip Sherwell, ‘Teenager Who Killed Herself over Cyberbullying Sparks Soul
Searching in US’, The Telegraph, 16 October 2013, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10383635/Teenager
-who-killed-herself-over-cyberbullying-sparks-soul-searching-in-US.html.
7
Josh Sidorowicz, ‘Mom: Cyberbullying Killed My Daughter’, Fox News, 21 July
2015, Viewed on 13 February 2016, http://fox17online.com/2015/07/21/mom-
cyber-bullying-killed-my-daughter/.
8
Heather Benzmiller, ‘The Cyber-Samaritans: Exploring Criminal Liability for the
“Innocent” Bystanders of Cyberbullying’, Northwestern University Law Review,
107.2 (2013): 927; For more examples see, Colleen Long and Samantha Gross,
‘Alexis Pilkington Facebook Horror: Cyber Bullies Harass Teen Even After
Suicide’, The Huffington Post, 25 May 2011, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/alexispilkington-
facebook_n_512482.html.
9
Justin W. Patchin, and Sameer Hinduja, ‘Bullies Move Beyond the Schoolyard: A
Preliminary Look at Cyberbullying’, Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice 4 (2006):
152.
10
See Russell A. Sabella, Justin W. Patchin, and Sameer Hinduja, ‘Cyberbullying
Myths and Realities’, Computers in Human Behavior 29 (2013): 2703-2711.
11
See Sabella, Patchin, and Hinduja, ‘Cyberbullying Myths and Realities’, 2705.
12
‘Cyber Bullying Statistics 2014’.
Magdalena Hodalska
__________________________________________________________________
9
13
Steven S. Seiler, and Jordana N. Navarro, ‘Bullying on the Pixel Playground:
Investigating Risk Factors of Cyberbullying at the Intersection of Children’s
Online-Offline Social Lives’, Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research
on Cyberspace 8.4 (2014), doi: 10.5817/CP2014-4-6.
14
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 934.
15
Ibid., 936.
16
Seiler and Navarro, ‘Bullying on Pixel Playground’.
17
Niamh O’Brien and Tina Moules, ‘Not Sticks and Stones but Tweets and Texts:
Findings from a National Cyberbullying Project’, Pastoral Care in Education 31.1
(2013): 53-65; Seiler and Navarro, ‘Bullying on Pixel Playground’.
18
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 930.
19
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 936; O’Brien and Moules, ‘Not Sticks and
Stones’, 55; Donna Kernaghan, and Jannette Elwood, ‘All the (Cyber) World’s a
Stage: Framing Cyberbullying as a Performance’, Cyberpsychology: Journal of
Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace 7.1 (2013), doi: 10.5817/CP2013-1-5.
20
Anonymous, ‘One Photo’, Kampanie społeczne, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://www.kampaniespoleczne.pl/kampanie,2715,wystarczy_jedno_zdjecie.
21
Anonymous, ‘Safernet Brasil: Selfie’, Ads of the World, Viewed on 13 February
2016, http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/safernet_brasil_selfie.
22
‘Think B4 U Post Campaign Spot’, You Tube, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsVNmIBZraY.
23
Martyn Williams, ‘Obama Warns Kids on Stupid Facebook Posts’, PC World,
Viewed on 13 February 2016, http://www.pcworld.com/article/171712/article.html.
24
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 934.
25
See, Sameer Hinduja, and Justin Patchin, Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard:
Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying (London: Corwin Press, 2009);
Robin M. Kowalski, Susan P. Limber, Patricia W. Agatston, Cyberbullying:
Bullying in the Digital Age (Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2008).
26
See Kernaghan and Elwood, ‘Framing Cyberbullying as Performance’; Heidi
Vandebosch, and Katrien Van Cleemput, ‘Cyberbullying among Youngsters:
Profiles of Bullies and Victims’, New Media & Society 11.8 (2009); Nancy
Willard, Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenges of Online
Social Aggression, Threat and Distress (USA: Research Press, 2007).
27
Christopher B. Davison and Carl H. Stein, ‘The Dangers of Cyberbullying’,
North American Journal of Psychology 16.3 (2014): 597.
28
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 935; ‘Cyber Bullying Statistics 2014’.
29
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 935.
30
‘Don’t Say, Don’t Send Campaing Spot’, You Tube, Viewed on 13 February
2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZnqI2UyGkM.
31
‘Talent Show campaign spot’, You Tube, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdQBurXQOeQ.
Cyberbullying, Fear and Silence
__________________________________________________________________
10
32
Davison and Stein, ‘Dangers of Cyberbullying’, 600.
33
Sabella, Patchin, and Hinduja, ‘Cyberbullying Myths and Realities’, 2707.
34
Ibid.
35
Robin M. Kowalski, Gary W. Giumetti, Amber N. Schroeder, and Micah R.
Lattanner, ‘Bullying in the Digital Age: A Critical Review and Meta-Analysis of
Cyberbullying Research among Youth’, Psychological Bulletin 140.4 (2014):
1073-1137. doi:10.1037/a0035618.
36
Sabella, Patchin, and Hinduja, ‘Cyberbullying Myths and Realities’, 2707.
37
Willard quoted in Sabella, Patchin, and Hinduja, ‘Cyberbullying Myths and
Realities’, 2707.
38
Vandebosch, and Van Cleemput, ‘Cyberbullying among Youngsters’, 1367.
39
‘Cyberbullying Hurts Too Campaign Spot’, You Tube, Viewed on 13 February
2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUxlHDE8p2M.
40
‘Pro Juventute Campaign’, ProJuventute.ch, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://www.projuventute.ch/Bilder.2120.0.html.
41
Sabella, Patchin, and Hinduja, ‘Cyberbullying Myths and Realities’, 2707.
42
Ibid., 2706.
43
Davison and Stein, ‘Dangers of Cyberbullying’, 600; Kowalski, Giumetti,
Schroeder, and Lattanner, ‘Bullying in the Digital Age’.
44
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 932.
45
Ibid.
46
Seiler and Navarro, ‘Bullying on Pixel Playground’.
47
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 935.
48
Kernaghan and Elwood, ‘Cyberbullying as Performance’.
49
Ibid.
50
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 931.
51
Barbara Coloroso, quoted in Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 937.
52
Joshua R. Polanin, Dorothy L. Espelage, Therese D. Pigott, ‘A Meta-Analysis of
School-Based Bullying Prevention Programs’ Effects on Bystander Intervention
Behavior’, School Psychology Review 41 (2012): 49.
53
Ibid.
54
Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-Samaritans’, 939.
55
Ibid., 927
56
Ibid., 962.
57
Ibid., 927.
58
The title of the chapter was inspired by the study of Heather Benzmiller, ‘Cyber-
Samaritan’.
59
Kendra Cherry, ‘The Bystander’s Effect. Why Bystanders Sometimes Fail to
Help’, Psychology, Viewed on 13 February 2016,
http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/bystandereffect.htm.
Magdalena Hodalska
__________________________________________________________________
11
60
Jenn Anderson, Mary Bresnahan, and Catherine Musatics, ‘Combating Weight-
Based Cyberbullying on Facebook with the Dissenter Effect’, Cyberpsychology,
Behavior, and Social Networking 17.5 (2014): 281.
61
Ibid., 282.
62
David Gianatasio, ‘Six Agencies, Six Solutions for Cyberbullying’, Adweek,
Viewed on 13 February 2016, http://www.adweek.com/contributor/david-
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Cyberbullying, Fear and Silence
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Magdalena Hodalska
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13
Polanin, Joshua R. Dorothy L. Espelage, and Therese D. Pigott. ‘A Meta-Analysis
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Willard, Nancy. Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats: Responding to the Challenges of
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Magdalena Hodalska, PhD, was a freelance reporter and now is a Senior Lecturer
in the Institute of Journalism, Media and Social Communication at the Jagiellonian
University in Kraków, Poland. She investigates the representations of fear in the
media, social and cultural influence and the consequences of media coverage.
