Dr Lambros Lazuras Lecturer in Psychology, International Faculty of the University of Sheffield Researcher, Department of Social & Developmental Psychology, University of Rome La Sapeinza

Dynamically evolving ‘playgrounds’ 2

How many ‘like’ you did today? 2.5 billion likes on a daily basis 77% of adolescent students aged years hold an active social media account 38% of children 9-12 years report having used social media (Livingstone et al., 2012) 3

Bullying in the digital playground Aggressive behaviour expressed repeatedly and over time from one person or a group of people against others who cannot easily defend themselves 4 with the use of communication technology (Hinduja & Patchin, 2009; Smith et al., 2008)

Bullying vs. Cyberbullying Physical strength Identification Limited audience Time and space boundaries Anonymity Larger audience No time and space boundaries Hard to detect 5 (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010; Menesini & Spiel, 2012)

Types of cyberbullying Sending humiliating and offensive messages Personal data violation Posting denigrating messages and information about others on social media (Beran & Li, 2007; Pyzalksi, 2011) 6

Prevalence of cyberbullying Between 12-25% among adolescents (aged years) in Canada, USA, and European countries 7 out of 10 times cyberbullying is related to traditional, face- to-face bullying Bully-victim role interchange (Olweus, 2012; Slonje et al., 2013) 7

Cyberbullying in Greece Tsorbatzoudis, Lazuras, & Barkoukis (2012) EU Programme DAPHNE III, Cyberbullying in 6 EU countries 997 high school students from 22 schools in Greece 10% reported being victims of cyberbullying 34% reported being witnesses of cyberbullying in their close environment Receiving denigrating and threatening messages was the most common type of cyberbullying 8

Consequences of cyberbullying Emotional problems Social exclusion and isolation Lower self-esteem Reduced academic performance and absenteeism Depression and negative affect Suicidal ideation and attempts (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010 ; Κowalksi et al., 2012) 9

So, what can we do? Students Think before you post, share or text Be an ‘upstander’ Respect others Keep private things for you Communicate appropriately 10

3 + 1 principles …against cyberbullying Avoidance – not taking part in cyberbullying incidents Deterrence – actively trying to deter cyberbullying among my friends Reporting – to peers, teachers, and parents Care – not being neglectful of cyberbullying incidents 11

Υπεύθυνος χρήστης social media Stand up to Cyberbullying 12

What can parents and teachers do? Building trust so that students/children can talk to you more openly about their online experiences Take immediate action Provide love and care and emotional reassurance to students/children that have been victimized – they need it! Report to authorities 13

Useful links

Thank you for your attention! 15