Cyberbullying and Youth Mental Health – Podcast

Cyberbullying and Youth Mental Health

[00:00:00] Cyber bullying can be traumatic, especially for young people, teens who are still kind of figuring out their own identity. 7% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have been bullied online. Continue to talk to your kids about how they’re using social media. What are they doing online?

Welcome to Convos from the Couch from LifeStance Health. Where each episode, you’ll hear engaging and informative conversations with the leading mental health professionals that will help guide you on a new journey to leading a healthier, more fulfilling life.

Hello everyone. I’m Nicolette Leanza and I’m so excited to have Jillian Nichols from our LifeStance Seattle office. Joining us today to talk about cyberbullying. Jillian welcome. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and what are your specialties. Absolutely. [00:01:00] Yeah. Thank you so much for having me.

I’m excited to be here, talking with you about an important topic. I think. Just in general, but especially right now. So yeah, so I’m a licensed mental health counselor in the state of Washington working as a clinician for LifeStance out of our Seattle office. And I work with both adults and teen clients.

And I primarily specialize in both eating disorders and anxiety disorders. And depending on the client that I’m working with, I’ll use a variety of different approaches that kind of fall under the CBT umbrella. So this might be acceptance and commitment therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, or even exposure and response prevention.

Again, just kind of depending on the client and what they’re presenting. Gotcha. No great. Sounds like you definitely have a specialty to and knowledge to talk about this topic for sure. So to kind of get us started. I’m going to just talk a little bit [00:02:00] about some facts and these facts are according to do DoSomething.org.

And one of the things that it tells us is that about 37% of young people between the ages of 12 and 17 have been bullied online, and that girls are more likely than boys to be both victims and perpetrators of cyber bullying. And then another point that I found really interesting is that Instagram is the social media site where most young people report experiencing cyber bullying with 42% of those surveyed experiencing harassment on the platform.

So, wow. And the last bit here is that young people who experienced cyber bullying often are at greater risk than those who don’t for both self-harm and suicidal behavior. So all just really concerning stuff. So to kick us off, let’s jump in. Jillian, can you tell us a little bit about what is cyber bullying and why do you think it takes place?

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for sharing those statistics. That’s definitely in line with sort of what I [00:03:00] see kind of with the clients that I work with and everything, and you’re absolutely right. It’s, super common, super prevalent. In fact, you know, we’ve, we’ve kind of found that cyber bullying has actually doubled in the past 10 years and even more recently during the pandemic we seen an increase in cyber bullying probably.

To the increase in use of digital devices over the past 18 months and things like that. But yeah, but you know, cyberbullying is, is really any kind of bullying that takes place through digital devices. And so this is typically sharing negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else online that typically causes embarrassment and humiliation to the victim.

As you, as you kind of mentioned the most common sort of place that this can occur is on, on social media. You mentioned Instagram in particular which is, which is spot on. But it can also include, you know, text messaging, direct messaging even online gaming communities, really anywhere on the internet [00:04:00] anywhere.

Yeah. Anywhere that, you know, we’re using digital devices, we’re communicating with others. This can can really occur. And I kinda think of cyber bullying. It’s almost like that perfect storm of factors that, that sort of occur where just the nature of being online really serves to this issue.

Right. Mainly because of. You know, think of the access that people have to the internet these days. Right? Almost everyone has a smartphone, especially again, you know, past 18 months during the pandemic, we’re, we’re all online a little bit more. And while there’s like many benefits to this, right. It’s also that, that access, right.

That can be harmful at the same time. And through that, right. I think it’s, it’s a special. Easier for, for people to bully online for that reason, but also like idea of kind of being behind the screen, right. It kind of adds this factor of feeling anonymous or you don’t get that direct feedback from the victim [00:05:00] right away.

Right. Probably a lot of the things that are said online, you would never say to a person’s face because it feels more removed. And so that’s why kind of the content can be a lot harsher, a lot meaner. And again, just more frequent due to that access. So, yeah, so similar to this, it, it can be particularly harmful just because it can be so persistent victims can often feel like they can’t get a break from it.

They can’t step away from. ’cause they’re constantly online. Right. But, and I was shocked at, and along, you know, previous to the internet, you know, oftentimes individuals would be bullied maybe just at school and, but now it definitely can follow them home as they’re, you know, navigating social media, just being online, like you said.

So it’s like what you’re saying, just not being able to get away from it definitely seems to add a whole layer of a layer of like intensity to it, for sure. Absolutely can’t step away from it. And that right there is then, you know, kind of flowing into like, you know, how severely that [00:06:00] can harm someone’s mental health, for sure.

You know, leading into like depression and anxiety. Do you, do you find that with some of your own clients that might struggle with some, especially with relaying it back to social media with kind of portrayed on there, how that might affect their mental health or self-esteem. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

There’s actually a lot of research on kind of the correlation between cyber bullying and, and low self-esteem in particular. But cyber bullying can be traumatic. Right. It really can. And I think, you know, especially for young people, teens who are still kind of figuring out their own identity in general, tend to, you know, Maybe around that age, just kind of struggle with low self esteem in general, right.

There’s that vulnerability there. And then you add cyber bullying into the mix, right. And it can be especially harmful. Right? So like I said, it can be traumatic. Often then through that we see yeah. Increased rates of depression, anxiety, and the [00:07:00] symptoms that, that come from that. Right. So, you know low mood, sleep disturbance, poor academic performance.

You know, and like you mentioned at the beginning, right. And in kind of these more extreme cases that we often see in the news and things like that is suicide ideation and suicidal behaviors. Right. Yeah, which I mean, we can definitely, again, just see how serious of an issue this is. I know there’s been definitely a lot of talk of, well it’s even specifically when I’m talking with my own clients, when it comes to looking at their own body image and part of what is happening is that they’re comparing themselves to others online, looking not the nitpick on Instagram, but when you’re looking at Instagram and comparing themselves and things like that, can you talk a bit more about that?

Are those the body image issues that might come out of social media usage or just comparing ourselves? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I love that question because that’s kind of naturally [00:08:00] where my mind goes. Right. Because that is kind of predominantly what I work with, what I see. And I see that a lot you know, It can be really harmful, right?

Because certain individuals are more likely to be cyber bullied and, and this can absolutely include people that are living in larger bodies, right. That don’t maybe fit into that thin ideal sort of expectation. And so you know, Those individuals are more likely to be bullied, right. Maybe have already been struggling with body image.

And then you add that external component. You can imagine how that can affect the individual. Right. You know, not only that right, but okay. Maybe somebody. Seeing that comment, right. Maybe they’re not the victim of that comment, but maybe they’re seeing that comment online and they feel, they look similar to the person that’s being bullied.

Right. So it kind of has that, that twofold effect in a way. But yeah, the, the clients that I work with, you know, I see it all the time. Right. You know, even [00:09:00] my adult clients that are older bolt still relive or replay these comments or these things that are said to them about their bodies from years and years and years ago.

And it just can really stick with them and really fuel this disordered eating, right, this like desire to really change in a and adapt their body to fit into, you know, a mold that they kind of perceive. Okay. If I change my body, maybe that’s. And the comments and the bullying. Right, right, right. Yeah. For sure.

Now, Jillian, is there more of a profile that would lead someone towards becoming a bully? Sure. Yeah. You know, I, I don’t know if there’s one specific profile. Right. But you know, they found that there are certain characteristics, certain things. Yeah, around those that cyber bully. Absolutely. You know, a lot of times the person that is doing the bullying is struggling themselves, right.

With their own mental health, their own low self-esteem. Maybe [00:10:00] they’ve been the victim of a cyber bully in the past. Right. And it kind of perpetuates that, that same pattern. You know, maybe they’re wanting to try new persona online, right. And kind of adapt this new identity online. And this is one way to do that.

You know, it can also be the result of an interpersonal conflict, such as a recent breakup, a falling out with friends things like that. So there can be a lot of kind of circumstances, right. That can lead a person to cyber bullying. I think. General mental health is, is something really important to look at, right?

Which again, I think is why it’s so important to be talking about this in the context of mental health. So yeah, you know, as you mentioned before, Girls are more likely to be cyber bullied and do the cyber bullying. Right. And we can speculate a million reasons why that might be. But, but my mind kind of goes back to, again, just that, that low self-esteem that isolation, loneliness struggling [00:11:00] themselves.

Right, right, right. For sure.

Okay, Julian. So are there any steps we can do to prevent cyberbullying? Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I think this is kind of the natural question that comes up from this, right. We’ve kind of discussed all the issues, the impacts how serious this can be. Right. And I think that’s, that’s a natural question.

You know, Feel there is kind of a clear answer to really stop cyberbullying altogether, but there’s definitely things we can do to reduce kind of the likelihood of this. Right. And, you know, I think. The main thing, right. Is as a community is continuing to discuss it, talk about it, right? Like we’re doing now defining it so that it’s easier to identify when it happens.

Talking about the harmful effects like we have just done. So people take it more seriously. People are more inclined maybe to [00:12:00] intervene if they see that cyber bullying online or. You know, call out the bully or whatever it is. Right. So I think like that awareness is, is a huge component to that.

Just to keep it in the conversation that this was harmful, right. And can have lasting effects. You know, I think as social media in general, I think they have started becoming more aware of this. Right. And so most platforms now do have the option to like report harmful content. If you see you know, cyber bullying online, which is, which is great.

So, you know, platforms are obviously taking the steps, I think, because they are aware of the harmful effects that it can do. Right. So as a community, right? I think we, we speak out about it. We intervene where we can and you know, just continue to, to keep it in the conversation. I’d say. To write, depending on the position that you’re in, right.

If you’re the one being bullied, if you’re a parent of somebody being bullied, right. That can definitely kind of differ on how you might respond to this. So, you know as a victim, right. I’d say the [00:13:00] most important thing is to not engage with the bully. Right. And St. The evidence of it, right. And then go tell someone, tell a parent, tell a teacher tell someone, this is, this is happening to me.

Right. Which can be a really hard thing to do, but a really brave thing to do at the same time. Right. Again, kind of stopping that bully, right. Might prevent somebody else from being bullied and the future. Okay. So it’s, it’s super important. And then as a parent, right. You know continuing to talk to your kids about how they’re using social media, what are they doing online?

Explain to them what cyber bullying is. So again, they’re knowledgeable about it and they can recognize it if they see it or they’re being bullied themselves. You know, so then again, maybe that can have that ripple effect. Just kind of monitoring the online platforms and what’s being said on there.

Okay, great. And so are there any quick takeaways, like for people to know about cyber bullying? [00:14:00] Yeah. I mean, you know, I think we’ve had many points, right. That I would love people to take away from this. I think. You know, the main takeaways, right? Is this, this is a thing, right? This is continuing to be a problem in our society.

I think as long as social media, digital devices exists, we’re going to see this in some form, some aspect. And so again, just really keeping the awareness around this, keeping this in the conversation is, is super important. Right? And then again, you know, for. You know, both clinicians, but also people just in everyday life.

Right. Just acknowledging the mental health impacts has. Right. So, you know yeah. Like as a therapist, right? Making sure we’re talking about this, we’re aware of this. So then when we see this right, we’re able to address it similarly, right. As a parent, as a victim, right. Acknowledging that. Does impact mental health and helping to [00:15:00] support yourself, support your child right through this.

If this is an issue that you are, are facing. Okay. Well, thank you, Julian, for all your knowledge on this topic is very important topic for us to be talking about, for sure. So we thank you again, and we’d love to have you on the, on the podcast again. Thank you. Absolutely.

Thanks everyone for listening to Convos from the Couch by LifeStance Health, where we are re-imagining mental health. Please check out our website, LifeStance.com for our blog on youth mental health. And of course, don’t forget to subscribe to Convos from the Couch on Apple or Google Podcasts. Take care.