Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

‘‘The Internet Is A Mask’’: High School Students’ Suggestions For Preventing Cyberbullying, Leandra N. Parris, Kris Varjas, Joel Meyers

Psychology Faculty Publications

Introduction: Interactions through technology have an important impact on today’s youth. While someof these interactions are positive, there are concerns regarding students engaging in negativeinteractions like cyberbullying behaviors and the negative impact these behaviors have on others. Thepurpose of the current study was to explore participant suggestions for both students and adults forpreventing cyberbullying incidents.

Methods: Forty high school students participated in individual, semi-structured interviews. Participantexperiences and perceptions were coded using constant comparative methods to illustrate ways inwhich students and adults may prevent cyberbullying from occurring within their school and community.

Results: Students reported that peers would benefit from increasing …