Each year the amount of time that we spent in front of a screen increase widely. Interacting with a screen has become an essential tool for people, but also has a negative impact.
In this post, I am going to do research to understand how people behave when interacting with a screen. I will uncover the needs and negative consequences that this bring to people to better understand how to appeal to them
Research Goals
1. Define people's common behaviours when interacting to screen in Australia and Worldwide.
2. Determines people’s mains activities
3. Determine people’s biggest consequences when interacting with a screen
4. Understand how people interact with each other with the screen.
5. Understanding people’s needs when interacting with the screen.
6. Empathize with people’s pains when being cyberbullied.
Insight Research
I have done some research* to understand and prove if my thoughts are accurate.
Worldwide
On the information above one of the findings that grab most, my attention was the amount of time that people spend on social media. And specifically, the tweens and teens since they are the ones that spend more time on the screen.
In Australia
Did you know that in total, 95% of teens in Australia are connected to the internet, and 85% are social media users?
What is social media?
Social media is a way for teenagers to stay in touch with their friends. It is an important part of socialising and connection in the modern world. The mains interaction includes:
Uploading and sharing content
Talking to friends
Joining in on group conversations
Creating online profiles
Posting comments or chatting
Uploading photos and videos
Sharing links
Tagging photos and content
What are the risks of using social media?
Like any form of social engagement, social media comes with risks:
Spending too much time online and being disconnected from the real world
Damaging your online reputation
Having your personal information shared online
Being exposed to inappropriate or upsetting content like mean, aggressive, violent or sexual comments or images
Cyberbullying
Exposure to too much-targeted advertising and marketing.
All this risk can have many negative effects, but the harmfulness one is cyberbullying.
I believe that many of us have been a victim of cyberbullying or know someone that has been through that.
This problem is not exclusive to children and teenagers, also goes on amongst adults.
I have also found that there is a general misunderstanding of exactly what cyberbullying is and people don’t know to detect it when is happening. So, let’s dig in cyberbullying
What is cyberbullying?
“The use of electronic communication to bully a person”
The most common forms are:
Receiving intentionally hurtful text messages, emails or direct messages on social media sites
People spreading rumours or lies about someone online
People sending images or videos intended to humiliate or embarrass someone
People sending threats to someone
People setting up and using fake online profiles to embarrass or intimidate someone.
Cyberbullying in teens worldwide facts
23% of students reported that they’ve said or done something mean online. 27% reported that they’ve experienced the same from someone else.
Girls are more likely than boys to be both victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying.
83% of young people believe social media companies should be doing more to tackle cyberbullying on their platforms.
60% of young people have witnessed online bullying. Most do not intervene.
Only 1 in 10 teen victims will inform a parent or trusted adult of their abuse.
4 out of 5 students (81%) say they would be more likely to intervene in instances of cyberbullying if they could do it anonymously.
A 2019 study* asked students to indicate on which social media platforms they had experienced cyberbullying, and here are the results:
Cyberbullying in teens Australia facts
1 in 5 Australian young people reported being socially excluded, threatened or abused online
55% sought help from their parents, 28% from their friends; 38% blocked the offending social media account; 12% reported it to the website or platform
1 in 5 Australian young people (15% of kids, 24% of teens) admitted behaving in a negative way to a peer online — such as calling them names, deliberately excluding them, or spreading lies or rumours. Of these, more than 90% had had a negative online experience themselves.
Reasons why kids cyberbully others.
Are motivated by revenge
Believe the victim deserves it
Are bored
Cave under peer pressure
Think everyone is doing it
Are power-hungry
Believe they won't get caught
Lack of empathy
Effects of cyberbullying in teens
Children and teenagers who experience cyberbullying can end up being bullied at school.
Cyberbullying often leaves teenagers with lowered self-esteem, less interest in school and low academic achievement.
64 per cent of people who have been cyberbullied say it affects their ability to learn and feel safe at school.
They are more likely to have mental health and behaviour problems.
Experience problems such as headaches and stomachaches
Had a negative impact on how they feel about themselves.
What are the solutions available for cyberbullying?
Report
Helplines
Live chat
Parents help
School help
Target Audience
Tweens and teens that start interacting with social media for the first time.
Empathy Map
To get a deeper insight into tweens and teens that suffer cyberbullying I interview 3 people that had been a victim of this or see this.
The 5 Why’s
Problem: Kids suffer from cyberbullying.
Why is this happening? Because they are virtually exposed.
Why is that? Because they are social media users.
Why is that? Because they want to be connected to the modern world.
Why is that? Because they feel a social engagement.
WHY IS THAT? Because the main channel of socializing for teens in this modern world is through social media.
Insight Statement & How Might We Question
Insight: The main channel of socializing for tweens and teens in this modern world is through social media, and this makes them vulnerable to being cyberbullied.
Need: Tweens and teens need to know that by using social media they are vulnerable to cyberbullying.
HMW: How might we help tweens and teens not being cyberbullied when using social media?
3 W
What is the problem
Hypothesis: I believe that by teaching tweens and teens how to use social media and the risks of social media, they would avoid being on vulnerable to cyberbullying
Why is a problem
There are not many solutions related to how to prevent this. Most of the solutions are to support those ones that have already suffer from cyberbullying.
Who we are targeting
Tweens and teens that start interacting with social media for the first time
*References
- All images and graphics where collected from different resources and then layout by Ana Clara Lopez
- Victoria Government. (2019). Cyberbullying. Education and training, Victoria State Government. https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/cyberbullyingcampaign.aspx?Redirect=1
- The Common Sense. (2019). The Common-Sense Census: Media Use by Tweens and Teens, 2019. Common Sense Media https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-2019
- Censuswide, Mrs Code of Conduct. (2019). Screen time statistics 2019: How do you compare? Code: Computer Love https://www.codecomputerlove.com/blog/screen-time-stats
- Admin, Civic, Web Media. (2019) Australia’s most popular social media sites 2019. Civic, Web Media
- Sherry Gordon (2019) 8 Reasons Why Kids Cyberbully Others: Understanding the motives behind cyberbullying. Verywell Family.
- Do something. (2019). 11 Facts About Cyberbullying. Do something
- Kids Helpline (2019) Cyberbullying. https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/cyberbullying