Where does online aggression come from?

It is impossible to specify one specific reason that affects the fact that you can often encounter manifestations of aggression on the Web. Of course, the anonymity of the Internet contributes to it to some extent, but is not, however, the only cause of aggression in cyberspace. On the Internet, as a rule, we do not see the true attitude of another person, do not share his emotions, sometimes we misunderstand the intentions of other people, provoking a sharp exchange of opinions or a quarrel.

Often people on the Internet behave differently than in the real world, it even happens that they are ashamed of what they wrote, or do not admit it. Discussing the causes of aggression on the Web, it is worth mentioning Internet rudeness. This is the behavior of some Internet users who, being on the Web, cease to perceive the prohibitions that are characteristic of face-to-face contacts. “From the point of view of psychologists, the Internet public can be divided into two types. On those who boldly demonstrate the real “I”, and those who try on new masks and roles<...>The saddest thing is that the behavior of both groups maintains a sense of impunity.” According to psychologists, it is the second type that is more common on the Web - role-playing game lovers. The Web is a place where the dark sides of some people are relatively easy to activate.

Harassment of a person using the Internet is very dangerous, since harmful, compromising or degrading information spreads very quickly and, as a rule, remains on the Web for a long time (or even forever) in the form, for example, of copies on several computers, even after the perpetrator is identified and punished. .

Reasons why online bullies use violence:

• 1) experiencing the joy of victory, arising, for example, from the need to confirm one's position in the group, or create one's image;
• 2) balancing mutual grievances;
• 3) revenge for the humiliation caused, for example, by family troubles, divorce, problems at school or in a peer group;
• 4) attracting the attention of others, a kind of cry for help.

Experts believe that the average period of effective terrorization of the chosen victim by various forms of electronic aggression is three months. After that, cyberbullying usually brings the desired result. The main goal of people who practice bullying and cyberbullying is to discredit the victim. This is much easier to do on the Web than in the real world, since the materials distributed on it reach a much larger number of people. The forces of the attackers and their victims are unequal. An attacker can rely on the community of Internet users and on the fact that nothing is lost on the Web. Even if he is discovered, and in a few cases punished, his "work" at any time can be continued by others.

Every smartphone owner practically carries his victim in his pocket. Until recently, electronic violence was a limited phenomenon, observed mainly among young people. Today, it is increasingly directed at adults as well, starting to compete with traditional mobbing in the workplace, and, even worse, rapidly spreading and gaining in importance. Experts believe that "about 28% of adults deal with classic mobbing at work, and more than 8% of people from this group have already encountered various forms of electronic aggression" .

A new type of criminal has emerged in the world of work. The Internet has become a tool that can be used by people at lower levels of the hierarchy of professional activity. It is they who most often act as self-proclaimed "avengers". Noteworthy is the fact that their attacks are generally non-targeted, taking the form of taunting and harassing the victim, but are not necessarily detrimental to their career.

In the case of classical mobbing, the situation is different. Its purpose is to create an artificial negative opinion of the group about a certain person in order to at least make his daily work more difficult. One of the consequences of such bullying can be the collapse of the career of this person or getting rid of him, often with the tacit consent of the head of the institution.

Electronic aggression is recognized as a serious social problem that should be addressed decisively. Cyberbullying has gone from being a sensation to being a problem. Sociologist K. Katzer talks about One-Touch-Mobbing, a bullying style that has a large following among teenagers with smartphones. It is they who most often “take up arms”, wanting to “kick” one of their peers by posting compromising information on the Web. Katzer's research shows that every fourth German youth aged 14 to 18 has already become a victim of such actions. Most often, we are talking about the usual slander, gossip, insults and compromising photographs. Katzer claims that 20% of victims of bullying experience serious psychological trauma: they lose confidence in themselves, begin to avoid peers, and resort to suicidal acts. "This group includes about half a million people across Germany," says Katzer.

Teenagers behave differently on the Internet, and they are more likely to encounter online aggression. The illusion of anonymity and impunity leads some users to insult other users and provoke them into a conflict - sometimes this ends badly. How to protect children from attacks by their peers?

Trolling can be direct (insults of participants, violation of the rules of the resource, incitement, quarrels) and disguised (off-topic messages, returning to another hot topic, veiled messages that are positive at first glance). The trolls want a reaction in the form of direct conflict. In a skirmish with such a user, it is very easy to lose control over yourself and become a troll yourself.

Trolls may seek to annoy the participants in the communication, but their goal may also be to humiliate a specific person. In this case, trolling can turn into targeted bullying, or bullying. According to Igor Kon, bullying is usually understood as intimidation, humiliation, harassment, physical or psychological terror aimed at causing fear in another and thereby subjugating a person to oneself. At all times it was one of the serious problems of the teenage environment.

The development of infocommunication technologies has led to the spread of cyberbullying - an aggressive, deliberate act committed by a group of persons or one person using electronic forms of contact, repeated repeatedly and for a long time against a victim who finds it difficult to protect himself. The virtual environment in which cyberbullying takes place makes aggressors feel less vulnerable and less responsible for their actions. Anonymity is the main factor that distinguishes cyberbullying from regular face-to-face bullying. Other differences are that cyberbullying takes place outside of school, is more covert, and often does not allow the victim's emotional reactions to be seen.

According to the study "Children of Russia Online", on average in Russia, 23% of Internet-using children aged 9-16 have been bullied online or offline in the last 12 months. Similar data were obtained on average for 25 European countries (19%).

One fifth of Russian children are subjected to insults and humiliation either every day or 1-2 times a week. This problem is especially relevant for users aged 11-12: almost a third of children in this age group become a victim of bullying more than once a week, which is significantly higher than in other age groups.

Often the students themselves act as aggressors. In Russia, one in four children admitted to hurting or insulting other people in real life or online over the past year. At the same time, there are twice as many subjects of bullying in Russia than on average in European countries.

Cyberbullying is an online problem that originates in real life. Every tenth Russian student is faced with online bullying. At the same time, as the results of a study by the Internet Development Foundation show, every second child who has become a victim of cyberbullying also faces bullying face to face. In European countries, children are twice as likely to be cyberbullied on average. Much like the risk of online dating, this is due to the fact that schools in Europe and the United States have been running digital literacy programs for many years to significantly improve children's skills to use the Internet safely.

How do children deal with such situations? Most of all, they prefer active strategies of coping with the situation, and every sixth of the victims of bullying chose a confrontational strategy and thus could become an aggressor himself. It is not uncommon for victims of cyberbullying to form their own strategies in the form of specific ways to counter online bullying.

Seeking informational, emotional, and actionable support has proven to be a significant way to cope with difficult online situations. Most children seek social support online, primarily from friends. It is significant that the proportion of children seeking help from their parents in Russia is lower than in Europe. Among the 10% of children who were victims of cyberbullying, only every fifth parent was aware of this (21%), and more than half were sure that their child did not face such a risk (61%). Very few children turn to teachers or specialists for help.

Not all children are able to apply special online strategies to combat cyberbullying. Thus, blocking the aggressor is rated as highly effective, but only every third child who has become a victim of online bullying uses it. These results highlight the need to develop digital literacy programs for adults, both parents and professionals working with children. Children can often be both victims and aggressors, so it is important to educate them that what they do online can have significant consequences in real life.

In many countries, measures are being taken to combat bullying and cyberbullying at the public policy level (programs to prevent exposure to digital risks, information campaigns, teacher training). Some countries, such as Canada, have passed laws against cyberbullying in the school environment. For example, in Ontario, cyberbullying is an offense that can result in the aggressor being temporarily or permanently expelled from an educational institution. In European countries, programs are being implemented that aim to teach positive and safe use of the Internet and in which cyberbullying prevention is given great importance. For example, Pantallas Amigas (Protection of Friends) and SecuKids in Spain or the E-learning and E-teaching in notebook classes pilot project in Austria. In France, at the suggestion of the Ministry of Education, together with a number of public organizations, schools receive information and recommendations on the prevention of cyberbullying. At the same time, Internet companies are developing self-regulatory mechanisms through which users can complain about inappropriate, including aggressive content.

Children's aggression is an unpleasant phenomenon. Despite the fact that there are many ways to deal with it, the problem is not always easily solved. Especially today, when every child has a computer with Internet access at hand. Cyberbullying - aggressive behavior of one person or a group of people on the Internet, aimed at a specific victim, is considered an urgent problem in Russia. According to research, the largest country in the world is the leader in threats, ridicule and humiliation on social media. Most often, the authors of angry messages are children.

Why is this happening?

Every second user of social networks is faced with aggression. Many researchers believe that cyberbullying is as serious a problem as real-life bullying. In addition, most adults do not show interest in the child's virtual life and do not talk to him about the rules of conduct on the World Wide Web.

However, this type of aggression has its advantages. Alexandrova Lidiya Leonidovna, senior lecturer at the Pifagorka Center for Recreation, believes that the Internet is an effective platform for venting negative emotions: “A child has natural aggressiveness - this is a normal mechanism for hormonal adjustment. Adolescents themselves are more aggressive than children and adults. This is a biological norm. Why are there so many negative comments on social networks from teenagers now? The fact is that the Internet is a channel into which they pour their aggression. Previously, children spent a lot of time in the yard, walked in companies and directed their aggression towards personal communication. But in that case, they always received a feedback, not verbal, but physical, and thus learned to dose aggression. And then they learned from their mistakes and balanced the level of negativity. Then the number of hours that the child spent on the street decreased, aggression came to school. At school, the situation is more complicated - there are a lot of adults, and the lid that puts pressure on the release of emotions is even more difficult than in the yard. It turns out that the Internet is the freest place for the manifestation of negativity. There, no one limits, no one gives a physical answer for categorical statements. Along with the outburst of this aggressiveness in social networks, the level of negativity in real life is decreasing - and this is a very serious plus.”

What to do if the child is aggressive on the Internet?

It is not always easy for parents to accept the fact that their children can harm other people. Carolyn Bantin, director of the public organization Internet Matters, believes that the most important thing is to accept the situation, because acknowledging the problem is the beginning of its solution.

It also does not make sense to be angry at children for their incorrect behavior. It is necessary to calmly talk with the child and clarify what exactly causes such vivid emotions in him. The expert does not advise taking away phones and depriving a computer - radical actions will only aggravate the situation, give rise to a new wave of aggression and lies.

It is much more important to demonstrate to children that any word on the Internet does not disappear into the void, it reaches a specific person and can completely change his life. In addition, the result is reflected not only on the victim of the event, but also on the aggressor himself - he may start having problems at school, with friends, even with the police.

The Ministry of Education is determined to solve the problem of bullying with the help of full-time psychologists, who should appear in every preschool and school institution. It is on the shoulders of these specialists that the solution of issues of aggressive behavior, gambling addiction and misunderstandings with classmates will fall. Moreover, schoolchildren who are prone to aggression, as a rule, also have other psychological disorders: low self-esteem, learning problems and isolation.

How not to become a victim of aggression

A 2016 Microsoft study found that 65% of users have experienced cyberbullying. Teenagers are more likely to be bullied and threatened online than adults.

This problem worries not only scientists, educators and psychologists, but also the first lady of the United States. Melania Trump has put together her child advocacy program, Be Best, which details what online bullying is and how to discuss social media behavior with children.

Bullying on the Internet can take a variety of forms - from comic to aggressive. And sometimes the child does not have a clear understanding of the need to seek help from adults. In the form of a harmless mockery, special pages created to ridicule a particular person, his humiliating photos, videos, offensive nicknames can be published on social networks. Such jokes often lead to depression and psychological trauma, so the first rule in the Melania Trump program is: “Tell the kids about cyberbullying.”

How to deal with an offender on the Internet?

Don't react. Any aggressor is interested in a response. If they answer him, he understands that his actions influenced the person, and continues to splash out the negative. But when a complete disregard occurs, the offender quickly loses interest and switches to another object.