researchers Pelfrey and Weber (2012) who sought to establish the incidence and correlates of cyberbullying among students in urban schools. The researchers preface their study by pointing to the research establishing that “the prevalence and pervasive nature of technology” has already worked to influence the way that school-age youth interact with each other. Pelfrey and Weber (2012) demonstrate that it has worked to provide a support for cyberbullying, finding that more than 10% of the students who use social technology like FaceBook and MySpace reported engaging in acts that constitute cyberbullying (p. 76). The increasing prevalence of cyberbullying is also manifested in a recent study of longitudinal data drawn from surveys of more than …show more content…
The identifiable differences between traditional bullying and cyberbullying might offer some answers to why, including the fact that cyberbullying can be conducted anonymously, with no physical interaction with one’s victim and from a variety of electronic devices that allows for bullying a victim regardless of his or her proximity. These factors alone present at least the motivation for considering online bullying as an option, especially when traditional bullying is deemed out of the question. Associate professor of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University and prolific researcher on the topic of cyberbullying, Dr, Shaheen Shariff (2015), has endeavored to establish the root causes of cyberbullying, not the least of which she has determined are the concepts of “difference” and “intolerance,” which are directed at others because of one’s own membership in “a particular group” (pp. 145-146). In essence, Shariff (2015) suggests that cyberbullying, like traditional bullying, is supported by a sort of mob mentality, even though it is sometimes manifested by a single bully against a single victim. When it is not, the scope and reach of cyberbullying played out to an intended group or large audience can be devastating for the victim, especially when it includes the posting of rumors, images and videos of the victim in texts, emails or on social media …show more content…
This is an example of how people can be “transformed in group situations, even in a virtual or online scenario, where “favoritism” is shown “toward the in-group and hostility and discrimination” shown toward “the out-group” (Cooper & Blumenfeld, 2012, p. 160). That is not to say that cyberbullying is confined to patterns harassment, threats or rumors based on race or sexual identity. On the contrary, the notion that cyberbullying is caused by differences and intolerance can include appearance, weight, height or size, physical or mental disability as well as socioeconomic status (Shariff, 2015, p. 146). Nevertheless, a growing body of research on cyberbullying and the LGBT community merits a look at some of the most recent findings on this phenomenon. In fact, the research demonstrates that young people who find themselves part of a sexual minority or members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities are especially vulnerable to