Cyberbullying on Social Media
Cyber bullying Supporting Literature and Knowledge Gap
As the use of social media has increased, cyber bullying has become a concern globally. Numerous research articles have been written from psychological, sociological, criminal as well as legal perspective on this issue. However, there still exists a gap in the existing literature which needs to be filled in.
A huge chunk of existing literature is dedicated to the task of defining what classifies as ‘cyber bullying’. The scholars have still not been able to form a consensus on the definition. Colette Langos (2012) distinguished between direct and indirect cyber bullying and established three components of cyber bullying; repetition, power differential, aggression and intention. According to Langos (2012), if an act has all three of these components then it can classify as ‘cyber bullying’.
Literature on cyber bullying focuses on causes and consequences of cyber bullying. Gorzig and Frumkin (2013) “argued that cyber bullying via mobile devices (i.e., on-the-go) in addition to other platforms would be associated with a) factors related to mobile Internet usage, b) psychological factors that could lead to or follow from cyberbullying experiences (or both) and c) cyberbullying experiences in terms of technological platforms and the range of types of online bullying.” Hence, cyberbullying is a multi-layered phenomenon which needs to be dealt with precision.
Some of the research focuses on victims and culprits belonging to a particular age group and their experience of cyberbullying. Dehue, Bolman and Vollink (2008) explored how youngsters who are enrolled in primary or secondary school experience cyberbullying and what role do parents play in this regard. They found out “that about 16% of the youngsters had engaged in bullying via the Internet and text messages, while about 23% of the youngsters had been victims of cyberbullying” (Dehue et al. 2008, p.217).
Literature is available on how cyberbullying is experienced by students. Whittaker & Kowalski (2014) dissected how college students experience cyberbullying. The study found out that the experience of cyberbullying isn’t monolithic. Rather, it is diversified. The experience of cyberbullying by college students differed depending on factors such as the social media site on which bullying took place, the nature of cyberbullying and the characteristics of the culprit.
Media has played its part by shedding light on this issue. An article highlighted the relationship between racism and cyberbullying statistics in Australia. According to the article, indigenous Australians are bullied online because of their race by white people. The presence of racism in the online sphere is so intense that it has even resulted in suicides (Carlson & Frazer, 2019). Hence, this issue needs to be addressed by Australian policy makers.
Even though a vast literature is available on this issue, there is still a gap that needs to be filled in. Apart from the United States, almost no research study has been undertaken to identify factors at play in a particular country. This is essential because the way social media and cyberbullying is perceived differs from country to country and largely depends on the social values of that country. Therefore, it is recommended that research should be undertaken which specifically tries to study the contextual experience of social media bullying in Australia.
Social Marketing Problem
As Carlson & Frazer (2019) highlighted, cyberbullying in Australia is largely done on the basis of race. The intensity of cyberbullying is such that it has even claimed several lives (Carlson & Frazer, 2019). Therefore, the problem that needs attention is the discrimination against indigenous people residing in Australia which extends to the cyberspace in the form of cyberbullying on social media. Hence, the mindset of the Australian youth needs to be altered through a social marketing campaign which aims to educate them on how to celebrate diversity rather than condemning it.
Situation Analysis, Stakeholders, Upstream Policy Issues
The situation for launching a social marketing campaign to tackle the issue of cyberbullying on social media is favorable in Australia. After Amy Dolly Everett, a victim of cyberbullying, committed suicide the issue of cyberbullying on social media spurred a debate. Since then, several campaigns have been launched to tackle this issue. Australia now has an online cyberbullying law. Despite all these developments, the incidents of cyber-bullying are increasing. This depicts that there is a void that needs to be filled in. There is something missing in all the steps that have been taken so far and a social marketing campaign that is targeted towards altering the behavior of youngsters in the cyber sphere is the need of the time.
Just like in any other campaign, in this marketing plan too stakeholders will play a pivotal role. One of the stakeholders will be the public as the purpose of this campaign is to increase public welfare. Another stakeholder will be the organization that will launch this campaign as it will improve the brand image of the organization and will also help in its marketing. Moreover, the media will also act as an essential partner as it will help in publicizing the campaign. Lastly, the government will be one of the most important stakeholders as the issue of cyberbullying is a national issue.
This campaign may encounter upstream policy issues. It is easier to bring a change in behavior at micro level rather than bringing a change at macro level. However, these issues can easily be tackled by convincing the government, educators and other influencers to consider the severity of the matter and respond favorably by supporting the social marketing campaign designed against the social-evil of cyberbullying facts on social media.
Social Marketing Theory
Social Cognitive Theory is a perfect fit for this campaign. This theory states that we learn new behavior and alter our old habits by observing and watching other people’s actions. Hence, this theory is an ideal choice for the social marketing campaign aimed at curbing the menace of cyberbullying on social media in the context of Australia. As this campaign also intends on targeting the upstream, it is expected that after watching the influencers observe socially responsible and safe behavior in the cyber space, other people will also follow suit.
Segmentation and Targeting
Demographic market segmentation is ideal in this situation. The market should be segmented on the basis of age. It can be divided into four groups; adolescents, young adults, middle-aged and old aged. All these groups can classify as target audience, but since the resources are limited and the aim is to have optimum impact, one particular segment of the market will have to be chosen as the target.
The best choice is to focus on young adults as the target audience. The reason behind this is that social media is used way more by young adults than any other age group. This group comprises of people who are either enrolled in university or have recently started working. Hence, they have the time and energy to be active on these sites. Choosing them as the target audience means that this campaign will be catering to the group which is most susceptible to cyberbullying and therefore, its effectiveness will be ensured.
