What I'm not seeing is what is going on in the lives of these people that fosters such negative behavior. These studies almost never ask questions like "Are you being abused by your parents?" or "Have you been molested?"
There is this presumption that they engage in malicious behavior simply because they think they can get away with it, basically. It's an "idle hands are the devil's workshop" theory and generally lacks substance.
Sure, people do all kinds of stupid stuff when bored and when they have time on their hands, but why are these young adolescents online all the time? Does this mean they have a terrible home life and no one is paying attention to them?
I don't really like proxies like "Spends a lot of time online." I spend a lot of time online. I don't bully people.
For me, the internet is a means to have a life when that wouldn't otherwise be possible. I earn income online. I have hobbies online. Etc.
I really dislike the subtext that "spending time online is bad and more time spent online is worse." I would guess it is something more like "Spending time online to try to escape your shitty life in an abusive household means you take your baggage out on internet strangers because that seems safer and more do-able than resolving your thorny problems."
There is this presumption that they engage in malicious behavior simply because they think they can get away with it, basically. It's an "idle hands are the devil's workshop" theory and generally lacks substance.
Sure, people do all kinds of stupid stuff when bored and when they have time on their hands, but why are these young adolescents online all the time? Does this mean they have a terrible home life and no one is paying attention to them?
I don't really like proxies like "Spends a lot of time online." I spend a lot of time online. I don't bully people.
For me, the internet is a means to have a life when that wouldn't otherwise be possible. I earn income online. I have hobbies online. Etc.
I really dislike the subtext that "spending time online is bad and more time spent online is worse." I would guess it is something more like "Spending time online to try to escape your shitty life in an abusive household means you take your baggage out on internet strangers because that seems safer and more do-able than resolving your thorny problems."