An article published in the journal Primary Care Clinical Office Practice by physicians from Florida Atlantic University’s Schmidt College of Medicine recommend that primary care physicians and other clinicians need to screen adolescents and young adults for inappropriate or misuse of social media and cyberbullying.

Most adolescents and young adults have experienced bullying in some form, with about one-third of them experiencing cyberbullying, contributing to mental health concerns. Cyberbullying involves electronic communication such as texts, emails, online videos and social media, which has become increasingly problematic over the last few decades. Several reasons include the anonymity it allows, the fact that it is not as easily monitored, and that adolescents and young adults have easier access to devices.

Bullying is nothing new, but teens these days must also navigate the challenges of the digital landscape. Parents and teachers who grew up in a different generation may struggle to understand the many nuanced forms that online bullying, or cyberbullying, can take.

Any form of bullying is hurtful, but cyberbullying can be especially damaging because of the nature of the digital world. With cell phones and laptops, students carry their bullies in their backpacks, meaning that they cannot even escape their tormentors at home.

What’s more, because of the sneaky nature of cyberbullying, parents and teachers may be completely unaware that a problem is happening unless they are closely monitoring their children’s social media usage. And, teens may be reluctant to open up about cyberbullying for fear of losing access to the digital world.

Screening and Screening Tools

According to the article authors, “It is staggering that only 23 percent of students who were cyberbullied reported it to an adult at their school, which shows that many incidences go unreported. This is another crucial reason why we need to screen patients as well as educate parents.”

Screening tools are available and can be worked into the work-flow of healthcare visits to ensure that screening is consistently done and results are addressed in a timely manner.

Current screening tools include:

• Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (R-OBVQ) [Link]
• California Bullying Victimization Scale (CBVS) [Link]
• Child Adolescent Bullying Scale (CABS) [Link]
• Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) [Link & Ressources]

Another resource is a “Cyberbullying: Top Ten Tips for Health Care Providers,” pamphlet developed by the Cyberbullying Research Center, which is part of the FAU School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. [Link]

Source: Caceres J, Holley A. Perils and Pitfalls of Social Media Use: Cyber Bullying in Teens/Young Adults. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. Volume 50, Issue 1, March 2023, Pages 37-45. [Link]