Cyberbullying on Instagram: How Adolescents Perceive Risk in Personal Selfies?

Abstract

The nature of social networking sites and the overconfidence and lack of awareness that characterize the adolescent stage favor the assumption of risk behaviors on Instagram (e.g., self-objectified photos, that is, photos showing sexualized body parts such as skin cleavage or the abdomen). Two experimental studies examine the social perceptions of adolescents regarding the risk of suffering from cyberbullying behaviors by posting selfies on Instagram. Study 1 (N = 373 adolescents) revealed that participants perceived more risk when an individual uploaded an objectified selfie (vs. a non-objectified). Participants perceived that the target will be more likely to suffer from cyberbullying behaviors when they: (a) uploaded on Instagram an objectified selfie (vs. a non-objectified) and (b) were female (vs. male). Study 2 (N = 210 adolescents) showed that when a girl (vs. a boy) uploaded an objectified selfie, participants perceived more risk in her behavior and perceived that she would be more likely to suffer from cyberbullying behaviors. Specifically, female adolescents (vs. males) perceived that a girl (vs. a boy) would be a target of cyberbullying behaviors to a greater extent. Finally, participants perceived that uploading an objectified photo was more risky when the target was a girl (vs. a boy), which led to suffering from cyberbullying behaviors to a greater extent. These results can help to further understand the risk to which adolescents are exposed on Instagram, being higher among adolescent girls. Therefore, this work highlights the importance of considering gender differences in the design of cyberbullying prevention programs.