Realities of Virtual Violence: Cyberbullying and Adolescent Girls' Online Social Performances

As technology has become an integral part of adolescents' lives, the faceless threat of cyberbullying has emerged, eluding teachers, parents, and school administrators. Targets of bullying can no longer find solace in the comforts of home but are victimized as a seemingly ubiquitous bully sends a text or image to a limitless audience with the click of a button. The gendered nature of cyberbullying has become evident through media reports that tout "mean girls" as using the virtual world as the 21st century playground for bullying. These claims are corroborated by research that shows that girls are the primary targets online, and girls' level of involvement as cyberbullies is higher than their involvement as conventional bullies. Thus, in order to better understand the issue and formulate an appropriate response to address cyberbullying, I conducted semi-structured interviews with fourteen adolescent girls in grades 7-12 in Saskatchewan and used grounded theory methods to analyze the data. The central argument of this thesis is that the same processes are taking place in both conventional bullying and cyberbullying. This is illustrated in two ways. First, this study explores the effects of cyberbullying on girls as well as their reactions and coping strategies. When these findings are compared to those of conventional bullying, close connections are evident. Second, I adopt a feminist poststructural approach that challenges the humanist perspectives which have shaped much of the existing research on conventional bullying and cyberbullying. A feminist poststructural lens offers a different perspective and facilitates an examination of the complex power relations at the heart of bullying and cyberbullying, produced and maintained through girls' discursive practices. By viewing bullying and cyberbullying as embedded in wider systems of power and privilege, it is clear that the marginalization is occurring along the same lines in both forms of bullying. This study also addresses a methodological gap in the literature by using a qualitative approach to explore girls' experiences and perceptions of cyberbullying. Based on these contributions, this study has implications for policy discussions and sheds new light on how parents and educators can intervene in this serious problem among our youth.