The Psychological Impact Of Social Media Cyberbullying On Teens: Exemplar Essay To Follow

Hinduja, Sameer and Justin W. Patchin. “Cyberbullying Research Summary: Emotional and psychological consequences.” Journal of School Violence 6.3 (2007). Web. 1 July 2016.
This is a summary of a research study conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center which looks at the emotional effects of cyberbullying on children. It breaks down the statistics on the basis of both gender and age group, comparing the reactions of the difference groups. It talks about why bullying is so psychologically harmful and some methods to help students deal with these issues.
This research summary will be useful for my essay because the information included corroborates and expands upon the statistical information given in the two Guardian articles.
Pappas, Stephanie. “Social Media Cyber Bullying Linked to Teen Depression.” Scientific American, 23 June 2015. Web. 1 July 2016.
This article goes into depth on the relationship between cyberbullying and depression. It cites research published in The Journal of the American Medical Association: Pediatrics that demonstrates a direct causal link between cyberbullying and depression, as well as a correlation between cyberbullying and anxiety. The article looks at a variety of social media sites and what steps those sites are taking to reduce instances of bullying. It also addresses parents and what they can do to protect their children from developing mental health issues due to cyberbullying.
This article will be especially valuable for my essay because it does establish a causal link between cyberbullying and mental health issues in teens, providing evidence for the central claims in my paper.
Schneider, Shari Kessel, Lydia O’Donnell, Ann Steuve, and Robert W.S. Coulter. “Cyberbullying, School Bullying, and Psychological Distress: A Regional Census of High School Students.” American Journal of Public Health 102.1 (2012): 171-177. Print.
This article outlines research conducted in 2008 on over 20,000 high school students concerning victimization by bullies and corresponding psychological distress. It gives detailed statistics from their findings on the correlation between cyberbullying and depressive symptoms, self-harm, and suicidal tendencies. It also examines the overlap between traditional bullying and cyberbullying and looks at the ways in which they differ.
This article will reinforce the thesis of my essay by providing statistical evidence on the correlation between cyberbullying and psychological distress among public high school students in the United States.
The most significant difficulty I encountered while going through the research process was finding the scholarly article. I was unsure of how to find out which articles were in which issue and how to then find the right issue to conduct my research. Internet search engines mostly yielded online articles; even after locating scholarly journals, the research that exists on the subject was overwhelming. The assistance of librarians was the biggest help in overcoming this difficulty. They were able to guide me through which keywords to use to make my search more efficient and then to help me locate the correct issue of the journal in their archives.