How do victims react to cyberbullying on social networking sites? The influence of previous cyberbullying victimization experiences

This study investigated how teenagers' past victim experiences might influence their bystander behaviors when teenagers witness cyberbullying on social networking sites (SNSs). An analysis of 622 teenage SNS users' responses in the Pew Internet Survey showed that at least 16.6% of the teenagers had previously been cyberbullied on SNSs. Those who had been victims of cyberbullying reported more antisocial reaction strategies than nonvictims. Meanwhile, girls were more likely to perform prosocial bystander behaviors, whereas boys tended to behave more antisocially. Girls who had been cyberbullied claimed to adopt more prosocial bystander behaviors than male victims. Teenagers who had more online social interactions had more prosocial bystander reactions, compared to those who interacted less online. Empathy and reciprocity were discussed as the mechanisms for teenagers' prosocial and antisocial reaction strategies. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.