The prevalence and impact of online trolling of UK members of parliament

an article by Shazia Akhtar and Catriona M.Morrison (University of Bradford, UK) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 99 (October 2019)

Highlights

• A substantial proportion of UK MPs report being the victims of online trolling.
• Trolling is most common on the twitter platform.
• Male MPs report more concerns over reputational damage.
• Female MPs report more personal concerns, e.g., safety, risk to family, social life.

Abstract

Online trolling is a new phenomenon that is increasingly coming to public attention. Recent events in the United Kingdom (UK) have raised concerns about this behaviour.

Trolling is particularly targeted at public figures, and Members of Parliament (MPs) are a prime target.

In this study we surveyed UK MPs about their experiences and the impact of being trolled by completing a short online questionnaire.

One-hundred and eighty-one MPs responded to our survey. Chi-square tests for independence and one-way ANOVA was employed to analyse the data.

All MPs had experienced trolling and many were trolled multiple times a day, and the principal platforms for this abuse were Twitter and Facebook. The pattern of trolling varied between male and female targets, with males reporting more concern about reputational damage, and females more concern about their personal safety. The impact of being trolled varied between males and females, with a much greater impact on female MPs. We discuss the effects of online trolling on the victims of this behaviour.

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Smooth Sailing: A Pilot Study of an Online, School-Based, Mental Health Service for Depression and Anxiety

an article by Bridianne O’Dea, Catherine King, Nicole Cockayne and Helen Christensen (Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia; University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia) and Mirjana Subotic-Kerry and Melinda Rose Achilles (Black Dog Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia) published by Frontiers in Psychiatry: this article is part of the Research Topic “Transforming Youth Mental Health Treatment Through Digital Technology”
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Abstract

Background

Schools play an important role in supporting young people’s mental health, but face challenges identifying and responding to students in need of care. To assist secondary schools, the Black Dog Institute has developed an online, school-based, mental health service (Smooth Sailing). Delivered in the classroom, Smooth Sailing uses a website to screen, assess, allocate, and deliver care for depression and anxiety.

The service is based on the principles of stepped care, offering treatments with varied intensity and follow-up by a school counselor when necessary. The current study aimed to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of this new type of service among secondary school students.

Methods

Between February and June 2017, a single-arm, pre-post, pilot study was conducted among students from four NSW secondary schools. Schools were given access to the service for 6 weeks. Feasibility measures (consent rates and step allocations), acceptability measures (service use and satisfaction) and safety measures (deterioration in help-seeking intention scores and mental health symptoms) were assessed at baseline and completion of the 6-week trial period.

Results

A total of 59 students took part in the service pilot (mean age, 14.57 years; SD, 0.89 years; range, 13-16 years). At baseline, 18.64% of students were found to require follow-up from the school counselor, and 80% of these were new cases. Although completion of the online modules was low, service satisfaction was high. At 6 weeks, the mean scores for help-seeking, depression, and anxiety remained relatively stable or improved.

Conclusions

The current study presents important findings for the development and implementation of an online mental health service that screens students’ mental health and allocates care accordingly, all within the school setting. Although the findings provide some support for the feasibility, acceptability, and safety, service improvements are needed. The modifications outlined are likely to improve the quality of the service and its effectiveness.

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Unpacking e-commerce: The rise of new business models

a column by Molly Lesher and Jan Tscheke for VOX: CEPR’s Po;icy Portal

E-commerce facilitates trade across borders, increases convenience for consumers, and enables firms to reach new markets.

This column identifies a range of digital technologies and the new business models they enable that are driving dynamism in e-commerce markets. Despite this dynamism, however, important gaps remain with regard to e-commerce participation among firms and different groups of individuals.

Targeted polices are needed to provide the regulatory flexibility for new business models to thrive and to ensure that e-commerce becomes more inclusive.

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Is exposure to online content depicting risky behavior related to viewers' own risky behavior offline?

an article by Dawn Beverley Branley and Judith Covey (Durham University, UK) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 75 (October 2017)

Highlights

• Viewing online content depicting risky behavior is linked to users' own behavior.
• Link between viewing disordered eating content and behavior is moderated by gender.
• Females may be more vulnerable to online content depicting disordered eating.

Abstract

There are public and governmental concerns that social media may encourage risky behavior in the offline environment. Using international survey data from 412 young adults aged between 18 and 25 years of age (M = 21.20 years, SD = 2.31 years), this study demonstrates that there is a relationship between exposure to online content depicting risky behavior and users’ own offline risky behavior.

This relationship was found for six behaviors:

• drug use,
• excessive alcohol use,
• disordered eating,
• self-harm,
• violence to others, and
• dangerous pranks.

A borderline effect was found for two further behaviors:

• unprotected sex and
• sex with a stranger.

The relationship between content depicting disordered eating and offline behavior was only significant for females; suggesting that female users may be more vulnerable to effects of viewing content depicting disordered eating habits, and/or use social media content to find material related to their existing behavior. No other gender moderation effects were found.

The findings provide preliminary evidence that social media use may influence offline risky behavior in young adults.

Full text (PDF 5pp)

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