Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 4, 2025
10:45
Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions
Published on: July 6, 2011
11.7K
Does Socializing in the Virtual World Impact Victimization in the Real World?
Cashen M Boccio1, Wanda E Leal2
1The University of Texas at San Antonio, TX, USA.
Journal of Interpersonal Violence
|July 22, 2022
Summary
Virtual socializing, including social networking and texting, is linked to increased risks of in-person and online victimization among adolescents. This association persists even when considering in-person unstructured socializing.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Criminology
- Media Studies
Background:
- Previous research connects unstructured socializing with victimization.
- Digital media use is linked to online victimization (cyberbullying, harassment, etc.).
- Limited research exists on virtual socializing and in-person victimization, despite shifting adolescent socialization trends.
Purpose of the Study:
- Examine the association between virtual socializing (social networking, video chatting, texting) and in-person victimization (property, violent, in-school bullying).
- Investigate the relationship between virtual socializing and online victimization (cyberbullying).
- Address the gap in understanding risks associated with virtual socialization among adolescents.
Main Methods:
- Utilized negative binomial and logistic regression analyses.
- Examined data from the 2018 eighth and tenth grade cohort of Monitoring the Future.
- Assessed associations between time spent on virtual socializing activities and various victimization indicators.
Main Results:
- Time spent on virtual socializing is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of property, violent, in-school bullying, and cyberbullying victimization.
- These associations remained significant after controlling for time spent in in-person unstructured socializing.
- Findings highlight potential risks associated with increased virtual socialization.
Conclusions:
- Virtual socialization presents risks for both in-person and online victimization in adolescents.
- Findings have implications for future research and policy development concerning adolescent online behavior and safety.
- Further investigation is needed to fully understand the complex interplay between virtual and in-person socialization and victimization risks.
Related Concept Videos
02:04Bullying
8.5K
A modern form of aggression is bullying. As you learn in your study of child development, socializing and playing with other children is beneficial for children’s psychological development. However, as you may have experienced as a child, not all play behavior has positive outcomes. Some children are aggressive and want to play roughly. Other children are selfish and do not want to share toys. One form of negative social interactions among children that has become a national concern is...
8.5K
02:09Bystander Effect
9.6K
The discussion of bullying highlights the problem of witnesses not intervening to help a victim. This is a common occurrence, as the following well-publicized event demonstrates. In 1964, in Queens, New York, a 19-year-old woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked by a person with a knife near the back entrance to her apartment building and again in the hallway inside her apartment building. When the attack occurred, she screamed for help numerous times and eventually died from her stab wounds.
9.6K
01:04Social Facilitation
32.7K
Not all intergroup interactions lead to negative outcomes. Sometimes, being in a group situation can improve performance. Social facilitation occurs when an individual performs better when an audience is watching than when the individual performs the behavior alone. This typically occurs when people are performing a task for which they are skilled.
32.7K
00:57Deindividuation
27.1K
Deindividuation is a form of social influence on an individual’s behavior such that the individual engages in unusual or non-normal behavior while in a group setting. Why? Because in these group settings, the individual no longer sees themselves as an individual anymore, disinhibiting their behavior and personal restraint.
27.1K
02:10Social Scripts
9.9K
People tend to know what behavior is expected of them in specific, familiar settings. A script is a person’s knowledge about the sequence of events expected in a specific setting (Schank & Abelson, 1977). Essentially, scripts are a particular kind of schema, one containing default values for the features within an event. In the restaurant example, the script's features include the props (e.g., tables, menu, food, and money), the roles to be played (e.g., customer and waiter),...
9.9K
02:06Social Exchange Theory
35.3K
We have discussed why we form relationships, what attracts us to others, and different types of love. But what determines whether we are satisfied with and stay in a relationship? One theory that provides an explanation is social exchange theory. According to social exchange theory, we act as naïve economists in keeping a tally of the ratio of costs and benefits of forming and maintaining a relationship with others (Rusbult & Van Lange, 2003).
35.3K