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Body Image 11 (2014) 527533

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Body Image
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/bodyimage

Appearance-related cyberbullying: A qualitative investigation of


characteristics, content, reasons, and effects
Soa Berne , Ann Frisn, Johanna Kling
Department of Psychology, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The aim of this study was to explore 15-year-old adolescents experiences of appearance-related cyber-
Received 22 January 2014 bullying. Twenty-seven adolescents participated in four focus groups. The adolescents in this study
Received in revised form 8 August 2014 perceived that it is common to be targeted in appearance-related cyberbullying, especially for girls, and
Accepted 12 August 2014
that appearance-related cyberbullying is considered to be a potent strategy when attempting to hurt
girls. Girls often received comments about being fat, while among boys, it was common to receive com-
Keywords:
ments about looking or seeming gay. According to the adolescents, an important reason for engaging
Appearance-related cyberbullying
in appearance-related cyberbullying was to attain higher social status in the peer group. The girls and
Body esteem
Gender differences
boys reacted differently to appearance-related cyberbullying. Boys tended to act out or take no offence,
Social networking sites while girls experienced lower self-esteem and feelings of depression. Findings in this study contribute
to research on cyberbullying as well as to research on girls body esteem development.
2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Introduction sexuality, ethnicity), but that neither of them focused solely on


appearance-related cyberbullying. No other studies have to our
Adolescence is a period when individuals spend an increas- knowledge studied adolescents experiences of appearance-related
ing amount of time with peers, and it is therefore characterized cyberbullying. The aim of the current study was, therefore, a qual-
by an increased striving for acceptance by, and popularity with, itative investigation of appearance-related cyberbullying among
the peer group (Steinberg, 2011). Moreover, concerns over how adolescents, with a focus on characteristics of the cybervictims and
ones body is perceived by peers preoccupy the minds of a major- cyberbullies, and the content, reasons, and effects of the cyberbully-
ity of adolescents (Jones, 2012). Peers thus have a major impact ing. However, there have been some studies in related areas; these
in shaping adolescents thoughts about their bodies (Webb & are presented in the next section.
Zimmer-Gembeck, 2013). Social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, Although the studies by Cassidy et al. (2009) and Mishna et al.
MySpace) are examples of new contexts in which adolescents can (2010) did not focus solely on appearance-related cyberbullying,
present themselves, and also compare their appearance with oth- they have reported some results about appearance-related cyber-
ers (Manago, Graham, Greeneld, & Salimkhan, 2008; Tiggemann bullying. More specically, one of those studies (Cassidy et al., 2009)
& Miller, 2010). Social networking sites are also commonly used found that over one third of the adolescents reported being cyber-
forums for cyberbullying behaviour (Mishna, Cook, Gadalla, Daciuk, bullied because of their size or weight. The other study (Mishna
& Solomon, 2010). Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that et al., 2010) found that one in ten of the adolescents reported that
is conducted through modern information and communication they were bullied online because of their appearance. It is important
technology (Smith, 2009). Two studies of cyberbullying among to gain a more thorough understanding about what appearance-
adolescents have found that appearance is the most commonly related cyberbullying revolves around. Moreover, Frisn, Berne,
reported reason for being cyberbullied (Cassidy, Jackson, & Brown, and Lunde (2014) also investigated whether adolescents views
2009; Mishna et al., 2010). It should be noted that these stud- on who is the victim of appearance-related cyberbullying differ
ies included appearance as one variable among many others (e.g., according to gender. They found that a majority of the adolescents
thought that cyberbullying more often revolves around the victims
appearance when girls are cyberbullied compared to when boys
Corresponding author at: Department of Psychology, Box 500, 405 30 Gothen-
are cyberbullied. This nding indicates that girls to a greater extent
burg, Sweden. Tel.: +46 31 786 16 62; fax: +46 31 786 46 28.
than boys might be targeted for cyberbullying that puts the victims
E-mail address: soa.berne@psy.gu.se (S. Berne). appearance in focus. Therefore, there is a need to nd out more

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.08.006
1740-1445/ 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
528 S. Berne et al. / Body Image 11 (2014) 527533

about what characterizes adolescents who are involved as victims letter included information that all participation was voluntary and
or bullies in appearance-related cyberbullying. could be discontinued at any time and that their answers would be
It should be noted that in an ofine context, a common rea- treated anonymously. The letter also informed the adolescents that
son, according to adolescents, for bullying is deviant appearance it was not necessary to have rst-hand experience of cyberbullying
(Frisn, Holmqvist, & Oscarsson, 2008; Frisn, Lunde, & Hwang, as a victim or a bully in order to be part of the focus groups, since
2009; Thornberg, 2011). For instance, Frisn et al. (2008) found the aim of the study was to learn more about adolescents general
that the most common response adolescents gave as to why ado- experiences of cyberbullying.
lescents are bullied was that the victims have a deviant appearance, Shortly thereafter, the rst author and the third author visited
such as being ugly, fat, small, wears braces, or look different. Stud- the classes during school hours. The rst author verbally informed
ies of a related concept, appearance-related teasinga term that the adolescents about the study and gave them the possibility to
does not have the strict criteria that the term bullying hasfound ask questions about the upcoming focus groups. After receiving the
that the targets of appearance-related teasing had low body esteem letter and the verbal information, the adolescents were able to vol-
(Frisn & Holmqvist, 2010; Lunde, Frisn, & Hwang, 2006; Rieves unteer to participate in the focus groups. The sample is therefore
& Cash, 1996; Sweetingham & Waller, 2008; Thompson, Coovert, to be considered as a convenience sample. All of the volunteering
Richards, Johnson, & Cattarin, 1995), dietary restraint (Halvarsson, adolescents followed through with the focus groups, even though
Lunner, Westerberg, Anteson, & Sjden, 2002), and depressive they were free to discontinue at any time.
symptoms (Eisenberg, Neumark-Sztainer, & Paxton, 2006). In the
context of the cyber world, a recent study by Frisn et al. (2014) Procedure
found that victims of cyberbullying reported lower body esteem
than non-cybervictims. Furthermore, there are two studies that The rst author (a female clinical psychologist) led all four focus
have examined the connection between social networking sites groups, accompanied by a female co-moderator, the third author,
and body esteem among adolescent girls. Tiggemann and Miller who was nishing her Masters degree in Clinical Psychology. Both
(2010) showed that exposure to the Internet is associated with the moderator and co-moderator had received training in semi-
lower body esteem. Actually, they concluded that it is not the use structured interviewing. The focus groups took place in separate
of the Internet per se that inuences body esteem negatively, but rooms at each of the two schools during school hours. The focus
the use of specic social networking sites, such as Facebook. Meier groups lasted 4560 min, and discussions were audio recorded.
and Gray (2014) revealed that adolescent girls who used Facebook All the adolescents actively participated in the discussion. Given
photo applications reported lower body esteem than girls who did the sensitive topic of the research, the moderator was attentive to
not. While such research has resulted in an understanding about whether the adolescents showed any signs of concern or stress.
how the Internet and the use of social networking sites inuence Their well-being was always regarded as more important than the
body esteem, understanding of the problems of appearance-related research questions.
cyberbullying is still very poor. Every focus group ended with a dialogue about the adolescents
Clearly, there is a lack of research when it comes to experiences of participating in the group. In addition, all adoles-
the understanding of appearance-related cyberbullying. This cents in every class received written information about where to
study, therefore, aimed to explore adolescents experiences of turn to if they were cyberbullied or knew someone who was. This
appearance-related cyberbullying, by addressing the following procedure was approved by the regional ethical review board.
questions: (1) what characterizes adolescents who are involved
as victims or bullies in appearance-related cyberbullying? (2) In Interview Guide
what specic ways are adolescents cyberbullied about their appear-
ances? (3) Why is cyberbullying directed at appearance? (4) What A semi-structured interview guide was created to ensure that
effects are associated with appearance-related cyberbullying? the questions asked addressed the aims of the study. After the rst
two focus groups (one with boys and one with girls) had been com-
pleted, the two moderators discussed whether the interview guide
Method
needed alteration. Both moderators agreed that there was no need
to adjust the interview guide.
To gain deeper insight into the experiences of adolescents with
The interview guide started with one vignette, developed by the
regard to appearance-related cyberbullying, focus groups were
authors, to stimulate discussion: Sara (or Jonas; a girl in the girl
organized. This method was chosen in order to progress our under-
groups and a boy in the boy groups) has posted a new photo of her-
standing of appearance-related cyberbullying by listening to how
self on Facebook. When she checks Facebook later that evening,
the adolescents themselves speak about these matters.
she sees that someone has commented on the photo by post-
ing nasty and mean things about how she looks. After reading
Participants the vignette, the adolescents were asked questions about what
characterizes adolescents who are involved as victims or bullies
The data collection took place during the autumn of 2012 and in appearance-related cyberbullying: in what specic ways are
the adolescents were recruited from one private and one public adolescents cyberbullied about their appearance? Why is cyber-
school in Gothenburg, Sweden. The two schools represented dif- bullying directed at appearance? What effects are associated with
ferent socioeconomic areas in the city of Gothenburg, Sweden. appearance-related cyberbullying? The same questions were asked
Twenty-seven adolescents in the ninth grade (15 years of age) par- in all focus groups, with various probes, depending on the adoles-
ticipated in four focus groups. The focus groups consisted of: Group cents answers and the need for clarication.
1: n = 8 girls; Group 2: n = 9 boys; Group 3: n = 5 girls; Group 4: n = 5
boys. With the aim of making the adolescents more comfortable to Analysis
talk freely, each focus group was homogenous, meaning that the
participants in each focus group shared gender, grade, and school. The recordings from the four focus groups were transcribed
Initially, two ninth grade teachers were contacted and both by the third author. As the area in question is under-researched
agreed to let their classes participate. The adolescents were given and the design of this study was exploratory, a thematic, semantic
a written information letter about the purpose of the study. The (i.e., looking at the explicit or surface level of speech) analysis was
S. Berne et al. / Body Image 11 (2014) 527533 529

conducted in accordance with the methodology suggested by Braun Appearance-Related Cyberbullying, a Potent Strategy When
and Clark (2006). Since the analysis was based on data rather than Attempting to Hurt Girls
theory, the study is to be viewed as inductive (i.e., codes and themes
are strongly linked to what was said in the groups). The thematic The adolescents repeatedly returned to the issue of appearance-
analysis was done on the material from all four focus groups, with related cyberbullying being more relevant to girls than to boys.
the aim of obtaining a rich and diversied result. Moreover, they described it to be more effective to cyberbully
The thematic analysis began with repeated reading of the inter- girls about their appearance than to cyberbully boys about their
view transcripts in order to grasp what the participants had said appearance. The adolescents said that there does not have to be
about the research questions. During this reading, our ambition something different about the cybervictimized girls appearances.
was to be as open as possible to avoid allowing our preunder- Instead, appearance becomes a way to get to girls that cyberbullies
standing about appearance-related cyberbullying to inuence the for some reason want to hurt. The adolescents said that the hurt-
process. The process continued with a review of the transcripts to ing becomes especially potent if one comments on something that
identify and distinguish the most basic meaningful segments of the girl is known to feel bad about, for instance, her weight. One
the data. Segments that had similar content and were prevalent girl described it as follows: Or if someone is insecure about their
through the transcripts were collated and grouped into potential appearance, then people tend to use that because they know. . . its
themes and subthemes. However, it should be mentioned that, in a good weapon then.
line with Braun and Clarkes (2006) suggestions, we did not solely According to the adolescents, both boys and girls use this
rely on prevalence in the search for our themes. Thus, some themes weapon, but it almost exclusively res at girls. In one of the focus
were built from segments that were not as prevalent as others groups, the boys discussed different ways to lower girls condence
but nevertheless contributed to interesting reections on adoles- by making appearance-related comments. This way of cyberbully-
cents experiences concerning appearance-related cyberbullying. ing is exemplied by the following statement of a boy: You tell
The potential themes and subthemes were reviewed throughout them they are ugly, that they are fat, and then they dont have any
the process and constantly compared to the transcripts to ensure condence and think bad about themselves.
that they remained true to the data. Throughout this process,
we were able to combine some of the themes and subthemes, a Cyberbullies and Their Reasons
process that resulted in seven main themes and four subthemes.
Finally, all themes and subthemes were named, with quotations Just as anyone could be a victim of appearance-related cyber-
from the focus groups chosen to illustrate the content of the bullying, the adolescents perceived that a cyberbully generally also
themes. could be anyone. Furthermore, the adolescents reported a range
The analyzing process was conducted by the third and second of reasons for writing mean things about someones appearance.
author. Once the themes and subthemes had been distinguished, For instance, according to the adolescents, an important reason
the rst author read through all the focus group transcripts. For for cyberbullies is to attain higher social status at someone elses
each of these transcripts, she formed an opinion about which of expense. Another comment was that cyberbullies want to receive as
the seven main themes and their four subthemes (if any) could be many likes (a like means that someone has pressed the symbol
distinguished in each focus group. The judgement of whether or not Like on an item on Facebook to show appreciation) as possible by
the themes and subthemes were present in every focus group was posting mean things about others. One boy described the following
identical between the raters (rst author and third author) in three reason for engaging in appearance-related cyberbullying:
of the focus groups, with excellent ( = 1.0) inter-rater agreement.
In the group with nine boys, the judgement of the two raters was It [seeming cool] is also such a thing that matters a lot, I think,
identical for seven themes and two subthemes. However, the rat- because many people want to, like, show off, show that they are
ings differed for two subthemes, giving an inter-rater agreement big and strong, you know. And to do that on Facebook where
that was substantial ( = .87) for this focus group. The disagree- youve got maybe two, three, four hundred friends, and then,
ments were discussed, which led to a modication of the names ah, and then other people see it, and then its quite a lot who
of these two subthemes. will see it.
Some adolescents were also of the view that cyberbullies bully
because it is thrilling or that they are seeking attention. Further-
Results more, many adolescents believed that cyberbullies write mean
things about someones appearance because they do not feel good
This study explored adolescents experiences of appearance- about themselves and want to feel better by making someone else
related cyberbullying. Seven themes and four subthemes emerged. feel bad. In the focus groups, and primarily in the groups with
The themes and subthemes are described in more detail below, girls, adolescents also talked about cyberbullies being jealous. As
with quotes to illustrate them. an example, a girl said:
If I wrote something mean then it would be like pure jealousy,
Appearance-Related Cyberbullying is Especially Aimed at because I would feel like, just, eh, She is so fucking perfect, shes
Girls got a perfect life and I want that too, then maybe I would think
just like Ah, but then Ill write a mean comment, so that she
All adolescents perceived that it is common to be the target of doesnt get such an actual perfect life.
appearance-related cyberbullying. The adolescents perceived that
anyone could be a victim of appearance-related cyberbullying, but Cybervictims and Cyberbullies Can be Found Everywhere
that victims usually are girls. They underlined that it is something Online
they have to be prepared for when interacting on social network-
ing sites like Facebook or Instagram. The adolescents also reported The participants perceived that cybervictims and cyberbullies
that, in addition to girls, cyberbullying targeted some other groups can be found everywhere where adolescents interact online or
more than others, namely, those who differ in their appearance, through mobile phones. However, the adolescents agreed that
and adolescents (compared to other age groups). appearance-related cyberbullying is currently most common on
530 S. Berne et al. / Body Image 11 (2014) 527533

the social networking site Facebook. They explained that this is The boys stated that cyberbullying about ones body may involve
probably because Facebook is the most popular site right now. For expressions of irony, such as commenting in relation to a boys
instance, one adolescent said: photo that he has a muscular body, when that obviously is not the
case. Getting comments on having or not having a muscular body
On Facebook you comment on everyones photos, right; you
were, according to both boys and girls, something that almost solely
comment everyones photos! Thats how it is. Usually I see nice
happens to boys.
comments. Usually, but its there you comment the most, so its
probably there it [the appearance-related cyberbullying] hap-
pens the most often.
Girls Attention Seeking on Social Networking Sites and
Apart from Facebook, they mentioned Instagram, blogs, Appearance-Related Cyberbullying
YouTube, Skype, and text messages as sites where appearance-
related cyberbullying frequently occur. The adolescents explained that seeking attention on social net-
working sites creates risks for appearance-related cyberbullying
among girls. The adolescents discussions were coded into two sub-
The Content of Appearance-Related Cyberbullying themes. The rst subtheme is Appearance is what counts online, and
the second is that Girls try to live up to ideals of appearance on social
When analyzing the focus group discussions in terms of what networking sites.
types of appearance-related comments cybervictims receive, it Appearance is what counts online. Many adolescents
became apparent that two different types of content existed. These perceived that appearance-related cyberbullying is a corollary of
types were separated into the following two subthemes: Cyberbul- appearance being the only thing you see of a person online. Both
lying aimed at ones style and Cyberbullying directed at ones body. boys and girls described the concept of social networking sites such
These subthemes are described in more detail below. as Facebook and Instagram as places where people upload photos of
Cyberbullying aimed at ones style. The adolescents talked themselves where they look as good as possible in order to receive
about that appearance-related cyberbullying often is aimed at ones as many likes as possible. As one girl described it,
style, for instance clothing style or hair style. The adolescents said
But its, like, what its all about nowadays on Facebook, any-
that being cyberbullied for ones style is something that happens
way, like, you want the attention. It is. . . that. . . everyone should
to both boys and girls. The adolescents described how it is not pos-
think that Oh, shes good looking, or Oh, look at this, look at
sible to dress as one wants without taking into account the risk of
this. And then you feel just like, if they think Im ne, then I am
being cyberbullied, if dressing in a way that sets one apart from
ne.
other adolescents.
The adolescents reported that comments about style often are Additionally, according to the adolescents, this concept of look-
combined with the word ugly (ugly shoes, for instance). They also ing good in order to get likes almost exclusively applies to girls.
said that they might receive comments based on what people see Both boys and girls observed that uploading photos mainly is
in the photos and presume is their style. For example, among the a way for girls to get attention. They said that all girls upload
boys, it was described as common to receive comments for looking photos of themselves all the time; in one focus group with girls
or seeming gay. One boy explained: this phenomenon was described as a mania for acknowledge-
ment. Boys who upload pictures where they look good in order to
You know, there are a lot, like. . . eh, guys, that upload photos of
get likes will, instead, as mentioned earlier, risk receiving com-
themselves and then theres a text above, like, thats supposed
ments about being gay. The adolescents talked about girls using
to, you know, mean something. . . something poetic or some-
social media sites to promote their appearance, but this behaviour
thing like that, and then. . . Everyone else just think its gay and
is not as important for boys. As one boy explained: Well yeah
stuff like that. Because you write it and take a picture of yourself,
its always fun to receive a comment like Oh, you look good or
then people believe youre gay.
something, but its, like, maybe we dont really feel the same need
The boys perceived that looking or seeming gay was perceived to [as girls do].
be negative and something to be avoided. The boys discussed differ- Girls try to live up to ideals of appearance on social network-
ent ways to prevent themselves from seeming gay, and according ing sites. In the focus groups with girls there was, in relation to
to them, the best way was to not upload photos of themselves at all. appearance being what counts online, a lot of talk about ideals.
Among the girls it was described as common to be called a whore The girls explained that there are ideals about appearance and how
or slut. ones body should look. One girl described it as follows: One should
Cyberbullying directed at ones body. Apart from cyber- be very skinny, with large breasts, shapely rear end and perfect
bullying aimed at ones style, many adolescents perceived that hair. The girls discussed the ideals as deriving from media and
appearance-related cyberbullying is often directed at another per- commercials, and from what boys like. As one girl articulated:
sons body. The most common form seemed to be calling someone
I dont think a lot of people think about it, but I think that we
ugly. Otherwise, the adolescents reported that the comments are
actually are very much affected by what boys think, and I think
directed more at certain parts or features of the body, such as a big
it is that way, even though you say that it isnt, but that is the
nose or acne. The adolescents perceived that there is a difference
main reason. Then maybe you also are affected by other girls
between boys and girls in that the girls receive more comments,
who are trying to get so thin, and they work out all the time,
both positive and negative, about their bodies on the Internet than
and no carbs, and all that is now, but the main [reason], why
boys do. The adolescents also noted that girls receive comments
they do it, is also largely because it is what boys. . . You want to
about their bodies from both boys and girls. The negative comments
be popular, you want people to like you, you want boys to like
that girls receive are usually about height, weight, breasts, and hair.
you.
Negative comments especially about weight, such as being over-
weight or fat, were mentioned as common in the focus groups with The girls in the focus groups talked about how girls often use
girls. When discussing what adolescents get cyberbullied about, social networking sites to try to portray themselves in accordance
one girl said: . . .but mostly its about being fat, you know, how fat with the ideals. However, most of the girls found it impossible to
you are, but I think its mostly about size, regardless. live up to the ideals. They also said that most girls feel bad about the
S. Berne et al. / Body Image 11 (2014) 527533 531

way they look and the fact that they do not look like the ideal. The targets, for instance, ones hairstyle or clothing, while cyberbullying
girls expressed that receiving positive comments and likes about directed at the body is often aimed at specic parts of the body, or at
uploaded photos of themselves was perceived as a conrmation weight or muscularity. The adolescents perceived that there were
that they look somewhat like the ideals. But the girls also described differences between boys and girls concerning the ways cyberbul-
that they are extra sensitive to comments about not looking like the lying were directed at style and body. We will now turn to these
ideal, because they choose their photos to upload, and they choose ndings in more detail.
photos in which they think they look their best. In the focus groups Cyberbullying aimed at ones style. When it comes to cyber-
with boys, living up to ideals on social networking sites was not bullying aimed at ones style, the adolescents perceived that they
discussed. can receive comments with sexual content; but the type of sex-
ual content differed for girls and boys. The boys experienced that
Girls and Boys React Differently to Appearance-Related they can receive comments for looking or seeming gay, and
Cyberbullying perceived that looking or seeming gay was perceived to be neg-
ative and something to be avoided. Theories about masculinity
The adolescents perceived that girls and boys react differently contribute to explaining these ndings, as men receive a number
when cyberbullied for something appearance related. Boys, as of messages associated with traditional masculinity from soci-
noted by both boys and girls, tended to act out, or not to take offence ety (Mahalik, 1999). To some extent, men face the message that
at all. For instance, one boy explained, I dont usually get offended if they should avoid behaviours regarded as feminine (e.g., engag-
someone writes something stupid. I usually see it as irony or some- ing in appearance practices). Men may also be brought up with
thing else. Im someone who jokes sometimes as well. When it the notion that sexuality should be heterosexual, and that homo-
comes to acting out, the boys talked about getting back at someone sexuals should be disdained. Hence, it seems that the boys in this
who is cyberbullying others, by using violence. One boy described study endorse some of the ideas associated with traditional mas-
it this way: If someone had commented on my photo, it does not culinity. Among the girls it was described as common to be called a
matter who the person is, me and my friends had looked them up, whore or slut. In sum, this study indicates that boys are targeted
found them and beaten them. by homophobic comments on social networking sites whereas girls
Interestingly, the girls in the focus groups commented that are targeted in regard to getting a negative sexual reputation. It is
girls tended to take greater offence and to be quieter about the troublesome that boys and girls are targeted by comments with
incident than the boys. Overall, the girls discussed more negative content focusing on aspects related to sexuality, since romantic
consequences of appearance-related cyberbullying than the boys relationships and sexual identity are central developmental issues
did. For example, the girls reported that victims of appearance- in adolescence (Craig, Pepler, Connolly, & Henderson, 2001).
related cyberbullying are at risk for becoming very introverted. Cyberbullying directed at ones body. When it comes to cyber-
This can be illustrated by the fact that they avoid uploading photos bullying directed at the body, the adolescents perceived that girls
of themselves as well as avoiding showing themselves in public. receive more comments about their bodies than boys do. Further-
According to the girls, these negative consequences affect the entire more, the girls talked more in their focus groups about receiving
person, and not only the way she interacts on social networking negative comments about being fat, while some of the boys
sites. The girls talked about experiencing lower self-condence and experienced being cyberbullied for not being muscular enough.
self-esteem, being depressed, and even committing suicide, due to Appearance-related cyberbullying about the body thus seems to
appearance-related cyberbullying. The negative consequences dis- be closely related to gender-stereotypical body ideals in todays
cussed were often described as irreversible, and one girl said: but Western society. Namely, boys are socialized to emulate the lean
everything concerning appearance. . . If I get a comment, I feel like and muscular ideal from a very young age (Ricciardelli, McCabe,
really bad, and I can be, you know, I can feel terrible for, like, years, Mussap, & Hoff, 2009), and girls are encouraged to develop a
like, over one single comment. body that is thin but shapely (Grogan, 2007). Social learning the-
ory contributes to explaining these nding, as peers can exert
Discussion an inuence by commenting on appearance. For example, nega-
tive appearance-related comments adolescents receive from peers
The present study contributes to the understanding of an under- often communicate how their appearance differs from current body
researched area: appearance-related cyberbullying. This study was ideals. Hence, adolescents can be inuenced to try to achieve an
a qualitative investigation of appearance-related cyberbullying ideal body size and shape to gain the approval of the peer group
among adolescents, with a focus on characteristics of the cyber- (Webb & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2013). For example, girls may engage
victims and cyberbullies, and the content, reasons, and effects of in dieting practices to keep their bodies thin and shapely, while
cyberbullying. Through a thematic analysis, we discovered that boys may engage in body-building activities to achieve a muscular
appearance-related cyberbullying might be gendered. We will now V-shape with a well-developed upper body (Calogero & Thompson,
attend to the ndings of this study in more detail. 2010). Given that peers have a major impact in shaping adoles-
cents thoughts about their bodies in adolescence, it is troublesome
The Contents of Appearance-Related Cyberbullying that this study indicates that cyberbullies target cybervictims with
comments that express these types of gender-stereotypical body
The adolescents in the focus groups perceived that it is common ideals.
among adolescents to be targeted by appearance-related cyberbul-
lying. This is in line with previous quantitative studies that have Girls Attention Seeking on Social Networking Sites and
revealed that cyberbullying often is directed at the victims appear- Appearance-Related Cyberbullying
ance (see Cassidy et al., 2009; Frisn et al., 2014; Mishna et al.,
2010). One of the aims of this study was to investigate in what Another aim of this study was to investigate what characterizes
specic ways adolescents are cyberbullied about their appearance. adolescents who are victims of appearance-related cyberbullying.
This study supplements the existing literature by suggesting that The adolescents perceived it to be more common for girls to be vic-
the ways adolescents may be cyberbullied for their appearance can tims than for boys, they also suggested that girls who are victims
be divided into cyberbullying aimed at ones style and cyberbully- of appearance-related cyberbullying are characterized by seeking
ing directed at the body. Cyberbullying aimed at ones style often attention online. More specically, girls explained that they believe
532 S. Berne et al. / Body Image 11 (2014) 527533

the purpose of social networking sites such as Facebook and Insta- and girls concerning the effects of appearance-related cyberbully-
gram is to expose oneself to get attention, but that in doing so, one ing. We will now turn to these ndings in more detail. The girls
risks receiving negative attention and being cyberbullied. The girls perceived that victims of appearance-related cyberbullying may
talked a great deal about body ideals (being very skinny and having become less self-condent and get poorer self-esteem, become
large breasts, a shapely rear end and perfect hair) and how they are depressed or even consider committing suicide. The girls also
trying to live up to the thin but shapely female body ideal on social described the effects of appearance-related cyberbullying as some-
networking sites, by carefully choosing their best photos to upload. times irreversible. In the focus groups with boys, especially one
This nding contributes to the understanding of what characterizes group in particular, in their discussions they repeatedly returned
adolescents who are victims of appearance-related cyberbullying. to the assertion that they would react towards someone who is
The girls in this study seem to be aware of that if they publicly share cyberbullying others by using violence. However, some boys said
photos on social networking sites were they try to portray them- they would not take offence at all. Thus, this study indicates that
selves as having an ideal body shape and size they may receive girls and boys react differently to appearance-related bullying. The
appreciation by others. At the same time the girls in this study also different reactions among girls and boys in this study seem to be in
expressed that they were aware of the risk of being cyberbullied accordance with previous research showing that girls report inter-
when interacting on social networking sites. These results are also nalizing symptoms (including depression, anxiety, withdrawal and
in line with Manago et al.s (2008) ndings that young people view eating disorders) more frequently than boys, whereas boys report
their proles on social networking sites as an opportunity to pro- externalizing symptoms (including aggression and oppositional
mote social impressions that they perceive as desirable. It should disorders) more frequently than girls (Leadbeter, Kuperminc, Blatt,
be noted that those who internalize the norms and expectations & Hertzog, 1999).
for appearance (e.g., the thin but shapely female body ideal), or Overall, the boys and girls in this study seem to be inuenced
compare their appearance with others are at a greater risk for devel- to some extent by gender stereotypes, in that they seem to con-
oping low body esteem (Jones, 2012; Knauss, Paxton, & Alsaker, form to some of the masculine and feminine norms present in
2007). Something worth mentioning in relation to the adolescents Western society (Mahalik et al., 2003; Mahalik et al., 2005). More
views of what characterizes victims of appearance-related cyber- specically, the girls in this study seem to have conformed to some
bullying is that we also asked the adolescents what characterizes degree to feminine norms by engaging in some of the behaviours
bullies of appearance-related cyberbullying. The adolescents had associated with the stereotypical female gender role, such as pur-
little to express about this matter, both boys and girls perceived suing a thin body ideal and investing in their appearance (Mahalik
that a cyberbully generally could be anyone. et al., 2005). Girls also expressed negative feelings such as depres-
sion and shame related to non-conformity to the body ideals, and
Appearance-Related Cyberbullying as a Weapon Against talked about being preoccupied with thoughts emphasizing the
Girls importance of living up to the body ideals. The boys, especially in
one focus group in particular, expressed views in line with some
The following part discusses the results that address another masculine norms, especially some of the norms associated with
aim of this study: why is cyberbullying directed at appearance? the stereotypical male gender role, such as using violence and that
The adolescents suggested that one reason for why cyberbullying homosexuals should be disdained (Mahalik et al., 2003).
is directed at appearance is that appearance-related cyberbullying
is perceived to be a potent strategy to hurt girls. This is exemplied
by the following statement by a boy: You tell them theyre ugly, Limitations
that theyre fat, and then they dont have any condence and think
bad about themselves. Why is appearance-related cyberbullying One general methodological limitation is that the adolescents
such an effective weapon against girls? Objectication theory con- in the focus groups were asked about cyberbullying without being
tributes an explanation: women and girls in the Western world live given a denition of the word. Several cyberbullying denitions
their lives knowing that their bodies are under constant scrutiny have been proposed in the literature, and there is ongoing debate
(Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). This framework describes how girls, in the scientic community about which one to use (Langos, 2012;
from an early age, are encouraged to focus on their appearance, Menesini, 2012; Slonje, Smith, & Frisn, 2013; Smith, 2012). How-
for instance how they dress or how their hair is styled. According ever, the adolescents seemed to be familiar with the concept of
to this theory, the scrutiny by others may cause women to take cyberbullying, and it is our view that the lack of denition didnt
an observers perspective on their bodies, as a consequence objec- create any confusion in the discussions.
tifying themselves. Thus, for women and girls, there is always a This study was also limited by the fact that the focus groups were
perceived potential risk of being looked at and evaluated by oth- held with girls and boys in separate groups. It should be noted that
ers, and they learn to conduct a surveillance of themselves. Girls in this division may have made the differences between girls and boys
the focus groups described greater self-surveillancethe constant appear more prominent than they would have in mixed-sex groups.
preoccupation with how one looksthan the boys, and this made However, mixed-sex groups might have inhibited the pupils, and
them more prone to being hurt by negative comments about their thus not generated data as rich as the current study did.
appearance and bodies. Self-surveillance has been found to be asso- Another concern is that we have no information about the ado-
ciated with several possible negative consequences, such as low lescents who declined to participate. The sensitivity of the topic
body esteem, depression, disordered eating attitudes, and poorer might be one reason that adolescents did not participate. It may
subjective well-being (Choma, Shove, Busseri, Sadava, & Hosker, be that those adolescents who chose to participate are more open
2009). to talk about appearance-related cyberbullying, compared to those
who did not want to participate. This limits our ability to discuss in
Girls and Boys React Differently to Appearance-Related what way our results are transferable for other adolescents.
Cyberbullying Several notes of caution need to be raised regarding the repre-
sentativeness of the 27 adolescents which participated. First, this is
The nal aim of this study was to investigate which effects a study with a small sample. Second, we did not collect any informa-
that are associated with appearance-related cyberbullying. The tion whether or not the adolescents in the sample had any special
adolescents perceived that there were differences between boys physical identiers (acne, etc.) or any information about their BMI.
S. Berne et al. / Body Image 11 (2014) 527533 533

These features could have had an inuence on how adolescents media in adolescent girls and boys. Body Image, 4, 353360. http://dx.doi.org/
talked about appearance-related cyberbullying. 10.1016/j.bodyim.2007.06.007
Langos, C. (2012). Cyberbullying: The challenge to dene. Cyberpsychology, Behavior,
Regardless of these limitations, the ndings from this study ll and Social Networking, 15, 285289. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2011.0588
a gap in the literature, by addressing adolescents experiences of Leadbeter, B. J., Kuperminc, G. P., Blatt, S. J., & Hertzog, C. (1999). A multivari-
appearance-related cyberbullying. Thus, this study, along with the ate model of gender differences in adolescents internalizing and externalizing
problems. Developmental Psychology, 35, 12681282. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/
previous study by Frisn et al. (2014), indicates that appearance- 0012-1649.35.5.1268
related cyberbullying may be gendered. Moreover, ndings in this Lunde, C., Frisn, A., & Hwang, C. P. (2006). Is peer victimization related to
study contribute to the knowledge in two research elds, namely, poor body esteem in 10-year-old girls and boys? Body Image, 3, 2533.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim. 2005.12.001
cyberbullying and body esteem. The study adds to the under-
Mahalik, J. R. (1999). Incorporating a gender role strain perspective in assessing
standing of an almost unexplored aspect of the cyberbullying and treating mens cognitive distortions. Professional Psychology: Research and
eldappearance-related cyberbullying. Additionally, the ndings Practice, 30, 333339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.30.4.333
Mahalik, J. R., Locke, B. D., Ludlow, L. H., Diemer, M. A., Gottfried, N.,
contribute to the understanding of how Internet may inuence
Scott, R. P. J., & Freitas, G. (2003). Development of the Conformity to
girls body esteem via negative appearance-related comments. The Masculine Norms Inventory. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 4, 215.
ndings in this study highlight the importance of working with http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1524-9220.4.1.3
peer cultures, norms about gender and appearance, to counteract Mahalik, J. R., Morray, E. B., Coonerty-Femiano, A., Ludlow, L. H., Slattery, S. M., &
Smiler, A. (2005). Development of the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory.
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Manago, A. M., Graham, M. B., Greeneld, P. M., & Salimkhan, G. (2008). Self-
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