Page 19 - Delaware Medical Journal - April 2018

CASE REPORT
Due to the lack of face to face communication, texting and online messaging allows children to experiment with self-expression in different ways.
Park and Floyd’s study elaborates on the fact that children tend not to overthink
the risks involved in disclosing personal information when communicating with strangers online. A term coined online, “cyberspace disinhibition,” suggests that psychological barriers are diminished in
an online environment as children browse through the internet exposing themselves in unsafe ways and also engaging in violent behavior for which the impact on others
is unknown.1 Cyber violence exists in the form of cybercrimes, cyber sexploitation, cyberstalking, and cyberbullying.
Nakamura’s study in 2004 revealed the impact of cyber violence in Japan. An 11-year-old girl stabbed a fellow classmate at school after a heated online argument the previous night.1 Television programs
in the United States display about 800 violent acts per hour while children’s cartoons display up to 20 violent acts per hour.2 Girls and boys have different ways of communicating on the internet. A study conducted by Dowell and colleagues on 404 twelve-year-old school-aged children revealed that girls tend to have more email addresses and tend to instant message more than boys. Close to 30% of boys and girls reported posting rude comments online.3
Bushman and colleagues’ study on
the short term and long term effects of violent media on aggression in children provides a rationale behind the changes
in behavior when exposed to violence. The authors conclude that exposure to violence reinforces existing aggression, helps simulate aggressive scripts, and alters the emotional arousal that is kindled by observing violence. These long term effects result from learning scripts
for aggression, cognitions supporting aggression, and promotion of emotions
associated with observing violent behavior.4 The authors’ meta-analysis on children and adult results show long term effects of exposure to violence were more apparent in children.
Bickham and colleagues’ survey of 1,356 children discloses that in 6- to 8-year-
old children an extra hour of violent television resulted in 20 minutes less time spent with friends. Among 9- to 12-year- old children, an extra hour of violent television resulted in 25 minutes less time spent with friends.5
Bilic’s study on violence among peers
in the real and virtual world describes the rising violence in the virtual world. The authors conclude that due to the anonymity, lack of direct contact and responsibility, violence has increased among children in the virtual world.6 Not only has exposure to electronic media led to an increase in violence, but depression
has also been linked to the electronic media usage.
Primack and colleagues’ longitudinal study on 4,142 adolescents revealed that those children who reported watching more television had greater odds of progressing toward depression for every additional hour of daily television use.7
This case report focuses on the use of an online community that involves “Slender Man.” Chason’s article in The Washington Post revealed the story of two teens who planned the murder of their friend. In 2014, two 12-year-old teens took their classmate to the woods in Wisconsin and stabbed her 19 times.8 The girls revealed to the detectives that the reason they
were compelled to kill their classmate was because they wanted to be followers of Slender Man. They also wanted to protect themselves and their families
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FIGURE III14: Percentage of Children Reporting Being Bullied in the Past Year, by Type of Bullying and Age, 2014