Cyberbullying and Online Safety

Cyberbullying includes an array of malicious behaviors targeting children and adults. In some cases, these activities are much like those of “traditional” bullying transplanted into the digital medium. In other cases, technology makes for novel and dangerous practices. Carlos Castañeda , PhD, NCC, LPC, is a researcher and presenter on topics related to technology and mental health. 

How is cyberbullying distinct from bullying? 

Cyberbullying is like bullying on steroids, where it is taking place not just on our devices, but in the digital world. So, we're not just talking about the actual device; we're talking about online, where your digital footprint is everywhere and easily accessible from anywhere.  

One of the key differences that I usually talk with clients or educate practitioners on is how much more challenging and scary it is for a victim or survivor of cyberbullying. Even moving schools can’t get someone away from cyberbullying. It's harder to get away from cyberbullying when it's attached to your digital footprint, whether it's because of the original bully themselves or because of others who are abusing the victim or survivor.   

Where is the line between cyberbullying and online harassment? 

The bullying itself might fall short of that level of harm, but it can certainly evolve to the harassment level, similar to any other situation of bullying. I think as we've continued to advocate for mental health for youth, especially in schools, there's more filtering of what's considered harassment in an actual school setting. The same is still being done for cyberbullying—figuring out what's considered online bullying, what's considered harassment. We have data, we note differences, but sometimes it's tricky. When is something just at the line of meeting bullying but not harassment? So, unfortunately, it's a huge “it depends.”  

What are some forms cyberbullying can take? 

The first one is exclusion, and that's whether it's an online group, a group chat, not being receptive and communicating back to a certain individual. So, similar to ostracizing. 

Harassment is a broad category. It can be more in the sense of very violent and intentionally violent wording or phrasing or online actions towards someone. Back in the day, this was usually only through text online, but now we're in the danger zone with artificial intelligence and being able to put someone's face on a very inappropriate video or image. Photoshop is not even required anymore. There are other apps that can easily cut and paste into different harmful content. So that's how that can be a part of harassment as well, not just with text, but video, using artificial intelligence. That doesn't mean that AI is bad, I will say. I'm working with AI myself. But it's certainly something to be careful with in regard to material of your loved ones and sharing things online.   

Outing and doxing is a form that involves searching for and publishing private information of an individual. Trickery can be similar to catfishing: creating a fake account or saying that somebody won a prize, click this link. There is masquerading which can be similar to catfishing as well. 

Cyberstalking is an important one to recognize. Usually for my students, I will tell them to be cautious when you're posting online because there have been events where celebrities or even people with stalkers will post on their social media with their location of a beautiful beach, for example, of where they're at. And then it gives that other person that opportunity to find them. So, I usually say if you're going to post about a location online, do it 10 or 30 minutes after you’ve left to decrease that risk.  

A new form of cyber- and physical stalking has been the unfortunate use of Air Tags.  
People were putting them in targets’ cars, setting them in backpacks, to try and stalk them. Luckily, now we know that Apple and some other companies with similar products have created features to alert you that there is a device on you that your device doesn't recognize. Maybe this is lost, but maybe it's someone essentially who slipped that in there. 

Flaming, which is the same as trolling, is making certain language and instigating to get a reaction from someone, let's say on X or Facebook or even a group chat. The purpose for the perpetrator is to make the target mad, because some people seek pleasure from that. 

Swatting is certainly on the harassment side. This is where an individual will know someone's address, call the police, and say this person is being very violent, or they have a weapon, and then with certain language like that, it gets escalated to the SWAT team. There have been situations with people on social media who have been swatted and arrested or who have been actually shot and killed.   

There is sometimes skepticism about the severity of cyberbullying, with the assumption that victims can simply disconnect or block bullies. Is cyberbullying less serious than in-person bullying? 

I would argue it's certainly harder to disconnect from the digital world itself, especially nowadays. And as far as blocking individuals, it doesn't just have to be a phone number, it doesn't just have to be even through, say, a Facebook profile. There are other ways that people can find you and continue to find you. There are clients who are victims of this and, since we're in the counseling world, we certainly wouldn't say anything to imply it’s less serious, because then our client would then feel like they are not being accepted. If they had shared with their counselor that they are being stalked, and then the counselor says, “Well, if we just block them, they'll go away”—we wouldn't say that to someone who is being stalked in person or being abused in person. We have to, of course, empathize as best as we can and then recognize that the digital footprint really attaches and it's really hard to disconnect, and people can find ways to still find them.   

What can parents, guardians, or even teachers do to prevent cyberbullying? 

It would be very important, in my opinion, to be able to have open conversations about social media. Sometimes it can be an uncomfortable topic, whether it's with the child, and sometimes even for the parent. Keeping up with the newest digital technologies that are out there, the newest social media and newest opportunities that people take advantage of—that's a lot. But it's something I recommend, that we all continue to learn, so we can help parents learn in case they miss any.  

Let's say there's a situation where the child is being cyberbullied. First, we'll go over some of the signs. So those might include being emotionally upset during or after using the Internet on the phone or other device; being very secretive or protective of digital life from the parents; spending more time than usual in their room—we have to be careful with that one, because teens are teens.  

Other signs are withdrawing or a lack of interest in family activities; avoiding school group activities that they usually were part of; slipping grades; acting out more than usual and out of anger in the home setting; changes in mood, behavior, sleep, and appetite especially; suddenly wanting to stop using devices or hyper-fixating on a device; being nervous or jumpy when they get a text or an e-mail, quickly flipping the phone or moving away from the parent; avoiding discussions about computer use or phone activities. So, we're noticing themes of avoidance from the youth and then similar symptoms of depression, anxiety.  

I recommend intervening immediately and helping the youth know that it's OK to get help from another adult. Many fear that their parents will be angry at them, potentially punish them or ostracize them from the family. The more that we educate families about this and show their acceptance and it's OK to seek help, that they don't have to do this on their own, the safer they'll be and perhaps even the quicker this can be resolved.  

If there are conflicts online, you want to separate the kiddos involved, and then make sure that everyone is safe regardless and meet any immediate medical or mental health needs. 

A hard part for parents to do, especially when they find first out that their kid is a victim, is to stay calm. But it's important to reassure the kids involved and be able to go through the appropriate channels and to make sure that their kiddo’s safe without expressing the reaction they most likely really want to let out, because then it can make the child potentially limit sharing in the future.   

How can a counselor help a cyberbullying victim build resilience? 

I would focus my clients on, first, reminding them of who their support system are. Would that be family? Would that be a partner? What would that be like where they can truly be themselves vulnerable and open, and where they feel heard?  

The next would be what interventions might work best for this, especially if you're a counselor. We've had different theories and different modalities that have been used, so I won't say which one is the best for this type of unique situation, but the priority is making sure that our clients still resume treatment. We mentioned that tendency to withdraw from their support systems. Sometimes this can happen in therapy as well, so we want to try and remind them of continuing sessions, making sure that they have that support from our end, as counselors.  

For treatment, be able to work with any type of distress tolerance. What I usually do is affirming realistic thinking based on CBT. Sometimes EMDR could be used as well for this to reduce the distress gradually. There are different modalities and approaches that could help with resilience, but I would say having the support system, continuing therapy, providing resources for survivors as well, whether it's online articles or books from survivors to help them.    

Is there anything parents can do to help prevent cyberbullying? 

Tech safety planning is something that we've gone over for families, how to protect your kiddo in the online world. You can get software, certain apps, that manage the control of your kiddo’s devices, what they can and can't access on the Internet, what apps they can’t download. But this is constantly moving, so I recommend parents to continue to remain educated. Look up every, every now and then, what new social media apps are there? Learn what potential faults or ways people are taking advantage of people on it.  
For families, even if they haven't been victims, but say a kid just got their first phone or is now in middle school, preparing them, having a conversation and then monitoring the devices. I really loved one parent saying that this to their kiddo: “I'm not taking your phone to try and ruin your life or see what you're doing. I just want to make sure that you're safe and people aren't trying to hurt you.” 

Companies are becoming more aware of this as well, for certain apps and gaming systems. They're using social AI now, creating safety filters that detect if certain language is used, block the content or block the individual or report the individual. And not just for text, but for voice as well. 

So, there are some measures being taken. It's just making sure we're in general continuing to take it on, to monitor and intervene, to help those victims.  

I have been working on a startup called ThinkAITA, and that stands for Think AI Therapeutic Adjunct. It's based on some research that I did where we programmed AI to be a therapeutic adjunct—not to replace a counselor, but to help in between the sessions, remind them of homework, and they can just have some to converse with in an 
evening or in a weekend when they don't see their counselor. We found some pretty good data on that, and then I decided to create the startup.  

It has subbranches, and right now I'm working on two projects. One is CAITA, and that is Counseling AI Therapeutic Adjunct. Counselors will be able to subscribe and use it and would be able to add their clients into accounts to talk with CAITA between sessions.  
And then if there's a crisis, like using certain language, even reporting cyberbullying, CAITA would be able to detect that and then ask if they want to talk with 988 or 911 or report this to their counselor to get a summary so the counselor can check in with them. And then the counselor can also consult a bit to get good treatment plans and recommendations.  
We’re going to have some university partners test it out in their e-clinics, practicum or internship clinics, to see how it would help benefit students who are learning about technology but also their clients.  

The second project is something that I call AURA—especially since kids are saying aura nowadays online. Through it, they’re talking with TARY, which is Therapeutic Adjunct for Resilient Youth, and this would be able to help with using CBT motivational interviewing  and be free for them. They would be able to interact with this to help with journaling, to be able to also use gamification: It uses point systems and badges to help them utilize this tool more, so in that way it increases health-seeking behaviors. And then it can also potentially refer and connect to therapists in their area who serve youth. 

Carlos Castañeda , PhD, NCC, LPC is the owner and founder of The Missing Peace Clinic, a neurodivergent-affirming private practice that offers specialized counseling and assessment services. Dr. Castaneda also serves as an Assistant Professor at St. Edward's University, where he is deeply engaged in research exploring the intersection of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and artificial intelligence (AI) in mental health. He notably coined the term "AI Therapeutic Adjuncts" to describe innovative technologies designed to complement traditional therapeutic practices. 

In pursuit of advancing technology's role in mental healthcare, Dr. Castañeda founded ThinkAITA LLC, a groundbreaking startup dedicated to supporting clients and healthcare practitioners through tailored AI Therapeutic Adjuncts. His flagship initiative, Project CAITA (Counseling AI Therapeutic Adjunct), empowers counseling clients by offering continuous support through interactive AI between sessions, crisis alert notifications for therapists, automated SOAP note generation through scribe features, and AI-driven consultation to develop personalized treatment plans grounded in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Motivational Interviewing (MI). 

Dr. Castañeda has also created Project AURA, an innovative program specifically designed to support youth mental health through engagement with TARY (Therapeutic Adjunct for Resilient Youth). Project AURA leverages gamification, journaling, mood tracking, and family education, and is intentionally affirming of BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and neurodivergent identities. 

With his extensive clinical, academic, and entrepreneurial experience, Dr. Castañeda continues to lead advancements at the intersection of technology and mental health, shaping inclusive, effective, and accessible mental healthcare solutions.

**Opinions and thoughts expressed in NBCC Visions Newsletter articles belong to the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or practices of NBCC and Affiliates.