The Trouble with Bullying – Deconstructing the Conventional Definition of Bullying for a Child‐centred Investigation into Children's Use of Social Media |
| |
| Authors: | Justin Canty Maria Stubbe Denise Steers Sunny Collings |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Social Psychiatry and Population Mental Health Research Unit, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand;2. Department of Primary Health Care & General Practice, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand |
| |
| Abstract: | This article deconstructs the conventional definition of bullying through analysis of its historical context, and identifies blind spots using lenses of gender, culture and setting. We explore theoretical and methodological problems associated with the conventional definition and its axiomatic use in bullying research, with particular reference to online bullying. We argue that because children may use ‘bullying’ to mean many different practices not captured in the conventional definition, using this definition often obscures the very phenomena researchers are aiming to describe. As a result, adults risk missing these practices in research and for interventions that use these studies as their evidence base. |
| |
| Keywords: | bullying childhood children children's culture definition |
|
|
