Elizabeth Agnew, Queen’s University Belfast
Cyberbullying and Sexting: Regulatory Challenges in the Digital Age was published by Bloomsbury in February 2024.
What is the book about?
The book examines how professionals/practitioners working with young people (under 18 years) and young people themselves, conceptualise, understand and experience peer-on-peer online bullying/cyberbullying and ‘sexting’ behaviours. ‘Sexting’ defined as image sharing among young people. It is important to note here, the young people themselves did not use this adult generated term, preferring more exact terminology to describe the behaviours.
The book highlights the complex features of cyberbullying and ‘sexting’ behaviours and how these impact law and policy. In doing so, existing tensions within regulatory frameworks are probed and gaps/limitations considered. The complexity of gender roles and the shifting power dynamics within youth culture is integrated throughout the book and discussed at various junctures. One of the key takeaways from the book is how ‘sexting’ behaviours in particular must be viewed as part of a continuum of sexual behaviour, one that accounts for consensual and non-consensual contexts.
The book concludes by considering best approaches moving forward, in particular responses which are outside and beyond substantive law. Throughout the book, the voices of young people are embedded to bring to the fore the nuanced dimensions to the behaviours being displayed and to better reflect the lived experiences of the young people impacted by the behaviours.
Why did I write it?
The book was a product of my PhD and ESRC NINE DTP findings. Both pieces of research were conducted during a time when socio-political attention associated with image sharing among young people (‘sexting’) was gaining momentum. Despite growing concerns, limited empirical work existed which explored the nuanced dimensions of the behaviours being displayed, particularly in Northern Ireland. I therefore wrote the book for three main reasons.
First, from a theoretical perspective, the book would advance existing narratives on childhood, youth sexuality and the efficacy (or lack thereof) of legal tools when applied to certain youth behaviours. Second, the empirical data captured would generate new knowledge when it comes to conceptualising and understanding the complexity of peer-on-peer cyberbullying and ‘sexting’ behaviours. Third and linked to the previous two points, I wanted to consider interventions beyond the legal landscape and reinforce the importance of non-legal responses in effectively responding to these behaviours. In particular, the need for comprehensive relationship and sexuality education (RSE) which explores issues of consent, sexual autonomy and challenges prevailing and persistent gendered stereotypes and myths.
How did I go about doing this research and what further work is needed in this field?
From the outset, it was important to me to include the voices of young people and to capture their experiences. I therefore designed my methodology with Article 12 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in mind – the right to be listened to.
As noted above, the book is based on two empirical studies with a mixed methods approach taken for both projects. The PhD research took the form of focus groups and semi-structured interviews with 15 young people aged 13–17 years and semi-structured interviews with 28 professionals across the public and private sectors. This included from within education, safeguarding, children’s charities and criminal justice. The ESRC NINE DTP research included semi-structured interviews with 10 key professionals in the area and an attitudinal survey completed by 61 young people aged between 14–18 years.
There were some limitations to the research. Due to time constraints when conducting the PhD alongside the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and multiple lockdowns during the ESRC NINE DTP, the data collected was never intended to be representative. What the book does illustrate, how over simplistic accounts of cyberbullying and sexting behaviours has resulted in a limited understanding of the multi-faceted nature of youth behaviours. This has resulted in a number of regulatory difficulties and consequently impacts the effectiveness of current safeguarding and welfare interventions.
Moving forward, a number of current gaps in knowledge were noted. Of significant importance was the little empirical research which exists exploring LGBT+ young people and their experiences of harmful behaviours, in particular harmful sexual behaviours. Understanding motivations behind such engagement but also, within the broader remit of sexual exploitation, how peers can and do gain the trust of LGBT+ peers to exploit them, is needed. This is a significant scholarly gap and requires further examination.