Developing digital resilience among adolescents: Addressing cyberbullying and problematic internet use in underserved communities

Olamide C Kunle-Lawanson *

Rutgers University, School of Social Work, New Brunswick, NJ, USA.
 
Review
International Journal of Science and Research Archive, 2024, 12(01), 3226-3232.
Article DOI: 10.30574/ijsra.2024.12.1.0942
Publication history: 
Received on 17 April 2024; revised on 23 May 2024; accepted on 28 May 2024
 
Abstract: 
Adolescents are increasingly vulnerable to cyberbullying and problematic internet use (PIU), both of which have been linked to poor mental health, social isolation, and academic decline. These issues are compounded among racially and socioeconomically marginalized groups. This paper examines the neurodevelopmental, psychosocial, and structural factors contributing to cyberbullying and PIU, highlights racial and socioeconomic disparities in digital harm exposure, and proposes culturally responsive, community-based intervention strategies. Drawing on the author’s professional experience as a clinical social worker and her cultural insights as an African woman, this article offers a multidisciplinary framework for addressing digital harms in adolescents, with implications for U.S. mental health and education policy.

 

Keywords: 
Adolescents; Cyberbullying; Problematic Internet Use; Digital Resilience; Race and SES Disparities; Public Mental Health
 
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Copyright © 2024 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0