Cyberbullying via Social Media and Well-Being

Adolescent Social Media Use through a Self-Determination Theory Lens: A Systematic Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

Social media is an integral part of adolescents' lives and has a strong influence on development and wellbeing. Research examining adolescent social media use and wellbeing is confusing as findings are inconsistent, inconclusive and contradictory. To address this issue, digital wellbeing scholars recommend that researchers adopt a theoretical approach with the aim of increasing meaningfulness and applicability of findings. Hence, this review applies self-determination theory to investigate how adolescent social media use supports and thwarts the basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy and competence. Satisfaction of all three psychological needs is essential for optimal development and wellbeing.

METHODS

A scoping review was conducted using a systematic search of five databases relating to adolescent social media use. The preferred items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (extension for scoping reviews) was applied resulting in 86 included studies.

RESULTS

Adolescent social media use both supports and thwarts relatedness, autonomy and competence. The findings highlighted how different aspects of adolescent social media use (including intra-personal, inter-personal, situational and environmental factors) contribute to the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs.

CONCLUSIONS

This review illustrates how social media can be both beneficial and detrimental to satisfying the basic psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy and competence. This is important when considering that if psychological needs are satisfied or frustrated in adolescence, the repercussions can have a cascading effect throughout adulthood. This review identifies gaps in the literature and provides suggestions for future research.

Impact of National Lockdown Measures on the Association Between Social Media Use and Sleep Disturbance During COVID-19: A Meta-Analysis of 21 Nations

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the extensive lockdown measures implemented for disease mitigation triggered a surge in round-the-clock social media use, giving rise to widespread concerns regarding its impact on sleep health. This meta-analysis examined the association between social media use and sleep disturbance during the pandemic, along with potential moderators. The dataset included 43 independent samples comprising 68,247 residents of 21 countries across 7 world regions. The three-level mixed-effects meta-analysis revealed a weak, positive overall effect size (r = 0.1296, 95% confidence interval: 0.0764-0.1828, k = 90). The magnitude of the effect size varied by the type of social media use: compulsive use exhibited a moderately strong effect size, whereas information-focused use showed marginal significance. The effect size was more pronounced in countries imposing stricter (vs. less strict) lockdown measures. Lockdown status also moderated this association, with a marginally significant effect size observed during lockdowns but a significant effect size after lockdowns. For demographics, samples involving emerging adults demonstrated moderately strong effect sizes, whereas those involving the general population had modest effect sizes. Notably, the interaction between the type of social media use and lockdown status was significant. Specifically, the positive association with information-focused use was significant only during lockdowns, whereas that with general use was significant after, but not during, lockdowns. However, compulsive use showed a moderately strong effect size both during and after lockdowns. These findings underscored the importance of considering multiple factors-such as the type of social media use, context, and demographics-when studying social media use and sleep health.

Antecedents and outcomes of cyberbullying among Chinese university students: verification of a behavioral pathway model

Introduction

Cyberbullying is a commonly-seen and hotly-debated social topic around the globe. This negative behavior is the source of many disastrous events, and so leading government bodies, organizations, schools and social communities attach great importance to addressing this topic. However, there is still much work to do in order to be clear about the causes of cyberbullying.

Methods

The previous research cases were mostly viewed from the victims' perspectives; however, there is no comprehensive understanding of the perpetrators' viewpoints. Therefore, based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and analysis of discussion in the literature, the following six variables were chosen as the focus of this study: overconfidence, excessive moral sense, cyberbullying, perceived value, happiness, and continued cyberbullying intention. This study established a research model of continued cyberbullying intention, which was verified by Structural Equation Modeling. In order to achieve the aims of the study, Chinese university students with an average age of 20.29 (SD = 1.43) were recruited as participants, from whom 1,048 valid questionnaires were collected.

Results

The research results are as follows: 1. Overconfidence and excessive moral sense positively predicted cyberbullying behaviors; 2. Overconfidence positively predicted excessive moral sense; 3. Cyberbullying positively predicted perceived value and sense of happiness; and 4. Perceived value and sense of happiness positively predicted continued cyberbullying intentions.

Conclusion

Students' biased self-perception significantly predicts their cyberbullying behaviors and continued cyberbullying intention. What is more, it is interesting to learn that perpetrators will continue to exhibit cyberbullying behaviors when they believe that what they do (cyberbullying) is valuable or allows them to experience positive feelings; this requires our attention.

Cyberbullying and Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) in Adolescence: Exploring Moderators and Mediators through a Systematic Review

(1) Objective: This systematic review explores the intricate relationship between cyberbullying and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in adolescents, acknowledging the dynamic nature of these phenomena in the evolving landscape of technology and social norms. (2) Methods: PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched, and 14 studies were selected based on the eligibility criteria, focusing on participants aged 10 to 19, cyberbullying roles, and NSSI as the predictor and outcome variables, respectively. (3) Results: Internalizing symptoms, specifically depression and anxiety, emerged as the most prominent mediators. However, factors such as externalizing symptoms, stress, and negative emotional responses (emotion reactivity, negative emotions) were also identified to play a significant role in the relationship between cyberbullying and NSSI. On the other hand, protective factors against the negative impact of cyberbullying on NSSI risk, such as strong peer connections and school engagement, were identified. (4) Discussions: This review underscores the multidimensional nature of the cyberbullying-NSSI association, emphasizing the roles of potential risk factors such as internalizing and externalizing symptoms, stress, and negative emotional response. Internalizing symptoms played a central role as pathways between cyberbullying victimization and NSSI. Additionally, social factors, including peer connections and school engagement, were found to act as protective elements. (4) Conclusion: Continuous investigation is crucial in order to adapt interventions to the evolving technological and social landscape. The study advocates for targeted interventions that prioritize positive social connections to mitigate the impact of cyberbullying on adolescent well-being.

Hierarchy of demographic and social determinants of mental health: analysis of cross-sectional survey data from the Global Mind Project

OBJECTIVES

To understand the extent to which various demographic and social determinants predict mental health status and their relative hierarchy of predictive power in order to prioritise and develop population-based preventative approaches.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of survey data.

SETTING

Internet-based survey from 32 countries across North America, Europe, Latin America, Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Australia, collected between April 2020 and December 2021.

PARTICIPANTS

270 000 adults aged 18-85+ years who participated in the Global Mind Project.

OUTCOME MEASURES

We used 120+ demographic and social determinants to predict aggregate mental health status and scores of individuals (mental health quotient (MHQ)) and determine their relative predictive influence using various machine learning models including gradient boosting and random forest classification for various demographic stratifications by age, gender, geographical region and language. Outcomes reported include model performance metrics of accuracy, precision, recall, F1 scores and importance of individual factors determined by reduction in the squared error attributable to that factor.

RESULTS

Across all demographic classification models, 80% of those with negative MHQs were correctly identified, while regression models predicted specific MHQ scores within ±15% of the position on the scale. Predictions were higher for older ages (0.9+ accuracy, 0.9+ F1 Score; 65+ years) and poorer for younger ages (0.68 accuracy, 0.68 F1 Score; 18-24 years). Across all age groups, genders, regions and language groups, lack of social interaction and sufficient sleep were several times more important than all other factors. For younger ages (18-24 years), other highly predictive factors included cyberbullying and sexual abuse while not being able to work was high for ages 45-54 years.

CONCLUSION

Social determinants of traumas, adversities and lifestyle can account for 60%-90% of mental health challenges. However, additional factors are at play, particularly for younger ages, that are not included in these data and need further investigation.

Cyberbullying and mental health: past, present and future

Purpose

Cyberbullying has attracted the world's attention, and therefore researchers across the world have contributed to the literature on cyberbullying and mental health. Amongst others, they have conducted bibliometric analyses and associated cyberbullying with various factors but have not determined the impact of cyberbullying on people's mental health. Hence, the aim of this study was to conduct bibliometric analyses of cyberbullying and mental health to analyze the academic performance of the literature on impact of cyberbullying on people's mental health; and to propose future research avenues to make further contributions to this field of study.

Methodology

Spreadsheets and VOSviewer were used to conduct the bibliometric analysis. The data were extracted from the SCOPUS database which provided an extensive collection of data and journals.

Findings

Having explored the top active countries publishing on the impact of cyberbullying on people's mental health and the academic performance of such research articles by means of a qualitative bibliometric analysis, the results revealed that this research topic is still to be researched extensively. The study also suggests countries/regions where this research topic can be explored further, as well as possible journals for publication of research results, and further studies to be conducted.

Discussion

The literature presents a fragmented view on the impact of cyberbullying on people's mental health. Studies on cyberbullying are limited for the reasons as discussed in this article. Hence, bibliometric analysis was conducted to analyze the performance of academic literature on the impact of cyberbullying on people's mental health; the academic performance of research articles on cyberbullying and mental health; and to make proposals toward a future research agenda.

Social Media Usage and Its Effects on the Psychological Health of Adolescents

Social media usage is ubiquitous among adolescents. Although social media may appeal to adolescents due to the ability to connect with peers and develop relationships, many teens also report feelings of exclusion or victimization associated with their social media use. High usage of social media may act as a forum for negative behaviors and psychological detriments. Awareness and understanding of how social media affects adolescents' psychological well-being will help parents and school staff better support teenagers and develop programs to improve coping skills and self-regulation of social media for adolescents.

The Impact of Cyberbullying Victimization on Academic Satisfaction among Sexual Minority College Students: The Indirect Effect of Flourishing

This study examines the association between cyberbullying victimization and academic satisfaction through flourishing (psychological well-being) among 188 LGBTQ college students utilizing the lens of general strain theory and positive psychology. Results indicate that flourishing as a mediator explains the association between cyberbullying victimization and academic satisfaction among LGBTQ college students. For these students, flourishing can serve as a protective factor for their academic satisfaction. This finding highlights the need for college counselors, faculty, and administrators to foster psychological well-being among cyberbullied LGBTQ college students. Practice implications will guide the development of a campus-wide cyberbullying intervention for these students.

Brain Activities Show There Is Nothing Like a Real Friend in Contrast to Influencers and Other Celebrities

Especially for young people, influencers and other celebrities followed on social media evoke affective closeness that in their young minds seems real even though it is fake. Such fake friendships are potentially problematic because of their felt reality on the consumer side while lacking any inversely felt true closeness. The question arises if the unilateral friendship of a social media user is equal or at least similar to real reciprocal friendship. Instead of asking social media users for explicit responses (conscious deliberation), the present exploratory study aimed to answer this question with the help of brain imaging technology. Thirty young participants were first invited to provide individual lists including (i) twenty names of their most followed and loved influencers or other celebrities (fake friend names), (ii) twenty names of loved real friends and relatives (real friend names) as well as (iii) twenty names they do not feel any closeness to (no friend names). They then came to the Freud CanBeLab (Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience and Behavior Lab) where they were shown their selected names in a random sequence (two rounds), while their brain activities were recorded via electroencephalography (EEG) and later calculated into event-related potentials (ERPs). We found short (ca. 100 ms) left frontal brain activity starting at around 250 ms post-stimulus to process real friend and no friend names similarly, while both ERPs differed from those elicited by fake friend names. This is followed by a longer effect (ca. 400 ms), where left and right frontal and temporoparietal ERPs also differed between fake and real friend names, but at this later processing stage, no friend names elicited similar brain activities to fake friend names in those regions. In general, real friend names elicited the most negative going brain potentials (interpreted as highest brain activation levels). These exploratory findings represent objective empirical evidence that the human brain clearly distinguishes between influencers or other celebrities and close people out of real life even though subjective feelings of closeness and trust can be similar. In summary, brain imaging shows there is nothing like a real friend. The findings of this study might be seen as a starting point for future studies using ERPs to investigate social media impact and topics such as fake friendship.

The Bridge between Cybervictimization and Suicidal Ideation among Adolescents: A Vicious Cycle of Hopelessness

Cybervictimization has been shown to relate to suicidal ideation. However, few studies have fully clarified the directionality of this relationship, and little is known about the potential mediating and moderating mechanisms of this relationship. To address these gaps, the current study tested bidirectional relationships among cybervictimization, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation across three years using a cross-lagged design and examined whether these relationships varied by openness, family socioeconomic status, perceived economic stress, and sex. A total of 2,407 Chinese adolescents (50.23% female, M_age = 12.75, SD = 0.58 at baseline) from seven schools participated in the present study. The results indicated that cybervictimization was related to hopelessness and suicidal ideation. There was a vicious cycle between cybervictimization and hopelessness after controlling the effects of cyberbullying at T1. There were significant reciprocal relationships between hopelessness and suicidal ideation. Hopelessness at T2 mediated the relationship between cybervictimization at T1 and suicidal ideation at T3. Openness moderated the relationships among cybervictimization, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. Family socioeconomic status, perceived economic stress, and sex did not play a moderating role. These findings will help to understand that intervening with hopelessness is a promising way to reduce adolescents' cybervictimization and suicidal ideation, and promoting adolescents' openness is an effective approach to alleviate the negative outcome of cybervictimization.

To use or be used? The role of agency in social media use and well-being

In this paper, we develop the concept of agentic social media use: a way of engaging with social media that emphasizes having the beliefs, knowledge, and practices to use it intentionally. In comparison to instances of “mindless” social media use, people who use social media agentically do so with a purpose in mind: they leverage the affordances of social media to do things that are meaningful, useful, or satisfying for them. For example, people can use social media to intentionally build or manage their relationships, to seek out and learn new information about their interests, or to craft a positive image of themselves through the content they post. Crucially, however, there are many other valuable uses of social media that may not be considered conventionally productive but are nonetheless deliberate and useful, such as using social media intentionally to relax, unwind, and entertain themselves in an effort to modulate their emotions. To use social media agentically means to (1) hold an agentic mindset about one's relationship with social media, (2) have the knowledge and literacy to understand how to navigate social media effectively, and (3) enact practices that assert control over specific elements of social media use, such as curating content and refining algorithmic recommendation. Approaching social media use from the perspective of agency and intentionality allows us to better understand heterogeneous social media effects and to identify new ways of helping people benefit from these technologies.

The Severity of Cyberbullying Affects Bystander Intervention Among College Students: The Roles of Feelings of Responsibility and Empathy

Background

Bystander intervention can protect victims from harm in cyberbullying. Previous studies have found that the severity of cyberbullying incidents is one of the important factors affecting decisions to intervene. However, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this effect.

Purpose

The current study explored the effect of the severity of cyberbullying incidents on bystander intention to intervene on social network sites (SNSs) among college students (Experiment 1), the mediating role of feelings of responsibility (Experiment 2) and the moderating role of empathy (Experiment 3).

Patients and Methods

We presented cyberbullying incidents with different levels of severity through scenarios including fictive Weibo news reports and comments. Participants were exposed to a fictive cyberbullying incident and asked to complete a questionnaire including measures of the variables of interest.

Results

Our results showed that the severity of incidents positively affected bystander intention to intervene through the mediation of feelings of responsibility. Empathy moderated the effect of incident severity on bystander intention to intervene.

Conclusion

The results of the current study help to understand the behavior of bystanders in cyberbullying and they provide a practical reference for intervention in cyberbullying incidents.

Cyberbullying, Social Media Addiction and Associations with Depression, Anxiety, and Stress among Medical Students in Malaysia

This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with cyberbullying and social media addiction. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 270 medical students from a public university in Kuching, Malaysia. The instruments used in this study included the cyberbullying questionnaire survey, Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale 21-item (DASS-21). The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization was 24.4%, whilst 13.0% reported cyberbullying perpetration over the past six months. Male gender was positively associated with both cyberbullying perpetration and cybervictimization, whilst social media addiction was positively associated with cybervictimization. Psychological motives such as positive attitudes toward cyberbullying and gaining power were associated with cyberbullying perpetration. Cybervictimization doubled the tendency to depression (aOR 2.50, 95% CI [1.23, 5.08], p = 0.012), anxiety (aOR 2.38, 95% CI [1.29, 4.40], p = 0.006), and stress (aOR 2.85, 95% CI [1.41, 5.77], p = 0.004), whilst social media addiction was associated with a higher tendency to depression (aOR 1.18, 95% CI [1.10, 1.26], p < 0.001), anxiety (aOR 1.15, 95% CI [1.08, 1.22], p < 0.001), and stress (aOR 1.21, 95% CI [1.12, 1.32], p < 0.001). Medical schools in Malaysia need policies and guidelines against cyberbullying.

Development and Validation of the Need for Online Social Feedback (NfOSF) Scale

People are known to adjust their behavior based on social information. Starting from 2004, social media rapidly became a new social arena for human interaction, and scholars widely studied the effect of likes on people’s psyche and behavior. However, likes are just one of the possible social feedbacks among many others on social media. Moreover, social feedback influence should be analyzed recognizing individual differences in people’s needs and desires for them. This work was aimed at developing and validating (internally and externally) a scale able to capture people’s perceived need for online social feedback (NfOSF) applicable to most social media platforms. Data coming from 1403 Italian participants were used for this purpose. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses appeared to support a two-factor structure for the NfOSF scale, while Pearson’s correlation confirmed the expected positive relations of NfOSF factors with Narcissism, Need to Belong, FOMO, and Social media reputation perception. Eventually, NfOSF scale reliability appeared optimal.

Adolescents' Assessment of Two Mental Health-Promoting Mobile Apps: Results of Two User Surveys

BACKGROUND

The importance of mental health promotion is irrevocable and is especially important at a young age. More mental health-promoting mobile apps have been developed in the last few years. However, their usability and quality have been rarely assessed.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to investigate how adolescents assess the usability, quality, and potential goal achievement of Opp and NettOpp. Opp is a universal mental health-promoting mobile app aimed at 13- to 19-year-olds, and NettOpp is a mobile app for children and adolescents between 11 to 16 years of age that have experienced negative incidents online.

METHODS

A total of 45 adolescents tested either Opp (n=30) or NettOpp (n=15) for a period of 3 weeks and answered a questionnaire. The System Usability Scale (SUS) was used to measure the usability of the apps. A SUS score above 70 indicates acceptable usability. Items from the Mobile Application Rating Scale were adapted for study purposes and used to measure the quality and perceived goal achievement that Opp and NettOpp might have on adolescents' knowledge, attitudes, and intention to change behavior. Furthermore, adolescents could answer an open comment question.

RESULTS

Opp had a mean SUS score of 80.37 (SD 9.27), and NettOpp's mean SUS score was 80.33 (SD 10.30). In the overall evaluation, Opp and NettOpp were given a mean score of 3.78 (SD 0.42) and 4.20 (SD 0.56), respectively, on a 5-point scale, where 5 was best. Most adolescents who evaluated Opp rated that the app would increase knowledge about mental health and help young people deal with stress and difficult emotions or situations. Most adolescents who evaluated NettOpp agreed that the app would increase awareness and knowledge about cyberbullying, change attitudes toward cyberbullying, and motivate them to address cyberbullying. Some adolescents stated that Opp was difficult to navigate and consisted of too much text. Some of the adolescents that tested NettOpp stated that the app had crashed and that the design was a bit childish.

CONCLUSIONS

All in all, this study indicates that Opp and NettOpp have good usability and that adolescents are satisfied with both apps. It also indicates that the potential goal achievement of the apps, for example, increasing knowledge about mental health (Opp) or cyberbullying (NettOpp) is promising. While there are some comments from the users that are more difficult to solve (eg, Opp is too text-based), some comments helped improve the apps (eg, that the app crashed). Overall, the user evaluation provided valuable knowledge about how adolescents assess Opp and NettOpp. However, more extensive effectiveness studies are necessary to measure their actual goal achievement.

Childhood emotional abuse and cyberbullying perpetration among Chinese university students: The chain mediating effects of self-esteem and problematic social media use

Childhood abuse has been shown to have a range of adverse physical and psychological consequences, including aggression and bullying. While researchers have explored the relationship between childhood abuse and cyberbullying, little is known about the impact of emotional abuse on cyberbullying. This study examined the link between childhood emotional abuse (CEA) and cyberbullying perpetration among university students in the Chinese cultural context, as well as the chain mediating effect of self-esteem and Problematic Social Media Use (PSMU). A total of 835 university students (18-25 years old; 293 males, 542 females; M _age = 19.44 years, SD = 1.28) completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short-Form (CTQ-SF), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the Social Media Use Questionnaire (SMUQ), and Cyberbullying Inventory (CBI). The results showed that CEA and PSMU were positively correlated with cyberbullying; self-esteem was negatively correlated with cyberbullying. Besides, self-esteem and PSMU sequentially mediated the relationship between CEA and cyberbullying perpetration. The findings indicate that childhood emotional abuse may lower self-esteem and cause problematic social media use, which increases cyberbullying perpetration.

The impact of strain, constraints, and morality on different cyberbullying roles: A partial test of Agnew's general strain theory

The strain has been well studied in traditional bullying, and recent research has begun to explore it in cyberbullying behavior. Drawing from General Strain Theory, the current study empirically examined the relationship between strain and the cyberbullying behavior of perpetrators and bully-victims, respectively. Meanwhile, this study also considered the influences of the protective variables (e.g., constraints and morality) on the strain, which may potentially reduce the risks of participating in cyberbullying. The sample comprised 928 Chinese internet users (Male = 490, Female = 438) aged between 16 to 50. We identified the prevalence of cyberbullying in China, in which the percentages of cyberbullying perpetrators, cyberbullying victims, and cyber bully-victims were 23.40, 23.20, and 37.40%, respectively. This study mentioned a noteworthy phenomenon: cyberbullying victims quickly became cyberbullying perpetrators when they were cyberbullied. Secondly, according to the binary logistic regression, we hold that the strain was significantly related to cyberbullying behaviors, as individuals with low levels of self-control showed a higher tendency to participate in cyberbullying. As for protective factors, the results showed that constraints and morality can reduce the negative consequences of strain and then against cyberbullying, exploring the possibilities of using constraints and morality as variables to decrease strain and prevent cyberbullying. Thus, the unique values of this study are using the GST theory to investigate the empirical link between strain and cyberbullying between different roles in a new cultural and social background, demonstrating that negative emotion and low self-control had influences on strain and cyberbullying behaviors. Meanwhile, this study also contributes by discussing the implications for future research and practicing efforts targeting how to decrease the risks of cyberbullying engagement, for example, we suggest that the prevention and intervention of cyberbullying should adopt a cross-sectoral response to help individuals to view cyberbullying, vent dissatisfaction and relieve strain in the right way.

Bystanders Join in Cyberbullying on Social Networking Sites: The Deindividuation and Moral Disengagement Perspectives

Bystanders Join in Cyberbullying on Social Networking Sites: The Deindividuation and Moral Disengagement Perspectives

Cyberbullying on social networking sites escalates when bystanders join in the bullying. Bystanders’ joining-in behaviors reinforce the abuse, expose victims to a larger audience, and encourage further abuse by signaling their approval of the aggressive behavior. This study developed an integrative model that explains bystanders’ joining-in cyberbullying behaviors on SNSs to offer actionable insights into reducing such harmful behaviors. We tested the model using 1,179 responses using a scenario survey study. Our findings suggest that IT artifacts (including digital profile, search and privacy, relational ties, and network transparency) activated two key mechanisms that lead to cyberbullying joining-in behaviors: (i) the deindividuation experiences that attenuate self-identity and put salience on group/social identity, and (ii) the moral disengagement practices that permit the exercise of cognitive maneuvers to justify group-interested choices that do not align with social standard. The findings explain why people who do not know each other gang up to bully a target on social media. Platform owners who wish to discourage bystanders from joining in undesirable activities may consider regulating how users could share and access digital resources in a social network and should acknowledge the influence of social identity in igniting, driving, and prolonging harmful online group behaviors.

Testing a first online intervention to reduce conformity to cyber aggression in messaging apps

Early adolescents frequently use mobile messaging apps to communicate with peers. The popularity of such messaging apps has a critical drawback because it increases conformity to cyber aggression. Cyber aggression includes aggressive peer behaviors such as nasty comments, nonconsensual image sharing, and social exclusion, to which adolescents subsequently conform. Recent empirical research points to peer group norms and reduced accountability as two essential determinants of conformity to cyber aggression. Therefore, the current study aimed to counteract these two determinants in a 2 (peer group norms counteracted: yes, no) x 2 (reduced accountability counteracted: yes, no) design. We created four intervention conditions that addressed adolescents’ deficits in information, motivation, and behavioral skills. Depending on the condition (peer group norms, reduced accountability, combination, or control), we first informed participants about the influence of the relevant determinant (e.g., peer group norms). Subsequently, participants performed a self-persuasion task and formulated implementation-intentions to increase their motivation and behavioral skills not to conform to cyber aggression. Effectiveness was tested with a messaging app paradigm and self-report among a sample of 377 adolescents (M_age = 12.99, SD_age = 0.84; 53.6% boys). Factorial ANCOVAs revealed that none of the intervention conditions reduced conformity to cyber aggression. Moreover, individual differences in susceptibility to peer pressure or inhibitory control among adolescents did not moderate the expected relations. Therefore, there is no evidence that our intervention effectively reduces conformity to cyber aggression. The findings from this first intervention effort point to the complex relationship between theory and practice. Our findings warrant future research to develop potential intervention tools that could effectively reduce conformity to cyber aggression.