0:08 [Music]
0:11 Hi everyone, I'm Dr. Peter Serno, doctor
0:14 of psychology, retired psychotherapist,
0:16 and specialist in personality disorders
0:18 and pathological abuse. In this video,
0:20 I'm going to talk about a disturbing
0:23 trend that is becoming all too common,
0:25 cyber mobbing. And I want to be clear,
0:28 this is not just mean comments or online
0:30 drama. It's a coordinated, sustained,
0:34 and destructive attack on an individual.
0:36 The damage is not just emotional. It can
0:39 affect reputations, careers,
0:42 relationships, and even lives. By the
0:43 end of this video, you'll know what
0:46 cyber mobbing actually is, why it's so
0:48 psychologically damaging, the kinds of
0:50 personalities who fuel these mobs,
0:52 realworld examples you'll probably
0:55 recognize, and what you can do whether
0:57 you are a potential target or a witness.
0:59 Because the reality is, if you're
1:01 online, this could happen to you or
1:11 Cyber mobbing is grouped driven online
1:13 harassment. It's not just one person
1:16 being cruel. It's many people uniting,
1:19 often strangers, to attack, discredit,
1:22 or socially destroy someone. It involves
1:26 repetitive targeting over days, weeks,
1:28 months, and even years. Group
1:31 coordination in public comment threads
1:34 or private chats. And amplification,
1:37 reposting, tagging to escalate
1:40 hostility. It's a form of bullying, but
1:42 unlike traditional bullying, it has no
1:44 physical boundaries. It can reach you anytime,
1:45 anytime, anywhere.
1:48 anywhere. Here
1:50 Here
1:52 are a few examples of cyber mobbing. A
1:55 professional posts research online. A
1:57 small group disagrees. Then they rally
1:59 others to call the professional out.
2:03 Overnight, hundreds of strangers attack,
2:06 misquote, and insult them. This actually
2:08 happened to me recently, and I'll get
2:09 into the details later on in this video
2:11 because it is relevant. Another example
2:14 is a teenager makes an awkward joke.
2:17 Screenshots spread. Now there are memes,
2:19 mocking videos, and thousands of
2:21 strangers piling on. A third example is
2:24 a celebrity getting harassed in public.
2:26 They get shoved, mobbed, and screamed
2:28 at. Clips are twisted and distorted to
2:30 make the celebrity look like they are
2:32 ungrateful to fans. The mob doesn't wait
2:35 for any evidence. They demand punishment
2:37 and they justify their lies. There's
2:38 this idea that if you're in the
2:41 spotlight or if you post something and
2:43 expose yourself to social media that
2:45 you're somehow asking for it. But this
2:47 isn't true. Being in the spotlight does
2:50 not mean asking for harassment. Those
3:01 The mental toll of cyber mobbing is
3:04 serious and measurable. It can result in
3:08 acute stress including hypervigilance,
3:10 insomnia and other physical health
3:13 problems, symptoms of anxiety and
3:15 depression, social withdrawal or isolation
3:17 isolation
3:19 due to fear of further attack.
3:21 Reputational damage even when the
3:24 accusations are false and in some severe
3:27 cases suicidal thoughts or ideation.
3:31 Your brain processes intense public humiliation
3:32 humiliation
3:35 the way it processes physical pain. And
3:46 So who engages in cyber mobbing? There
3:48 are certain personalities that are more
3:51 likely to initiate and escalate cyber
3:53 mobbing. Malignant narcissists crave
3:56 control and they actually enjoy the
3:58 public humiliation of others. They find
4:00 a way to frame it as justice.
4:02 Individuals with psychopathic traits who
4:05 have no empathy or remorse. They enjoy
4:07 chaos and destruction for sport.
4:09 Individuals with cluster B personality
4:12 traits in general, who act impulsively
4:14 when they feel slighted and who use
4:17 emotional storytelling to fuel outrage.
4:19 Aside from personalities that are more
4:22 pathological in nature, there are some
4:24 opportunistic bystanders who engage in
4:27 cyber mobbing as well. They're not
4:28 disordered, but they may join in for
4:31 likes, approval, validation because
4:33 maybe they have felt hurt by something
4:34 or they're defensive about something
4:37 that someone posted. Sometimes they tell
4:38 themselves that they're just joining in
4:41 on the conversation and maybe they
4:43 genuinely mistakenly believe that they
4:45 are contributing to some positive cause,
4:47 but it can still cause damage. These are
4:50 more rare occasions when individuals who
4:52 are decent people engage in this and
4:55 when confronted respectfully, they will
4:57 typically collaborate to resolve the
5:06 One of the key motivators of cyber
5:07 mobbing is something that I touch on in
5:10 another video called self-righteous
5:13 justification. For many individuals with
5:15 cluster B personality traits,
5:18 disagreement isn't about ideas. They
5:20 frame themselves as the morally superior
5:23 party and the other person as ignorant,
5:26 malicious, or defective. You'll see this
5:29 in online discussions or arguments where
5:31 it stopped being about the facts and got
5:33 distorted into a conversation about who
5:42 There are a few forces that make cyber
5:44 mobs possible. One is something called
5:46 de-individuation. Basically, for a lot
5:49 of people, the sense of anonymity online
5:52 lowers moral restraint. Another is group
5:54 justification. people feel more
5:56 justified in engaging in something
5:58 sometimes when a lot of other people are
6:00 doing the same thing. And then another
6:02 reason has to do with algorithms and
6:05 amplification. Conflict is typically
6:07 rewarded and drama is entertaining for a
6:15 If you're a witness to this, something
6:18 that we can all do, myself included, is
6:20 to pause before we post a comment.
6:23 Everyone is susceptible to being
6:25 activated by something they see online.
6:28 So, we need to pause and ask ourselves,
6:31 does this comment help or harm? Next,
6:34 check the facts before sharing. It
6:37 amazes me how many people refuse to
6:39 check the facts. Their confirmation bias
6:42 and their belief perseverance take over
6:44 and they simply refuse to investigate
6:46 whether something is accurate. My social
6:49 media accounts are dedicated to hard
6:51 scientific data. That's what I like to
6:53 talk about. That's what I like to
6:56 research. But I do look at the opposing
6:58 side of these arguments. And my argument
7:01 and perspective is actually strengthened
7:03 and valid when I take the time to look
7:06 at the counterarguments. That's good
7:08 science. It's good research. It's
7:10 responsible. It's critical thinking. And
7:12 it helps reduce confirmation bias. And
7:14 then the last thing to consider as a
7:16 witness of this is maybe support victims
7:18 of this privately if you can by sending
7:21 them a direct message. If you are a
7:23 target of cyber mobbing, there are some
7:24 things that you can do to protect
7:28 yourself. One, document the evidence.
7:30 Take screenshots of the correspondence
7:32 in order so that you have proof that is
7:34 factual and accurate. Sometimes these
7:36 people who engage in cyber mobs will
7:38 leave a comment on for a while, but then
7:39 they'll delete it so there's no
7:41 evidence. So take screenshots of these
7:43 things so you have evidence. You can
7:45 mute or restrict people. You can block
7:47 them and you can take some breaks from
7:49 social media which oftent times are
7:50 needed after you've been on the
7:53 receiving end of cyber mobbing. Another
7:54 thing that's important to do is lean on
7:57 offline support. And then in severe
8:00 cases because this form of harassment
8:03 can result in defamation of character.
8:05 You might need to seek legal help. And
8:07 if you feel like this has been extremely
8:08 damaging to where it's interfering with
8:11 your life, mental health support is
8:12 something that you should also consider
8:15 seeking out. I have been mobbed myself
8:17 on numerous occasions due to what some
8:21 people consider the controversial nature
8:23 of the content that I post. It typically
8:26 starts when people interpret the science
8:28 that I share as somehow invalidating
8:30 their personal experiences. The reality
8:33 is two things can be true. You can have
8:35 your personal experience and science can
8:37 show that that personal experience is
8:40 not universal. But mobs thrive on black
8:42 and white all or nothing thinking. This
8:45 is not about disagreement.
8:47 My accounts are safe spaces for people
8:50 to engage in conversation, including
8:52 respectful disagreement. Disagreement is
8:56 fine and welcome. Defamation is not. In
8:58 some cases, I've chosen to take the
9:01 posts down. The bullies won. And
9:03 unfortunately, this is how important
9:10 Mobs may believe they are seeking
9:14 justice. In reality, they're often angry
9:15 because evidence challenges their
9:17 beliefs. When confirmation bias kicks
9:21 in, cruelty feels justified for these
9:22 individuals. They think they're fighting
9:24 for what's right, but they are really
9:32 Some final thoughts about cyber mobbing.
9:34 It isn't just the internet being the
9:36 internet. It's psychological violence.
9:39 Every mob is made up of individuals and
9:41 every individual has a choice whether or
9:44 not they are going to harass somebody or
9:45 whether they are going to respect
9:48 someone. Thank you for watching. I'm Dr.
9:50 Peter Serno and I will see you in the
Chrome Extension