Cyberbullying affects the majority of undergraduate women, contributing to withdrawal from social media and chilling their participation in the growing world of collaborative online discussions. This pilot mixed-methods study integrates surveys, observations, and interviews of nine undergraduate women at a Mid-Atlantic research university to investigate how the chilling effect of cyberbullying may extend into peer interactions within an increasingly common online instructional practice: online discussion boards. It is observed that, in comparison to their non-victimized peers, participating women with prior cyberbullying experiences enact lower social presence and adopt self-silencing and conflict avoidant coping strategies. In particular, these women avoid ever disagreeing with peers out of fear of starting “drama.” Findings challenge educators to consider the potential unintended consequences of instructional design choices and contributes to our understanding of how to design more equitable online learning environments for today's socially networked learners.

网络欺凌影响了大多数的本科生女性，导致她们退出社交媒体，并使她们无法参与不断增长的在线协作讨论的世界。这项混合方法试验性研究结合了对一家中大西洋研究型大学的9名本科生的调查，观察和访谈，以研究网络欺凌的寒蝉效应如何在越来越普遍的在线教学实践（在线讨论板）中扩展到同伴之间的互动。据观察，与未受害的同龄人相比，具有先前网络欺凌经历的参与妇女的社会地位较低，并采取了自我沉默和避免冲突的应对策略。尤其是，这些妇女避免因为害怕开始“戏剧”而与同龄人产生分歧。