An Emoji for Good – Bullying Prevention

Background:   Each year, more than 13 million children are bullied. Even more troubling - 90% of teens have seen some form of bullying through text messaging or on social media, yet less than 20% try to intervene. Witnessing verbal or physical bullying puts adolescents at risk for mental health problems, with some studies showing that witnesses experience negative effects even more significantly than bullying victims. Often, bystanders fail to take action because they don’t know what to do or because they fear becoming the bully’s next victim.  Yet, research has shown that bystanders can play a pivotal role in stopping bullying: when bystanders do something, bullying typically stops within 10 seconds.

Program background:  A new campaign by the Ad Council aims to combat the inaction of bystanders. I Am A Witness is a digital-focused campaign designed to reach and inspire teens through digital, mobile, and social media. Key to this campaign is a new eye emoji available on every iPhone with the recent iOS 9.1 update and via a downloadable keyboard developed by Snaps. The emoji, shaped like a speech bubble with an eye in the center, empowers teens to take a stand against bullying and show support for someone who is being bullied. In addition to the emoji, social media influencers, including YouTube creators and Snapchat celebrities, have been tapped to amplify the campaign message. Other platform-specific activations on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have also been initiated to further extend the campaign’s reach.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  The campaign’s impact will be assessed through growth in four key behaviors:

1.  Shifts in teens’ perceptions of their ability to make a positive difference against bullying
2. Shifts in teen’s confidence in their ability to take action
3. Bystanders supporting victims of bullying
4. Bystanders speaking up against bullying

Tracking teen’s use of the emoji, as well as engagement with content on the campaign website and through social media outlets, will be used to assess bystanders’ actions against bullying and support of victims. Given the digital and social focus of this campaign, social media monitoring and analytics are integral to the campaign’s evaluation. Additionally, a Brand Effect Study on Facebook and Instagram, as well as continuous tracking survey assessing pre/post shifts in attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors will be used to evaluate intentions to stand up against bullying, as well as growth in self-efficacy and self-confidence.

Conclusions:  By meeting teens where they already are (i.e. through digital and social platforms) and speaking in their language, the campaign intends to move teens from isolated bystanders to a collective of witnesses who are empowered to take a stand against bullying. By providing them with a low barrier way to end a bullying situation, I am a Witness arms kids with the confidence to act - in real-time – to stop bullying behavior.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Learnings from the first six months of the campaign will be presented; results will be used to inform how targeted digital and social activations can be extended to shift beliefs and behaviors around other issues of social good.