TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University's education institute said that online bullying still happens on platforms that require real names and is closely linked to user personality.
CNA reported Wednesday that the research team ran a simulated social media experiment and found bullying was not limited to anonymous platforms. The findings challenge the claim that real-name systems alone can keep people in line.
The research team, led by Professor Liu Yi-lan (劉奕蘭) and doctoral student Wang Cheng-yen (王承諺), recruited 115 adults into a Line chat group and created conflicts to watch how people reacted. The team tracked who was more likely to push others out during group interactions.
The study found that people with so-called “Dark Triad” personality traits were more likely to bully others online. These traits include narcissism, manipulative behavior, high impulsivity, and low empathy.
These users often avoided open arguments and instead used direct exclusion like blocking others or voting to kick them out of groups, the team explained. They highlighted that this behavior showed up even more often when real names were used.
The team said the results show cyberbullying is not just about anonymity but also about personality and context. Liu said platforms need better behavior detection and clearer rules, as real-name policies alone do not solve cyberbullying.
In November, the Child Welfare League Foundation found that 18.6% of junior and senior high school students said they had experienced cyberbullying. The survey also found 40.7% had seen classmates mocked or excluded online, per Child Welfare League Foundation.
