Adult Cyberbully Culture and Digital Narcissists Unleashed at Absolute Write

We find the adult cyberbully culture at Absolute Write to be a cross between Ann Coulter and National Enquirer. Coulter fits because she is a narcissistic and incredibly snide accuser who plays a game of creating her own reality to suit her needs; and National Enquirer works because it never stops attempting to degrade and humiliate people.

From a study on high school and college cyberbullying that applies perfectly to the juvenile and hostile culture nurtured by adult cyberbullies at Absolute Write: http://studentaffairs.arizona.edu/assessment/documents/CyberbullyChapterFinal.pdf

Cyberbullying: a broad range of behaviors or actions in which a person uses technology in a way that is perceived as aggressive or threatening to another person.

"The popularity of social networking sites ... has been blamed for fostering a culture of digital narcissism in young people (Keen, 2007). Suler (2004) described a phenomenon called the online disinhibition effect , which refers to greatly diminished internal censorship when communicating in cyberspace. He said, ‘‘People say and do things in cyberspace they wouldn’t ordinarily do in the face-to-face world. They loosen up, feel less restrained and express themselves more openly’’ (p. 321). This effect can be either benign (e.g., appropriate and meaningful self-disclosure) or toxic (e.g., destroying someone else’s reputation). The tendency to exhibit a more narcissistic, aggressive, and uncivil persona in the digital world is also described by Aboujaoude (2011), who proposed that a more dangerous e-personality exists parallel to our nondigital selves."

Does the above describe the cyberbully culture at Absolute Write led by Melodi "Macallister Stone" Sherman, Lisa "Medievalist" Spangenberg, and her cohorts such as Hack Doyle and Hapisofi Nielsen-Hayden, several of whom are exposed on this blog?  The answer is an enormous YES.

"Toxic" is the key word to describe the e-personalities of the AW bullies. "Entitled" is another.

"By hiding behind anonymity, the bully often feels safe from detection, and thus is more willing to make false or mean-spirited comments ... Cyberbullying, unlike face-to-face bullying, can happen any place and at any time, and has the capability of reaching an audience that can number in the millions."

And what type of personalities engage in such behavior? From a poll of study participants:

"They also expressed the view that in cyberspace, people who are less powerful in the real world can become the most powerful in the virtual world, providing an opportunity to exact retaliation and revenge that would elude them in the real world."

One has only to read our blog posts and put two and two together. It's all here.