Coping Strategies for Youth Suffering from Online Interpersonal Rejection

Abstract

The Internet and social media have rapidly changed our lives, and are profoundly affecting the social lives of adolescents, expanding and enriching their communication options. At the same time, they often operate as a platform that amplifies the real-world phenomenon of interpersonal rejection – a harsh and excruciating experience. In this study, we will examine, youth's coping methods with online social rejection from a psycho-social perspective. To achieve this objective, a data-based heuristic model was developed, based on in-depth interviews with 19 adolescents from Israel who experienced online rejection. The findings show several coping strategies ranging from adaptive to maladaptive online and offline used interchangeably.