Front Public Health. 2026 Aug 17;14:1783128. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1783128. eCollection 2026.
ABSTRACT
The effects of online toxicity on children and adolescents permeate nearly every part of their lives. The harmful effects of online behavior and interactions increasingly impact not just students, but also teachers, school staff, and families, local education leaders, and even public confidence in education. Online toxicity is linked with serious mental health symptoms, school withdrawal and absenteeism, fighting and violence among students, and harassment of teachers, staff, and school board members. Increasingly, schools have looked to structural and policy interventions, including cell phone policies, to reduce the effects of negative online interactions on student behavior and learning during the school day; however, these approaches address only part of the problem. In this conceptual analysis, we begin by summarizing what is known about the impact of online toxicity on schools as organizations and the individuals who interact with them. We propose a conceptual framework illustrating how online behavior affects schools (e.g., peer-to-peer, student-to-teacher, family-to-staff, community-to-staff) to help explain this phenomenon. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limitations of current interventions and highlight opportunities to enhance interventions to support the health and well-being of students and school communities navigating online toxicity.
PMID:42676704 | PMC:PMC13527669 | DOI:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1783128
