Yas Silva
CAS Faculty Member Leads Launch of Anti-Bullying Mobile App “ActionPoint”
Yas Silva, Associate Professor of Computer Science, led development
Yas Silva, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Loyola University Chicago (LUC) was the primary investigator that led to the launch of the ActionPoint App, a cutting-edge application designed to combat bullying through the strengthening of parent-teen relationships.
ActionPoint is a no-cost app designed and implemented by the BullyBlocker research group that was led by Silva, and Deborah Hall, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences in ASU's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
“The release of the ActionPoint App represents an important milestone in our efforts to build tools to improve the online lives of young internet users,” explained Silva.
“Congratulations to Dr. Silva and the Bullyblocker team on the successful launch of the ActionPoint App,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This effort is a stellar example of the kind of interdisciplinary research that the College seeks to uplift, providing for both innovative, real world solutions and hands-on experience for our incredible undergraduate students.”
ActionPoint is a user-friendly platform that empowers parents and teens to foster appropriate online behaviors, learn more about cyberbullying scenarios, and communicate effectively regarding social media and technology use in their everyday lives. The various app activities are supported by empirical research in the social sciences.
“A lot of parents have growing concerns about their children’s use of social media, particularly because the social media landscape is evolving so rapidly,” said Hall. “I’m especially excited about the two aspects that set ActionPoint apart from other existing resources – its focus on building stronger relationships between parents and teens and its basis on prior research findings.”
Utilizing survey-based activities, the app enables comparing perceptions between parents and teens regarding social media use. Modules currently supported by the app include (1) Comparison of Social Media Perceptions, (2) Identifying Cyberbullying, (3) Your Social Media Experiences, (4) Parent-Teen Contract, (4) Social Media IQ, and (5) Bullying Rank. The fifth and final module helps parents assess their teen’s bullying risk considering past experiences and various risk factors.
“I led the mobile app design and implementation process, while Dr. Hall coordinated the identification and integration of relevant psychology research supporting these parent-teen activities,” said Silva.
The Bullyblocker project and ActionPoint app are a model example of the emphasis the College of Arts and Sciences places on student involvement in real world research initiatives. Both undergraduate and graduate students from LUC and ASU were instrumental in the development of this app as contributors to literature reviews, app implementation, app testing tasks, and more.
In particular, Maddie Juarez, a sophomore in computer science in CAS, played an essential role in the early development stages of the app through testing phases and its launch. Juarez began working with the Bullyblocker team during her freshman year of college and has played an essential role in the early development of the app through its launch on the app store.
“My role involved editing scheme layouts and rigorously testing the app to ensure its functionality across devices, implementing user-interactive features such as response surveys and managing server-side architecture,” Juarez explained.
“Working closely with Dr. Silva was particularly enlightening. His guidance helped enhance the app’s accessibility, such as adding detailed navigation instructions and incorporating contrasted colors for color-blind users.”
Juarez joined Silva, Hall, and students from ASU at the 2024 Speak Up, Stand Up, Save a Life Conference. This annual event, held in Maricopa County, Arizona, invites students from Maricopa County, Arizona, to hear from local community leaders, parents, teachers, and researchers at the forefront of bullying awareness and prevention.
Presenters provide options and strategies for student attendees struggling with depression, suicide, grief, abuse and bullying to connect with trusted adults and seek the support they need.
Juarez had the opportunity to represent the Bullyblocker team in presenting the ActionPoint app to students, spreading awareness of the app and encouraging downloads.
“It’s important to connect with the community to share the initiatives and steps being taken to protect teens from cyberbullying,” said Natali Barragan, a graduate student studying psychology at ASU and member of the Bullyblocker team. “I believe that knowledge and resources can empower communities to take action against matters that are important to them.”
Learn more about the ActionPoint App and download the app on iOS here.
The Bullyblocker team encourages its users to share their feedback and experiences using the app at bullyblocker@cs.luc.edu.
About the BullyBlocker Team
The BullyBlocker research team, supported by the National Science Foundation, is an interdisciplinary research group at Loyola University Chicago and Arizona State University, led by professors Yas Silva (PI LUC) and Deborah Hall (PI ASU), and formed by researchers in computer science and psychology. The team’s goal is to integrate computer science and psychology frameworks to advance the understanding of how cyberbullying can be identified and prevented.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 37 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”
Yas Silva, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Loyola University Chicago (LUC) was the primary investigator that led to the launch of the ActionPoint App, a cutting-edge application designed to combat bullying through the strengthening of parent-teen relationships.
ActionPoint is a no-cost app designed and implemented by the BullyBlocker research group that was led by Silva, and Deborah Hall, PhD, Associate Professor in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences in ASU's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
“The release of the ActionPoint App represents an important milestone in our efforts to build tools to improve the online lives of young internet users,” explained Silva.
“Congratulations to Dr. Silva and the Bullyblocker team on the successful launch of the ActionPoint App,” said Peter J. Schraeder, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “This effort is a stellar example of the kind of interdisciplinary research that the College seeks to uplift, providing for both innovative, real world solutions and hands-on experience for our incredible undergraduate students.”
ActionPoint is a user-friendly platform that empowers parents and teens to foster appropriate online behaviors, learn more about cyberbullying scenarios, and communicate effectively regarding social media and technology use in their everyday lives. The various app activities are supported by empirical research in the social sciences.
“A lot of parents have growing concerns about their children’s use of social media, particularly because the social media landscape is evolving so rapidly,” said Hall. “I’m especially excited about the two aspects that set ActionPoint apart from other existing resources – its focus on building stronger relationships between parents and teens and its basis on prior research findings.”
Utilizing survey-based activities, the app enables comparing perceptions between parents and teens regarding social media use. Modules currently supported by the app include (1) Comparison of Social Media Perceptions, (2) Identifying Cyberbullying, (3) Your Social Media Experiences, (4) Parent-Teen Contract, (4) Social Media IQ, and (5) Bullying Rank. The fifth and final module helps parents assess their teen’s bullying risk considering past experiences and various risk factors.
“I led the mobile app design and implementation process, while Dr. Hall coordinated the identification and integration of relevant psychology research supporting these parent-teen activities,” said Silva.
The Bullyblocker project and ActionPoint app are a model example of the emphasis the College of Arts and Sciences places on student involvement in real world research initiatives. Both undergraduate and graduate students from LUC and ASU were instrumental in the development of this app as contributors to literature reviews, app implementation, app testing tasks, and more.
In particular, Maddie Juarez, a sophomore in computer science in CAS, played an essential role in the early development stages of the app through testing phases and its launch. Juarez began working with the Bullyblocker team during her freshman year of college and has played an essential role in the early development of the app through its launch on the app store.
“My role involved editing scheme layouts and rigorously testing the app to ensure its functionality across devices, implementing user-interactive features such as response surveys and managing server-side architecture,” Juarez explained.
“Working closely with Dr. Silva was particularly enlightening. His guidance helped enhance the app’s accessibility, such as adding detailed navigation instructions and incorporating contrasted colors for color-blind users.”
Juarez joined Silva, Hall, and students from ASU at the 2024 Speak Up, Stand Up, Save a Life Conference. This annual event, held in Maricopa County, Arizona, invites students from Maricopa County, Arizona, to hear from local community leaders, parents, teachers, and researchers at the forefront of bullying awareness and prevention.
Presenters provide options and strategies for student attendees struggling with depression, suicide, grief, abuse and bullying to connect with trusted adults and seek the support they need.
Juarez had the opportunity to represent the Bullyblocker team in presenting the ActionPoint app to students, spreading awareness of the app and encouraging downloads.
“It’s important to connect with the community to share the initiatives and steps being taken to protect teens from cyberbullying,” said Natali Barragan, a graduate student studying psychology at ASU and member of the Bullyblocker team. “I believe that knowledge and resources can empower communities to take action against matters that are important to them.”
Learn more about the ActionPoint App and download the app on iOS here.
The Bullyblocker team encourages its users to share their feedback and experiences using the app at bullyblocker@cs.luc.edu.
About the BullyBlocker Team
The BullyBlocker research team, supported by the National Science Foundation, is an interdisciplinary research group at Loyola University Chicago and Arizona State University, led by professors Yas Silva (PI LUC) and Deborah Hall (PI ASU), and formed by researchers in computer science and psychology. The team’s goal is to integrate computer science and psychology frameworks to advance the understanding of how cyberbullying can be identified and prevented.
About the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is the oldest of Loyola University Chicago’s 15 schools, colleges, and institutes. More than 150 years since its founding, the College is home to 20 academic departments and 37 interdisciplinary programs and centers, more than 450 full-time faculty, and nearly 8,000 students. The 2,000+ classes that we offer each semester span an array of intellectual pursuits, ranging from the natural sciences and computational sciences to the humanities, the social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. Our students and faculty are engaged internationally at our campus in Rome, Italy, as well as at dozens of University-sponsored study abroad and research sites around the world. Home to the departments that anchor the University’s Core Curriculum, the College seeks to prepare all of Loyola’s students to think critically, to engage the world of the 21st century at ever deepening levels, and to become caring and compassionate individuals. Our faculty, staff, and students view service to others not just as one option among many, but as a constitutive dimension of their very being. In the truest sense of the Jesuit ideal, our graduates strive to be “individuals for others.”