Sameer Hinduja, Ph.D.

Dr. Sameer Hinduja serves as Professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida Atlantic University, Co-Director of the Cyberbullying Research Center, and Faculty Associate at the Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University. He is recognized for his translational work on the risks and harms of emerging technologies on youth, and the individual, social, familial, and community-level factors that can serve as protective assets to support health and well-being. He has written eight books, and his interdisciplinary research has been cited over 28,000 times in a wide range of fields including pediatrics, information technology, computer science, business, psychology, education, and nursing. He has recently been recognized by Stanford University as among the World's Top 2% of Scientists.

As a noted researcher and speaker on youth and social media issues for the last 20 years, Dr. Hinduja trains technologists, educators, mental health professionals, youth specialists, parents, and students around the world on how to promote the positive use of technology, build healthy online communities, and foster well-being. His studies have explored the impact of empathy, resilience, hope, climate and culture, deterrence strategies, social norms, parenting dimensions, peer-led initiatives, the role of a variety of stakeholders including law enforcement and online platforms, and more. With formal training in both computer science and social science, Dr. Hinduja seeks to intersect the two domains to arrive at innovative strategies and solutions to some of the major online issues plaguing society today including trolling, toxicity, sextortion, hate speech, threats, digital self-harm, and more. He has consulted with numerous corporations (including Google, Snap, Twitch, Meta, TikTok, Roblox, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, Verizon, and Cartoon Network) and organizations (including the National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United Nations, White House, World Bank, World Economic Forum, National Guard, National PTA, and Anti-Defamation League) on how best to shape policy, programs, and other initiatives.

Dr. Hinduja is frequently asked to provide expert commentary by news organizations, and his work has been featured in venues that include CNN, NPR, the BBC, and The New York Times. He has received Auburn University's Global Anti-Bullying Hero Award, won Florida Atlantic University's Researcher of the Year award, presented on cyberbullying at a Congressional Briefing on Capitol Hill, testified in front of the Attorney General and the Departments of Education, Health and Human Services, and Homeland Security, and served as a Fulbright Specialist Scholar at Dublin City University. He is also the Co-Founder and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Bullying Prevention. Dr. Hinduja has formally advised the Biden-Harris Administration’s Interagency Task Force on Kids Online Health & Safety as well as the Be Best Initiative during the Trump-Pence Administration.

To learn more, visit hinduja.org or email Dr. Hinduja at [email protected].

Sample of Academic Journal Articles

• Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (accepted). Youth Use of Conversational AI Chatbots for Romantic Relationships: The Role of Loneliness. JAMA Pediatrics.

• Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2026). Sextortion and Suicide: Implications for Adolescent Image-Based Abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect.

• Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2026). Vicarious Supervision: Preventing Cyberbullying through Positive Parent-Child Relationships. Aggression and Violent Behavior.

• Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2025). The Role of Hope in Cyberbullying Prevention among US Youth. Frontiers in Sociology, 10, 1-10.

• Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2025). Cyberbullying Through the Lens of Trauma: An Empirical Examination of US Youth. BMC Public Health, 25 (1), 1-11.

• Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2024). Metaverse Risks and Harms Among US Youth. New Media and Society. [Online First].

• Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2024). Addressing Youth Sexting Through Rational Legislation and Education. Journal of Adolescent Health, 75 (4), 530-532.

• Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2024). Adolescent Digital Self-Harm Over Time: Prevalence and Perspectives. Journal of School Violence, 23 (4), 542-554.

• Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2024). The Nature and Extent of Youth Sextortion: Legal Implications and Directions for Future Research. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, (4), 401-416.

• Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2022). Bias-Based Cyberbullying Among Early Adolescents: Associations with Cognitive and Affective Empathy. Journal of Early Adolescence, 42 (9).

• Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2020). Digital Dating Abuse Among a National Sample of U.S. Youth. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36 (23-24), 11088-11108.

• Patchin, J. W. & Hinduja, S. (2019). The Nature and Extent of Sexting Among Middle and High School Students. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 48, 2333-2343.

• Hinduja, S. & Patchin, J. W. (2019). Connecting Adolescent Suicide to the Severity of Bullying and Cyberbullying. Journal of School Violence, 18:3, 333-346.

Other Professional Writings

Empowering and Protecting European Youth Online: Streamlining Legislation and Promoting Positive Digital Experiences – ThinkYoung (2025)

How Platforms Should Build AI Chatbots to Prioritize Youth Safety – Cyberbullying Research Center (2025)

Lessons Learned from Ten Generative AI Misuse Cases – Cyberbullying Research Center (2024)

Teens and AI: Virtual Girlfriend and Virtual Boyfriend Bots – Cyberbullying Research Center (2024)

The Race to Detect AI-Generated Content and Tackle Harms – Tech Policy Press (2024)

Thinking Through Generative AI Harms Among Users on Online Platforms – Medium (2024)

Child Online Safety – A Policy Landscape Review (2024) – Teleperformance (2024)

Cyberbullying in 2024: Identification, Prevention, and Response – Cyberbullying Research Center (2024)

Cyberbullying Legislation and Case Law: Implications for School Policy and Practice – Cyberbullying Research Center (2024)

Social Media, Youth, and New Legislation: The Most Critical Components – Cyberbullying Research Center (2023)

State Laws, Social Media Bans, and Youth: What Are We Doing? – Cyberbullying Research Center (2023)

To learn more, visit hinduja.org or email Dr. Hinduja at [email protected].