In recent decades there has been a significant increase and high social concern regarding violence produced between equals. These behaviors have occurred above all in different educational centers, either “face to face”, with the well-known bullying, or through new technologies, a method that has significantly increased cyberbullying. The high prevalence of cyberbullying or cyberharassment estimates that approximately between 40-55% of children schoolchildren have been involved in this set of harassment, whether as victims, aggressors or observers. Thus, bullying has been expanding and new forms of abuse have been appearing, one of them is cyberbullying, which uses new technologies, especially social networks and mobile phones, to produce these violent behaviors between peers. . In this Psychology-Online article, we will observe What is cyberbullying: causes and consequences.
What is cyberbullying or cyberstalking?
He Cyberbullying is repetitive and intentional harassmentwhich occurs over a long period of time from the use of new technologies. The methodology used implies that the victim cannot easily defend himself. In cyberbullying, the victims and harassers are children or adolescents, who tend to be classmates at school and have a physical relationship. It must be taken into account that for violent behavior to be considered cyberbullying at both ends there must be minors. When an adult tries to cajole a minor through the networks for a sexual purpose, it is called grooming.
On the other hand, the ways in which cyberbullying manifests itself can be very diverse and its only limitation is the imagination of its participants and access to these technologies. Some of the forms of presentation may be: sharing compromised images, creating false profiles of the victims, making offensive comments in chats or profiles on the victims’ social networks, circulating rumors on the networks, sending messages with threatening content, etc.
Causes of cyberbullying
The study of cyberbullying is relatively recent and there is little research that has investigated its causes. In order to contemplate the causes, they must be taken into account various factorsas:
- the values
- The education
- emotional factors
- social factors
- psychological factors
However, it should be noted that children and adolescents are in the midst of exploring their own existence, seeking to fit into different social groups and any aspect that does not fit or is different in one of them becomes an object of ridicule. On the other hand, victims perceive that they are being harassed for the bully’s amusement and perceiving themselves as weak or inferior.
An irrefutable cause of the increase in this harassment, It’s the rise of social media and its ease of access without age limitations. Its easy access also makes it difficult for parents and teachers to control this situation, which complicates the detection of cyberbullying, unlike cyberbullying, which can be observed more easily.
Consequences of cyberbullying
There are many consequences that manifest themselves when suffering or carrying out a situation of harassment or cyberbullying, both for the victim and the aggressor, suicide being the most alarming.
Consequences of cyberbullying for victims
The emotional damage that these behaviors produce in the victims is very significant. This emotional suffering can be higher than harassment through other methods, because the harmful information is public and available 24 hours a day, making it very difficult to eliminate the content. The consequences of cyberbullying are similar to . The most representative consequences are the following:
- Feelings of anxiety
- Depression
- Suicidal ideation
- Stress
- Fear
- Low self-esteem
- Feelings of anger and frustration
- Feelings of helplessness
- Nervousness
- Irritability
- Somatizations
- Sleep disorders
- Difficult to focus
- Impact on school performance
Consequences of cyberbullying for harassers
Bullies, with these acts, sense that they can get attention and what they want through violent acts and harassment of people they consider weaker. The main consequences of these behaviors are the following:
- Difficulty empathizing
- Possibility of moral disconnection
- Problems due to aggressive behavior
- Difficulty following the rules
- Criminal behavior
- Alcohol and drug intake
- Dependence on new technologies
- Truancy
Types of cyberbullying
Compared to cyberbullying, there are different forms of harassment. The types of acts in cyberbullying are:
- Exclusion: not letting the victim participate in a certain technological space, such as a chat WhatsApp.
- Harassment: repeatedly sending offensive messages to a single person, with one or more being the harassers. It can happen on social networks, e-mailon the mobile phone,…
- Abuse: exchange of insults by both parties involved, which takes place using new technologies.
- Denigration: publish or share derogatory information, which is false, about a person, disseminated via new technologies. For example: altering an image of a teenager to make it look like she is pregnant.
- Impersonation: The harasser gains access to the victim’s social profiles and impersonates the person there, sending offensive or negative comments, as if he or she had been the victim.
- Revelation and extraction: disseminate confidential information about the victim.
- Cyber chase: Send threatening messages repeatedly.
- happy beating: after a physical attack that has been recorded, it is shared on the networks so that it can be seen by a multitude of people.
In this article, several tips appear.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is cyberbullying: causes and consequenceswe recommend that you enter our category.
Bibliography
- Garaigordobil, M. (2011). Prevalence and consequences of cyberbullying: a review. InternatIonal Journal of Psychology and PsychologIcal therapy, 11, 233-254.
- García-Maldonado, G., et al. (2012). Risk factors and consequences of cyberbullying in a group of adolescents. Association with traditional bullying. Med Hosp Infant Mex, 69, 463-474.
- Gimenez, A., Arnaiz, P. and Maquilón, JJ (2013). CAUSES, MEANS AND COPING STRATEGIES IN ONLINE AGGRESSION IN SCHOOLS OF MURCIA (SPAIN). Tentoline, 6, 17.
- Ortega, R., Calamaestra, J. and Mora, JA (2008). Cyberbullying. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 8, 183-192.