Cyberbullying can be defined in the same manner as bullying: a repetitive, intentional aggressive power move against a victim who cannot defend themselves, except that it takes place online.
However, there are key differences between cyberbullying and bullying, besides just where the aggressions occur:
- There are no time or space boundaries: cyberbullying takes place on electronic devices, social media, chats, email, etc., where there is no defined “schedule,” unlike in-person bullying, which is usually limited to the school day.
- It reaches a broader audience: face-to-face bullying is only seen by those present. However, a large group of people can witness a cyberbullying incident if shared across networks.
- More bullies: usually, there is a specific bully or group of bullies in a school setting. However, online, one person, multiple people, strangers, and anonymous users can all be bullies.
- Speed and repetition of information: although victims may experience consistent bullying at school, the information or content used to cyberbully is more easily accessible and can resurface at any point in time.
Who participates in cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying seeks to establish a social hierarchy among individuals, groups, and bystanders who validate these practices.
- Bullies or aggressors send texts or images to intimidate, threaten, or harm the victims. They tend to have negative behaviors in their daily life and do not usually comprehend the severity of their actions.
- Victims receive hurtful messages online, get their social media accounts hacked, or have rumors spread about them. They tend to be individuals perceived as academically challenged, having lower status, or having low self-esteem.
- Bystanders or spectators see harmful posts but do not join the bullying nor stand up for the victim out of fear or simply because they are unaware they are witnessing cyberbullying.
Additionally, there are four types of bystanders who, directly or indirectly, are also involved in the issue:
- “Assistants”: join the bully because they agree with their actions or due to peer pressure
- Enablers: enable the bully by acknowledging aggressions through laughter, comments, or simply spectating without speaking up.
- Bystanders: try to remove themselves entirely from the situation to avoid responsibility.
- “Upstanders” stand up for the victim. They offer support by confronting the bully, helping the victim, or alerting school staff.
In conclusion, bullying and cyberbullying have their distinct characteristics, and the latter is a more recent issue that exponentially increased during the period of online classes during the pandemic.
*The information included in this post has been derived from Educomlab.
The translation of the note was made by Laura Vallejo.
