What is CYBERBULLYING: causes and consequences

  • Jul 26, 2021
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What is cyberbullying: causes and consequences

In recent decades there has been a significant increase and high social concern regarding violence between peers. These behaviors have occurred above all in the different educational centers, either "face to face", with the well-known bullying, such as through new technologies, a method that has significantly increased the cyberbullying. The high prevalence of cyberbullying or cyberbullying estimates that approximately between 40-55% of children schoolchildren have been involved in this set of harassment, either as victims, aggressors or observers. Thus, bullying has been expanding and new forms of abuse have appeared, one of them is cyberbullying, which uses new technologies, especially social networks and mobile phones, to produce these violent behaviors between equal. In this Psychology-Online article, we will observe what is cyberbullying: causes and consequences.

You may also like: How to prevent cyberbullying

Index

  1. What is cyberbullying or cyberbullying
  2. Causes of cyberbullying
  3. Consequences of cyberbullying
  4. Types of cyberbullying

What is cyberbullying or cyberbullying.

The cyberbullying is the repetitive and intentional harassment, which 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 bullies 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 to obtain a sexual purpose, it is called grooming.

On the other hand, the forms 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 can be: sharing compromised images, creating false profiles of the victims, making comments offensive in chats or profiles on the victims' social networks, circulate rumors on the networks, send messages with threatening content, etc.

Causes of cyberbullying.

The study of cyberbullying is relatively recent and there are few investigations that have investigated the causes of it. In order to consider the causes, they must be taken into account various factors, What:

  • the values
  • The education
  • emotional factors
  • social factors
  • psychological factors

However, it should be noted that children and adolescents are in full exploration of their own existence, seeking fit into the different social groups and any aspect that disagrees or is different in one of them, becomes an object of mockery. On the other hand, victims perceive that they are being harassed for the mere amusement of the stalker and perceiving themselves as weak or inferior.

An irrefutable cause of the increase in this harassment, is the rise of social networks and its ease of access without limitation of age. Its easy access also makes it difficult for parents and teachers to control this situation, which complicates the detection of cyberbullying, unlike cyberbullying. bullying or bullying, which can be more easily observed.

Consequences of cyberbullying.

There are many consequences that are manifested when suffering or executing a situation of harassment or cyberbullying, both for the victim and for 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 contents. The consequences of cyberbullying resemble the consequences of workplace harassment. The most representative consequences are the following:

  • Feelings of anxiety
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Stress
  • Afraid
  • 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 bullies

Bullies, with these acts, see that they can get the attention and what they want from violent acts and harassment of people they consider weaker. The main consequences of these behaviors are the following:

  • Difficulty empathizing
  • Possibility of a moral disconnect
  • Aggressive behavior problems
  • Difficulty following the rules
  • Criminal conduct
  • Alcohol and drug intake
  • Dependence on new technologies
  • Truancy

Types of cyberbullying.

Faced with 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 send offensive messages to a single person, with one or more harassers. it can be given on social networks, e-mail, on the mobile phone, ...
  • Abuse: exchange of insults by both parties involved, which takes place from new technologies.
  • Denigration: publish or share derogatory information, which is false, of a person, spread via new technologies. For example: altering an image of a teenager so that she looks like she is pregnant
  • Impersonation: the harasser gains access to the victim's social profiles and pretends to be the person in them, sending offensive or negative comments, as if he had been the victim.
  • Unveiling and prodding: disseminate confidential information of the victim.
  • Cyber ​​persecution: repeatedly send threatening messages.
  • Happy beating: after a physical assault that has been recorded, it is shared on the networks so that it can be seen by many people.

In this article, several tips on how to help in case of bullying or bullying.

This article is merely informative, in 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 consequences, we recommend that you enter our category of Socialization problems.

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, J.J. (2013). CAUSES, MEANS AND STRATEGIES OF COATING IN ONLINE AGGRESSION IN SCHOOLS IN MURCIA (SPAIN). Tentoline, 6, 17.
  • Ortega, R., Calamaestra, J. and Mora, J.A. (2008). Cyberbullying. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 8, 183-192.
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