Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsForms of CyberbullyingWhy Do People Cyberbully?How Cyberbullying Is DifferentEffects of CyberbullyingCharacteristics of VictimsHow to Deal with a Cyber BullyWhat If You Are the Cyberbully?
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Forms of Cyberbullying
Why Do People Cyberbully?
How Cyberbullying Is Different
Effects of Cyberbullying
Characteristics of Victims
How to Deal with a Cyber Bully
What If You Are the Cyberbully?
Close
Cyberbullying refers to the use of digital technology to cause harm to other people. This typically involves the use of theInternet, but may also take place through mobile phones (e.g., text-based bullying). Social media is one of the primary channels through which cyberbullying takes place, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, and more.
Cyberbullying has been deemed a public health problem, with the prevalence of cyberbullying doubling from 2007 to 2019,and 59% of teens in the United States reporting that they have been bullied or harassed online.
In general, cyberbullying is a recent issue with increasing numbers of people using the Internet. Much of the focus of research is on how cyberbullying affects the victim, without a lot of focus on how to cope with cyberbullying, how to reduce cyberbullying, or what to do if you are a cyberbully yourself.
Cyberbullies can appear through social media, inside wellness apps, in public forums, during gaming, and more. However, more personal cyberbullies will operate through email, texting, or direct messaging.
It has been argued that cyberbullying is defined in light of five main criteria: intention to harm, repetition, power imbalance, anonymity, and publicity.
Intention to harm
Cyberbullies generally have the intention to cause harm when they engage in online bullying. However, bullying can still take place without intention if a victim reasonably perceives actions to be harmful.
Repetition
Power Imbalance
One of the other hallmark traits of bullying is that victims usually experience a power imbalance with their bully. Thepower differentialcan be due to the bully having more status, wealth, popularity, talent, etc. Cyberbullying can be severe and relentless, and the victim often has little control to stop the bullying.
Anonymity
Some cyberbullies make use of anonymity to hide behind their computer screen when they engage in bullying. In this case, there is no need for a power imbalance in the relationship between the bully and the victim, making it possible for anyone to be a bully. Anonymity allows the bully to engage in an increased degree of cruelty that would not occur if their identity was known.
Publicity
Finally, another trait of cyberbullying is that it sometimes involves the use of publicity. This is especially true for those who choose to publicly humiliate or shame someone which can be especially impactful if it takes place in a public forum with the potential to reach a large audience.
What are the various forms of cyberbullying? Below are the types of cyberbullying that exist.
Why do people engage in cyberbullying? There can be numerous different factors that lead to someone becoming a cyberbully.
Mental Health Issues
Cyberbullies may be living with mental health issues that relate to their bullying or make it worse.Examples include problems with behavioral issues such asaggression,hyperactivity,orimpulsivity, as well assubstance abuse.
In addition, those with personality features resembling the “dark tetrad” ofpsychopathy, Machiavellianism (deceptive, manipulative), sadism (deriving pleasure from harming others), andnarcissismmay be at risk for cyberbullying.These individuals tend to violate social norms, have a low level of empathy for other people, and may bully others as a way to increase their sense of power or worth.
Victims of Bullying
Cyberbullies sometimes become bullies after having experienced cyberbullying themselves.In this way, they may be looking to feel more in control or lash out after feeling victimized and being unable to retaliate to the original bully. It may feel like a dichotomous world of “bully or be bullied,” not having the insight that there is another pathway.
Result of Conflicts or Breakups
Behind the Keyboard: Spotting Digital Dating Abuse
Boredom or Trying Out a New Persona
It has been suggested that some people engage in cyberbullying due to boredom or the desire to try out a new persona on the Internet.This is more likely among young adults or teenagers who are still developing their sense of identity. This type of cyberbullying would typically be anonymous.
Why Identity Matters and How It Shapes Us
Loneliness or Isolation
7 Common Reasons Why People Bully
Why People Become Cyberbullies
While some people are bullies both in real life and online, there are others who only become bullies in the digital space. Why is this the case? Why would someone bully others online when they would never do that in their everyday life? There are multiple possible explanations for this behavior.
Non-Confrontational & Anonymous
The first reason why people may become bullies online when they would not bully in their everyday life has to do with the nature of the Internet. A person can bully others online and remain completely anonymous. Clearly, this is not possible with traditional bullying.
No Need for Popularity or Physical Dominance
In order to be a bully in real life, you typically need to have some advantage over your victim. This might mean that you are physically larger than them. It might mean that you are more popular than them. Or, it might mean that you have some sort of power imbalance over them.
In contrast, anyone can be a cyberbully. There is no need to have physical dominance or popularity. This means that people who want to bully can easily do it on the Internet regardless of their status in their real life.
No Barrier to Entry
Similar to the concept of there being no need to be dominant or popular, there is also a very low barrier to entry to becoming a cyberbully. Anyone with access to the Internet can get started. Friends are defined loosely online, which creates a situation that makes it very easy to bully others.
No Feedback From Victim
Finally, the last reason why people who do not bully in real life may engage in cyberbullying has to do with a lack of feedback from their victim. Cyberbullies usually engage in bullying over an extended period of time, largely because there is generally less personal feedback from the victim and less retaliation compared to face-to-face interaction. Someone, who in real life would see the impact on their victim and back off, may not do the same in the case of cyberbullying.
How Cyberbullying Differs From In-Person Bullying
In the case of cyberbullying, the victim generally has no escape from the abuse and harassment. Unlike real life encounters, online bullying and the Internet never really shut down and bullying may be unrelenting.
This can make victims feel as though they have no escape, particularly if the bullying involves sharing of their personal information or when something posted about them goes viral. This type of bullying can go on for an extended period of time.
There are numerous effects that may be seen in those who are dealing with cyberbullying. It can be helpful to know what to expect to see in a victim, as this can be one way to identify when someone is being bullied online.
Some of these effects are even stronger than what is seen with traditional bullying, as the victim often cannot escape the abusive situation. They may include:
There are indeed some common aspects of the victim that tend to repeat themselves including the following characteristics:
Anyone can become a victim of cyberbullying, even people who are considered public figures. People who have large followings on social media often tend to become targets for cyberbullies.
There are many ways to deal with a cyberbully as a child, an adult, or a parent of a child being bullied on the Internet. Let’s take a look at each of these issues separately.
As a Child or Teen
Cyberbullying can come from classmates, people in chatrooms, gamers, family members, or anonymous internet trolls. It can be mildly annoying to severely threatening. If you are being harassed, bullied, stalked, or threatened, here are a few things we recommend.
As a Parent
Next, if the bullying originates from a school contact, report the instances of cyberbullying to the teacher, principal, or administrative staff at your school. In the case of extreme bullying or threats, you should also report the bullying behavior to the police.
Finally, it’s important to reassure your child that they are not to blame for the bullying online. Some victims may feel that their behavior created the problem or that they are somehow to blame. For this reason, it’s important to make sure your child knows that what happened is not their fault.
As an Adult
Many of the same principles as above will apply to your situation as an adult dealing with a cyberbully.
First of all, be sure to keep records of all instances of bullying, whether they come through your text messages, messenger chats, in Facebook groups, Instagram DMs, or other online sources. Take screenshots and keep folders on your computer with evidence of the cyberbullying.
Next, if you know the source of the cyberbullying, determine whether there is a course of action you can take with regard to that person. For example, if it is a work colleague or supervisor, is there someone in HR at work that you can speak to? If it is a family member, is there a way to bring up this issue to other family members to ask for their support? Finally, if it is someone you only know online, can you block and delete them from all your social media?
The best course of action will be to ignore the cyberbullying as much as possible. However, if you are receiving threats, then you will want to report this to the police, along with the evidence that you have collected.
As a Community
It is not enough for victims of cyberbullying to deal with their bullies and try to find solutions. Oftentimes, these victims are emotionally distraught and unable to find help.
It is our job as a community to work toward establishing systems that prevent cyberbullying from taking place at all. Some potential ideas for initiatives are listed below.
Kids and teens who are cyberbullied are stilllearning how to regulate emotionsand deal with social situations. Cyberbullying at this age could have lasting permanent effects. Mental health resources should be put in place to help victims of cyberbullying manage their mental health.
Schools are the point of contact for parents trying to help their children who are being cyberbullied. For this reason, schools should have programs and protocols in place to immediately and swiftly deal with cyberbullying. Parents should not have to ask multiple times for help without receiving it.
What happens if you are the cyberbully yourself? If you are engaging in cyberbullying and want to stop, you’ll need to take stock of your reasons for engaging in the bullying, as this will inform your best course of action. Let’s consider each of these and what you could do.
You Are Struggling With a Mental Health Issue
If you feel as though your mental health is not in good shape and this might be contributing to your cyberbullying behavior, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss your options. For example, if you struggle with anger or aggression, you might benefit from ananger management program.
If you have low empathy for others or identify with thetraits of psychopathy, then it may be harder for you to find insight and desire to change. However, you could try to channel your energy into different pursuits.
Factors Linked With Thrill Seeking Behaviors
You Were a Victim Yourself
If you were once a victim yourself of cyberbullying, and that is the reason why you are now engaging in cyberbullying yourself, it’s time to take a look at your options for change. It could be that you have unresolved anger that needs to be taken out in a different way.
You may also feel more powerful when you bully, which helps you to stop feeling like a victim. In that case, you may need to work on other ways to improve your sense of self so that you can stop feeling helpless and out of control. After all, you were once a victim yourself, and you know how that feels.
Rather than continue a cycle of bullying and victimhood, you have a chance to break the cycle and rise above your past. You’ll likely need help to do that, most likely in the form of professional assistance to work through your past.
Stop the Cycle of Abuse
You Had a Conflict or Breakup
If you arecyberstalkingsomeone because of a conflict you had with them or a bad breakup, it’s time to re-evaluate your behavior. What do you hope to achieve from your cyberstalking? Again, you may need the help of a professional to work through your feelings that have led to this behavior.
You Are Lonely or Isolated
How to Deal With FOMO in Your Life
You Are Bored
If you are cyberbullying because you are bored (and you’re not a psychopath), then you’ll want to consider why you think it is acceptable to hurt someone else in exchange for making yourself less bored.
A Word From Verywell
If you are a victim of cyberbullying, know that you are not alone and there are options to help. If you are struggling, you can visit the following.
Finally, if you are a cyberbully yourself, it’s never too late to change. Examine your reasons for being a bully, and see if you can find some alternatives to stop the behavior.
How Psychology Explains the Bystander Effect
11 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center.Bullying statistics.Pew Research Center.A majority of teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying.Nocentini A, Calmaestra J, Schultze-Krumbholz A, Scheithauer H, Ortega R, Menesini E.Cyberbullying: Labels, behaviours and definition in three European countries.Aust J Guid Couns. 2010;20(2):129-142. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.129Politico.How the psychology of cyberbullying explains Trump’s tweets.Skilbred-Fjeld S, Reme SE, Mossige S.Cyberbullying involvement and mental health problems among late adolescents.Cyberpsychol J Psychosoc Res Cyberspace.2020;14(1). doi:10.5817/CP2020-1-5Brown WM, Hazraty S, Palasinski M.Examining the dark tetrad and its links to cyberbullying.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2019;22(8):552-557. doi:10.1089/cyber.2019.0172Slonje R, Smith P, Frisén A.The nature of cyberbullying, and strategies for prevention.Computers Hum Behav. 2013;29:26–32. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.024König A, Gollwitzer M, Steffgen G.Cyberbullying as an act of revenge?Aust J Guid Couns.2010;20(2):210-224. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.210Varjas K, Talley J, Meyers J, Parris L, Cutts H.High school students' perceptions of motivations for cyberbullying: An exploratory study.West J Emerg Med. 2010;11(3):269-273.McLoughlin L, Hermens D.Cyberbullying and social connectedness.Front Young Minds. 2018;6:54. doi:10.3389/frym.2018.00054Nixon CL.Current perspectives: The impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health.Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2014;5:143-158. doi:10.2147/AHMT.S36456Additional ReadingAmerican Psychological Association.Beware of cyberbullying.Psychology Today.Cyberbullying. From the playground to “Insta”.
11 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center.Bullying statistics.Pew Research Center.A majority of teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying.Nocentini A, Calmaestra J, Schultze-Krumbholz A, Scheithauer H, Ortega R, Menesini E.Cyberbullying: Labels, behaviours and definition in three European countries.Aust J Guid Couns. 2010;20(2):129-142. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.129Politico.How the psychology of cyberbullying explains Trump’s tweets.Skilbred-Fjeld S, Reme SE, Mossige S.Cyberbullying involvement and mental health problems among late adolescents.Cyberpsychol J Psychosoc Res Cyberspace.2020;14(1). doi:10.5817/CP2020-1-5Brown WM, Hazraty S, Palasinski M.Examining the dark tetrad and its links to cyberbullying.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2019;22(8):552-557. doi:10.1089/cyber.2019.0172Slonje R, Smith P, Frisén A.The nature of cyberbullying, and strategies for prevention.Computers Hum Behav. 2013;29:26–32. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.024König A, Gollwitzer M, Steffgen G.Cyberbullying as an act of revenge?Aust J Guid Couns.2010;20(2):210-224. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.210Varjas K, Talley J, Meyers J, Parris L, Cutts H.High school students' perceptions of motivations for cyberbullying: An exploratory study.West J Emerg Med. 2010;11(3):269-273.McLoughlin L, Hermens D.Cyberbullying and social connectedness.Front Young Minds. 2018;6:54. doi:10.3389/frym.2018.00054Nixon CL.Current perspectives: The impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health.Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2014;5:143-158. doi:10.2147/AHMT.S36456Additional ReadingAmerican Psychological Association.Beware of cyberbullying.Psychology Today.Cyberbullying. From the playground to “Insta”.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center.Bullying statistics.Pew Research Center.A majority of teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying.Nocentini A, Calmaestra J, Schultze-Krumbholz A, Scheithauer H, Ortega R, Menesini E.Cyberbullying: Labels, behaviours and definition in three European countries.Aust J Guid Couns. 2010;20(2):129-142. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.129Politico.How the psychology of cyberbullying explains Trump’s tweets.Skilbred-Fjeld S, Reme SE, Mossige S.Cyberbullying involvement and mental health problems among late adolescents.Cyberpsychol J Psychosoc Res Cyberspace.2020;14(1). doi:10.5817/CP2020-1-5Brown WM, Hazraty S, Palasinski M.Examining the dark tetrad and its links to cyberbullying.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2019;22(8):552-557. doi:10.1089/cyber.2019.0172Slonje R, Smith P, Frisén A.The nature of cyberbullying, and strategies for prevention.Computers Hum Behav. 2013;29:26–32. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.024König A, Gollwitzer M, Steffgen G.Cyberbullying as an act of revenge?Aust J Guid Couns.2010;20(2):210-224. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.210Varjas K, Talley J, Meyers J, Parris L, Cutts H.High school students' perceptions of motivations for cyberbullying: An exploratory study.West J Emerg Med. 2010;11(3):269-273.McLoughlin L, Hermens D.Cyberbullying and social connectedness.Front Young Minds. 2018;6:54. doi:10.3389/frym.2018.00054Nixon CL.Current perspectives: The impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health.Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2014;5:143-158. doi:10.2147/AHMT.S36456
Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center.Bullying statistics.
Pew Research Center.A majority of teens have experienced some form of cyberbullying.
Nocentini A, Calmaestra J, Schultze-Krumbholz A, Scheithauer H, Ortega R, Menesini E.Cyberbullying: Labels, behaviours and definition in three European countries.Aust J Guid Couns. 2010;20(2):129-142. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.129
Politico.How the psychology of cyberbullying explains Trump’s tweets.
Skilbred-Fjeld S, Reme SE, Mossige S.Cyberbullying involvement and mental health problems among late adolescents.Cyberpsychol J Psychosoc Res Cyberspace.2020;14(1). doi:10.5817/CP2020-1-5
Brown WM, Hazraty S, Palasinski M.Examining the dark tetrad and its links to cyberbullying.Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw. 2019;22(8):552-557. doi:10.1089/cyber.2019.0172
Slonje R, Smith P, Frisén A.The nature of cyberbullying, and strategies for prevention.Computers Hum Behav. 2013;29:26–32. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2012.05.024
König A, Gollwitzer M, Steffgen G.Cyberbullying as an act of revenge?Aust J Guid Couns.2010;20(2):210-224. doi:10.1375/ajgc.20.2.210
Varjas K, Talley J, Meyers J, Parris L, Cutts H.High school students' perceptions of motivations for cyberbullying: An exploratory study.West J Emerg Med. 2010;11(3):269-273.
McLoughlin L, Hermens D.Cyberbullying and social connectedness.Front Young Minds. 2018;6:54. doi:10.3389/frym.2018.00054
Nixon CL.Current perspectives: The impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health.Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2014;5:143-158. doi:10.2147/AHMT.S36456
American Psychological Association.Beware of cyberbullying.Psychology Today.Cyberbullying. From the playground to “Insta”.
American Psychological Association.Beware of cyberbullying.
Psychology Today.Cyberbullying. From the playground to “Insta”.
Meet Our Review Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?HelpfulReport an ErrorOtherSubmit
What is your feedback?
