The Impact of Cyberbullying on Mental Health

What is cyberbullying?
The role of social media in cyberbullying
The mental health of cyberbullies
Similarities and differences with conventional bullying
Preventing and reducing psychological harm from cyberbullying
References
Further reading

Cyberbullying is bullying using electronic devices and is prone to causing mental health problems such as depression and anxiety in both the victim and the perpetrator. Cyberbullying can come in many forms, such as texting derogatory messages, sending threatening emails, forwarding confidential pictures or messages, or posting on social media forums, and can become just as serious as traditional bullying.

What is cyberbullying?

Bullying is intentional and unprovoked aggressive behavior perpetrated repeatedly, usually by someone in a position of power over the victim, be it physical, social or psychological, in an attempt to cause harm. Cyberbullying determines this action when it takes place through electronic devices, via the Internet or via SMS messages and calling.

Clearly, physical interactions are limited to remote devices. Thus, cyberbullying typically takes the form of repeated abusive, threatening, humiliating, or otherwise harmful interactions, often with additional complications due to the anonymity and round-the-clock access of cyberbullies to their victims.

The form that bullying takes and the frequency with which it occurs varies culturally and demographically, although it occurs among children and teenagers at similar rates regardless of wealth and education levels. Over a quarter of adolescents are involved in traditional bullying as perpetrators, victims, or both, and rates of cyberbullying are thought to be likely similar or higher.

The role of social media in cyberbullying

As people become more familiar with and exposed to social media, the opportunity for cyberbullying increases. Social media platforms that allow free and open commenting can become a very scary environment for victims of cyberbullying, where threatening, aggressive, demotivating or abusive comments or messages, or edited images or videos, can be made and shared outside of control of the victim before they have a chance to respond.

Embarrassment over the issue can lead to people hiding online bullying from their real-life friends and family, further fueling feelings of isolation, depression and anxiety. Lack of awareness and support can also create a barrier for victims to open up about their problems and lead to unstable mental health.

The mental health of cyberbullies

Studies of the psychology of traditional bullies show that they tend to feel more positive attitudes toward aggressive revenge, indifference, or satisfaction when they bully or see others bullied and that the victim deserves it. Not surprisingly, these individuals often show a weak or moderate relationship between empathy and bullying others.

The greater anonymity and wider audience available to cyberbullies is thought to play a role in the sense of power experienced by cyberbullies. The lack of immediate response to their actions is suggested to encourage even more violent bullying. Many cyberbullies are also traditional bullies, and the lack of empathy shown by such individuals is likely to increase without direct human interaction and an immediate response to their aggression.

Evidence shows that the persistent and pervasive nature of cyberbullying often leads to more harmful outcomes for victims than traditional bullying, particularly depressive symptoms. Given this correlation, it has been speculated that the mental health effects of cyberbullying on the perpetrator may differ from those imposed on traditional bullies.

Rates of stress, depression, and anxiety are higher among students involved in cyberbullying than those who are not, with Ybarra and Mitchell (2004) reporting that of those who cyberbullied, 39% dropped out of school, 37% exhibited delinquent behavior, 32 % engaged in frequent substance abuse, and 16% were in severe depression. Other studies suggest that rates of depression are lower among cyberbullies than traditional bullies, although, as mentioned, the two groups often overlap heavily.

Similarities and differences with conventional bullying

Demographically, female students show a higher risk of becoming depressed as a result of cyberbullying than male students and may be more likely to be involved as both perpetrators and victims. A study conducted by Beckman et al. (2009) showed that traditional victims of bullying were about equally likely to be male or female, while girls were somewhat more likely to be cyberbullied than boys.

CyberbullyingPlay

Similarly, girls are just as likely to engage in cyberbullying as boys despite being less likely to engage in traditional bullying. Female bullies may be more likely than their male counterparts to engage in aggressive psychological or social interactions, rather than physical ones, which the anonymous and pervasive nature of cyberbullying may further facilitate.

Campbell Research et al. (2013) found that driving factors in cyberbullying included reduced social and contextual cues and a perceived lack of consequences. Missing in the online context are several key reasons why a traditional bully might stop or avoid their actions in the first place, such as empathy for seeing how distressed the victim is or fear of social repercussions from peers and those in authority.

Preventing and reducing psychological harm from cyberbullying

Education and dissemination of information about cyberbullying will help teach the new generation about online ethics and morality, fostering the understanding that anonymous comments are not made in a vacuum and that the victim of cyberbullying is an object of empathy.

School counselors and mental health professionals working in the education sector play a vital role in helping students who suffer psychological symptoms due to cyberbullying. It is necessary to educate students and parents about cyberbullying and the psychological symptoms so that they know how to report the bully or deal with the problem when they encounter such circumstances.

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People involved in bullying as bullies or victims appear to have low attachment to parents and high peer rejection. Seeking counseling or therapy can help with psychological problems and improve coping mechanisms. Empathy training, communication and social skills can help an individual cope with trauma. Interventions such as group counseling, role playing, group projects, discussions and lectures have a very strong effect on preventing cyberbullying and helping victims’ mental health.

Removing anonymity from online spaces can also remove one of the main factors that encourage or enable cyberbullying, although depending on the venue it may pose safety or privacy concerns for all involved.

References

• Skilbred-Fjeld, S., Reme, SE, & Mossige, S. (2020). The involvement of cyberbullying and mental health problems in late adolescents. Cyberpsychology: Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 14(1).
• Cowie, H. (2013). Cyberbullying and its impact on young people’s emotional health and well-being. The psychiatrist, 37(5), 167-170.
• Goebert, D., Else, I., Matsu, C., Chung-Do, J., & Chang, JY (2011). The impact of cyberbullying on substance use and mental health in a multiethnic sample. Journal of Maternal and Child Health15 (8), 1282-1286.
• Hase, CN, Goldberg, SB, Smith, D., Stuck, A., & Campain, J. (2015). Effects of traditional bullying and cyberbullying on the mental health of middle school and high school students. Psychology in schools52 (6), 607-617.
• Hutson, E., Kelly, S. and Militello, LK (2018). A systematic review of youth and parent cyberbullying interventions with implications for evidence-based practice. Worldviews of evidence–based care15 (1), 72-79.
• Campbell, MA et al. (2013). Do cyberbullies suffer too? Cyberbullies’ perceptions of the harm they cause to others and to their own mental health. International School Psychology34 (6), 613-629.
• Zhu, C. et al. (2021). Cyberbullying among adolescents and children: a comprehensive review of the global situation, risk factors and preventive measures. Frontiers in public health. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.6

Further reading