Technological advances have increased access to the Internet as a global computer network used as a communication facility. The access gives young people opportunities to communicate with others via social networking sites, instant messaging services, chat rooms, and emailing. With that aim, smartphones and tablets enable youngsters to publish text, post pictures and videos in an instant. Faucher et al. claim that involvement in online communication assists with social adjustment (1) as an important means to achieve balance in the social environment. Social space can be filled with negative emotional content which is likely to humiliate young users. Aggressive behavior online is mostly connected with young people transmitting negative content with the aim to harm others deliberately. Knowledge about the concept of cyber bullying and its main forms assists in implementing preventions programs to mitigate the negative impact of cyber-based abuse.
The concept of cyber bullying developed from traditional bullying which can be found in its verbal and physical forms. Although traditional bullying and cyber bullying have similar characteristics in terms of aims technology provides new ways to achieve aggressors’ goals. According to Faucher et al., cyber bullying characterizes “online exchanges where there is an intent to harm the recipient” (2). Aggressive behavior online is similar to traditional bullying which “occurs repeatedly over time and creates an ongoing pattern of harassment and abuse” (Heiman and Olenik-Shemesh 146). Cyber-based abuse emphasizes young individuals’ ability to utilize electronic devices and media to harass others almost anywhere in the world and whenever they like. The typical features of cyber-based abuse embrace ideas of repetition and power. In particular, the idea of repetition is peculiar to spreading rumors, threatening, and provoking in cyberspace. People can disseminate abusive content to strangers without knowing how many people can receive it and where. Bystanders participate in cyber-based abuse by viewing and sharing humiliating comments or pictures at a rapid speed. Moreover, the idea of power implies harming people, who cannot defend themselves, in an anonymous way. Making use of technological skills enables transmission of offensive messages via electronic media immediately (Corcoran et al. 246-247).
How cyber bullying is manifested in cyber space can be observed in its main forms: direct and indirect. Publishing text messages, posting pictures and videos within private communication indicate direct forms of cyber bullying, while indirect forms establish such activities in public domains, for example via social networking sites. Cyber bullies can target peers, vulnerable groups or even celebrities. No matter which target aggressors have chosen he or she suffers from cyber-based abuse. Within the direct and indirect forms of cyber bullying, there are three types of participants. Heiman and Olenik-Shemesh distinguish between perpetrators, victims, and witnesses. Firstly, perpetrators deliberately send offensive messages to other people either verbally or visually. It should be noted that cyber bullied individuals can be exposed to negative behavior in real-life settings, which indicates a low level of peer social support. Secondly, victims receive the humiliating messages or learn about rumors about them, which affect their social life. A low rate of social integration can explain the choice of victims for cyber-based abuse. Lastly, witnesses observe the hurtful messages, forward them or respond as a result of peer pressure. Generally, perpetrators belong to the stronger group and affect witnesses’ behavior; in turn, witnesses belong to the perpetrators’ supportive group which empowers cyber bullies (147).
Mitigation of the negative impact of cyber-based abuse is associated with elaborating and implementing effective programs. Addressing the issue is connected with the fact that even a single incident of cyber-based abuse influences victims and can have a lasting harmful effect. Young people’s initially low level of social integration is worsened by cyber bullies’ humiliating attitude to them. It is vital to strengthen individuals’ social skills and implement prevention programs which can reduce exposure to cyber-based abuse. Educational institutions should organize the activities in the first place. Schools, colleges, and universities must involve children and young people in social adjustment interventions and cyber bullying prevention programs. The interventions and programs can sustain safe behavior online which guarantees less contact with perpetrators and witnesses. Coping helps understand the impact of cyber bullying. Legislation and policy implementation are likely to help eliminate consequences of cyber-based abuse. In this regard, Corcoran et al. propose corporate social responsibility activities of organizations involved in hardware/software components of the industry or extension of quasi-legislative instruments, such as the EU Convention on the Rights of the Child (248).
Works Cited
Corcoran, Lucie, et al. “Cyberbullying or Cyber Aggression?: A Review of Existing Definitions of Cyber-Based Peer-to-Peer Aggression.” Societies, vol. 5, 2015, pp. 245-255. Societies, doi: 10.3390/soc5020245. Accessed 21 January 2017.
Faucher, Chantal, et al. “Cyberbullying among University Students: Gendered Experiences, Impacts, and Perspectives.” Education Research International, Article ID 698545, pp. 1-10. Hindawi Publishing Corporation, doi: 10.1155/2014/698545. Accessed 21 January 2017.
Heiman, Tali, and Dorit Olenik-Shemesh. “Cyberbullying Experience and Gender Differences among Adolescents in Different Educational Settings.” Journal of Learning Disabilities, vol. 48, no. 2, 2015, pp. 146-155. SAGE Journals, doi: 10.1177/0022219413492855. Accessed 21 January 2017.
