Cyberbullying: A criminal offence or not

We deal with it every day, either us or our children, our friends or our family. It became a “trend”
very popular, so popular that we have all learned a form or other of cyberbullying others, without
being aware of what we are doing. And what is it? What is cyberbullying? What does cyberbully
means?

As shown by Weber and Pelfrey in “Cyberbullying : Causes, Consequences, and Coping Strategies”
the new threat to our teenagers is “an aggressive, intentional act carried out by a group or an
individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot
easily defend him or herself” (Dooley, Pyzalski, & Cross, 2009 as cited in Smith et al., 2008, p. 182)”

Once this problem is identified, we can start defending against it. There can be major effects of
cyberbullying, same as with bullying. Cross-sectional studies and a few longitudinal studies have
linked cybervictimization to stress, low self-esteem, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation
(Bauman et al., 2013; Bonannoand Hymel, 2013; Campbell, Spears, Slee, Butler,and Kift, 2012; Cénat
et al., 2014; Goebert, Else, Matsu, Chung-Do,and Chang, 2011; Helwig-Larsen, Schütt,and Larsen,
2012; Hindujaand Patchin, 2010; Kowalski, Giumetti, Schroeder,and Lattanner, 2014; Lamand Li,
2013; Mitchell, Ybarra,and Finkelhor, 2007; Patchinand Hinduja, 2010; Reed, Cooper, Nugent,and
Russell, 2016; Selkie, Kota, Chan,and Moreno, 2013; Wang, Nansel,and Iannotti, 2011).

This shows us that we must take actions against it. But this cannot be approached like its
predecessor, bullying, as there are a few differences between the two of them.

Vanessa Rogers explains that cyberbullying is different from face-to-face bullying because the bullies
can keep a distance between themselves and their victims. This affords the bully a level of
anonymity and a perceived sense of security that convinces them they won’t get caught. It also
makes it easier to ‘forget’ what they’ve done and, as they don’t see the harm caused, any feelings of
guilt or empathy are minimized. Not knowing the identity of the bully can make the victim distrustful
of many people.

There are five main prevention steps to take action, as Adrienne Katz shows in her book

“Cyberbullying and E-safety: What Educators and Other Professionals Need to Know”: Raise
awareness and consult; Plan policy and strategy; Inform, train and implement; Prevent, respond and
monitor; Evaluate and adjust. These steps are very detailed in her volume and making it known will
undoubtedly save lives.

In conclusion, by applying these steps, we can act against this new form of threat and prevent it
from happening while to those who have been victim of this new technological age, we can offer our
support and help.

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to
achieve that beauty.” – Maya Angelou (American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist)

References:

Weber, Nicole L., and William V. Pelfrey Jr. Cyberbullying: Causes, Consequences, and Coping
Strategies. LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2014 – Page 32

Mc Guckin, Conor, and Lucie Corcoran. Bullying and Cyberbullying: Prevalence, Psychological Impacts
and Intervention Strategies. Nova Science Publishers, Inc, 2016 – Page 190
Rogers, Vanessa. Cyberbullying: Activities to Help Children and Teens to Stay Safe in a Texting,
Twittering, Social Networking World. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2010 – Page 12

Katz, Adrienne. Cyberbullying and E-Safety: What Educators and Other Professionals Need to Know.
Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2012. – Pages 119-120