cybercrime and cyber bullying essay

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✍️Essay on Cybercrime: Free Samples in 100, 200, 300 Words

• Updated on  
• Apr 26, 2024

The 21st century is a digital age, where any and every task is done on the internet. All thanks to the developments in technology which have been the main factor to ease human life on earth and maybe on other plants in future. But with the benefits of technology, there are several harmful effects, one of them which has recently gained popularity; Cyber Crime. 

Cybercrime has emerged as pervasive and evolved as one of the most dangerous threats to humans. There are several users on the internet who indulge in illegal and criminal activities, using computers and networks. To guide you through this hot debate topic, below we have discussed essays on cybercrime.

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on Cybercrime in 100 Words
• 2 Essay on Cybercrime in 200 Words
• 3 Essay on Cybercrime in 300 Words
• 4 Short Essay on Cybercrime

Also Read: Essay on Student Life

Essay on Cybercrime in 100 Words

Cybercrime involves illegal activities like hacking, ransomware, cyberbullying, online fraud, etc. People who are involved in cybercrime or any similar activities are called hackers, scammers or fraudsters. Cybercrime leads to financial loss for individuals who have fallen victim to one. Cybercrime often invades a person’s privacy by stealing their personal details, including sensitive data, photos, and communication records, which can be used for blackmailing or any malicious purpose.

There are several governmental and non-government organizations which are working 

To tackle cybercrime by raising awareness among the masses, cyber security training, implementing robust security protocols, and enacting comprehensive cybercrime laws.

Also Read: I Love My India Essay: 100 and 500+ Words in English for School Students

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Essay on Cybercrime in 200 Words

Cybercrime is a criminal activity done online using a computer, network and internet. With the increasing use of the internet and mobile phones, the number of criminal activities has also gained pace.  These criminal-minded people steal the personal details of a person, which leads to financial losses and damages the reputation of the victims. Various scams and fraudulent schemes are offered on the internet like online auctions, advance fees, or any investment scam, which are all aimed at deceiving individuals into parting with their money.

Cybercrime is not limited to financial losses or reputational damage, a more discrete term has emerged; cyberbullying.  In cyberbullying, a person is harassed, humiliated, or threatened online. This can have severe psychological and emotional consequences. Ethical hackers or white hat hackers can help organizations identify vulnerabilities in their systems before malicious hackers exploit them. 

Cybercrime doesn’t have any boundaries and is an international issue and international cooperation is crucial for tracking and prosecuting cybercriminals who operate across borders. To combat cybercrime effectively, a multi-faceted approach is required, involving education, technology, legislation, and international cooperation. As technology continues to advance, our efforts to combat cybercrime must keep pace to protect our increasingly interconnected world.

Also Read : Essay on Winter Season

Essay on Cybercrime in 300 Words

Economists have termed cybercrime as ‘ A Hidden Threat to the Digital World.’ Modern humans are relying on the internet for their day-to-day activities and every macro and micro activity. In this sense, the term cybercrime comes to the front. Cybercrime refers to criminal activities conducted through the use of computers, networks, and the Internet. 

Cybercrime consists of various malicious activities like hacking, phishing, ransomware attacks, identity theft, online fraud, and cyberbullying. Hackers, fraudsters, scammers, criminals, and even state-sponsored actors exploit vulnerabilities in digital systems to steal sensitive information, disrupt operations, and cause financial and emotional harm to victims.

The consequences of cybercrime are far-reaching. Financial losses run into 10 digits annually, affecting individuals and organizations alike. Personal privacy is invaded as cybercriminals steal sensitive data, photos, and communication records. In cases of cyberbullying and harassment, victims suffer reputational damages, psychological distress, and emotional trauma, particularly in cases of cyberbullying and harassment.

It’s necessary to look for a multifaceted approach to deal with cybercrime, some of which are.

• Raising public awareness through campaigns where people are informed about the risks of cybercrime and educate them on best practices for online safety.
• Individuals and organizations should implement robust security protocols, regularly update software, and use multi-factor authentication to protect their digital assets.
• Governments should enact and enforce cybercrime laws, providing law enforcement agencies with the resources and expertise needed to prosecute cybercriminals effectively.
• Looking at the global nature of cybercrime, international collaboration is vital. Countries should work together to share threat intelligence and cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of cybercriminals.
• Ethical hackers can help organizations identify and rectify vulnerabilities in their systems before malicious actors exploit them.

Tackling cybercrime requires proactive measures, including education, strong cybersecurity practices, legislation, international cooperation, and the active involvement of ethical hackers.

Also Read: Essay on Green Energy PDF: 150 and 250 Words

Short Essay on Cybercrime

Find the short essay on cyber crime from below:

Cybercrime is an illegal and unethical activity which is done by hackers and fraudsters to gain financial or any other benefits for themselves.

To tackle cybercrime, several measures can be taken. Some of these measures are education and public awareness, research and innovation, ethical hacking, etc.

To write an essay on cybercrime, you need to give details on how it works and the level of danger it poses to humans. Cybercrime consists of various malicious activities like hacking, phishing, ransomware attacks, identity theft, online fraud, and cyberbullying. Hackers, fraudsters, scammers, criminals, and even state-sponsored actors exploit vulnerabilities in digital systems to steal sensitive information, disrupt operations, and cause financial and emotional harm to victims.

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Shiva Tyagi

With an experience of over a year, I've developed a passion for writing blogs on wide range of topics. I am mostly inspired from topics related to social and environmental fields, where you come up with a positive outcome.

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Cyber-bullying Essay | Essay on Cyber-bullying for Students and Children in English

February 13, 2024 by Prasanna

Cyber-bullying Essay: Young people today are mostly influenced by internet usage more than ever. They consider the internet and mobile phones systems as the two biggest frameworks of communication which play a vital role in our daily activities and development of identities.

On the other hand, these technologies are often used negatively. Many users are the targets of bullying via the internet resulting in total confusion on the part of the “target.”

You can also find more  Essay Writing  articles on events, persons, sports, technology and many more.

Long and Short Essays on Cyber-bullying for Students and Kids in English

We provide students with essay samples on a long essay of 500 words and a short piece of 150 words on Cyber-bullying for reference.

Long Essay on Cyber-bullying 500 Words in English

Long Essay on Cyber-bullying is usually given to classes 7, 8, 9, and 10.

Cyber threats can be categorised into two main types: Cybercrime, which happens against an individual, corporate, etc. and Cyberwarfare, which occurs against a state. Cyberbullying may occur directly by targeting the computers and viruses or by using Denial of service attacks, which is an attempt to make a network or machine unavailable to its projected users.

A software called malware is used to gain access to a private computer, gather sensitive information, or disrupt computer operation. Cyberbullying is hiking up drastically as more and more users are victimised of this type of bullying, though not only teenagers. The problems of cyberbullying are saddening as the system that makes informational flow and communication easy, is turning into a dangerous “site” to be.

Cyberbullying does not pertain to only one country, but the entire world. The states of the U.S. have started to impose laws specifically on cyber- bullying. Some other nations support the regulations set for traditional bullying, which also covers cyber-bullying. The internet provides incognito and the chance to create a profile with a hidden identity.

Cyberbullying has more than one definition; thus cyber-bullying can be defined as art when the internet, cell phones or other electronic devices are used to send or post text or images intended to heart or embarrass other persons. A situation where a child or teen is repeatedly tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or likewise targeted. The last arena of cyber-bullying is referred to be cyber- stalking. It creates a situation, which includes threats, blackmail or sexual bullying, and the victim is ridiculed. Cyberbullies may post personal information of their victims at websites or victim’s name that demolishes or humiliates him/her.

Most of the times cyberbully work in groups because in that way they feel strongly united. However, they cannot move away from their team because they feel unsafe and have the constant fear that they will get cyberbullied themselves. As researchers recognise it, cyberbullies are sometimes likely to be more depressed than their victims.

Cyber-bullying portrays the ugly side of the internet. Victims of cyber-bullying suffer through severe depression and in extreme cases, even death. Therefore, the internet can be proved dangerous if not aware of its working and security as a whole. People mostly support the opinion of cyber-bullying, along with regular bullying, is the important reason for many of the social, anxiety and depression. Cyberbullying is less physical than traditional categories of bullying, but it has very impactful and influential effects on individuals. The government and the citizens should both spend awareness among the people to update their network security settings and their systems and use proper anti-virus so that their system and network settings stay malware and virus- free.

Deleting old accounts is a good way to secure someone’s information. In many cases, an attacker can easily access someone’s network by using their old credentials that have fallen by the curb. People mostly support the opinion of cyber-bullying, along with regular bullying, is the important reason for many of the social anxiety and depression.

Short Essay on Cyber-bullying 150 Words in English

Short Essay on Cyber-bullying is usually given to classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

Cyber-bullying is mostly common among teenagers, children and occurs when one is threatened, harassed or humiliated with digital and interactive technologies. The methods used in cyberbullying are the only access to technology.

Cyber-bullying can result in detrimental effects on both the bully and the bullied. The worst consequences of cyber-bullying are the fatal impact of such instances. The other vital reason is that bullies are normally instigators in nature, and with the cyberspace, they can involve a large number of people.

Cybersecurity plays an important role in preventing some difficult and heinous crimes like blackmailing, fraud transactions through another account, leakage of personal information. It is the responsibility of every citizen to spread awareness among everyone and keep their system and network security updated to prevent cyber attacks from happening worldwide. Internet users should be properly educated on how to be immune to internet dangers.

10 Lines on Cyber-bullying in English

• Cyber-bullying refers to the misusage of information technology with the internet to harass others.
• Cyber-bullying is a multi-faced issue.
• Cyber-bullying results in a lot of insecurities and complexes
• Cyber-bullying tarnishes the image of a person.
• Cyberbullying interrupts the mental peace of a person.
• There are various ways of tracking cyber-bullying and can be implemented both in individual and authoritative levels.
• Many people suffer from severe depression after they are cyberbullied.
• Cyberbullying victims can file a complaint under the Indian Penal Code.
• People should be aware of the anti-bullying laws in India.
• Apart from the usual mental and physical effects of cyberbullying, it can take severe tolls on the health of the victims.

FAQ’s on Cyber-bullying Essay

Question 1. What is cyber-bullying?

Answer: Cyber-bullying refers to the misusage of information technology with the intent to harass others.

Question 2.  What are the effects of cyber-bullying?

Answer: Apart from the usual mental and physical effects of cyber-bullying, it can take severe tolls on the health of the victim. It results in a lot of insecurities and complexes.

Question 3.  How can be cyber-bullying prevented?

Answer: There are various ways of tackling cyber-bullying both in individual and authoritative levels. People should be aware of the anti-bullying laws in India. Cyberbullying victims can file a case under the India Penal Code.

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Essay on Cyberbullying

Students are often asked to write an essay on Cyberbullying in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Cyberbullying

What is cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. It can happen through a message, email, or on social media sites.

Forms of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can take many forms. It can be public or private. Some examples are mean text messages, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures or videos.

Effects of Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying can make a person feel sad, lonely, or scared. They may want to avoid school or social events. In severe cases, it might lead to depression or even suicide.

Preventing Cyberbullying

To prevent cyberbullying, don’t share private information online, and think before you post. Always treat others with respect. If you’re a victim, don’t respond or retaliate. Instead, save the evidence and report it.

Role of Schools and Parents

250 words essay on cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet to hurt, embarrass, or scare another person. It can happen on social media, in online games, or in messages. The person doing the bullying might send mean messages, share personal information, or post embarrassing photos.

Cyberbullying can make a person feel sad, scared, or alone. They might not want to go to school or spend time with friends. It can also affect their grades and their health. Some people might even think about hurting themselves because of cyberbullying.

How to Deal with Cyberbullying

If you are being bullied online, tell a trusted adult. This could be a parent, teacher, or school counselor. You can also report the bullying to the website or app where it happened. Most websites and apps have rules against bullying and can take action.

To help stop cyberbullying, be kind online. Think before you post or send a message. Ask yourself, “Would I want someone to say this to me?” If the answer is no, don’t post it. Also, stand up for others. If you see someone being bullied online, report it.

Remember, everyone deserves to feel safe and respected, both in person and online. By understanding and taking action against cyberbullying, we can make the internet a better place for everyone.

500 Words Essay on Cyberbullying

How cyberbullying happens.

Cyberbullying can happen in many ways. It can take place through social media sites, chat rooms, text messages, and emails. Sometimes, it can be public, like a mean comment on a social media post. Other times, it can be private, like a threatening text message. Cyberbullies can even create fake accounts to harass someone without revealing their identity.

Cyberbullying can hurt people deeply. It can make them feel scared, sad, or angry. It can also make them feel alone, like no one understands what they’re going through. Some people may even feel unsafe or worry about their reputation. In severe cases, cyberbullying can lead to mental health problems like depression and anxiety, or even self-harm.

What to Do If You’re Cyberbullied

If you’re being cyberbullied, remember it’s not your fault. Don’t respond to the bully, as it could make things worse. Instead, save the evidence and report it. You can report it to the website or app where it happened, or to an adult you trust. If the bullying is threatening or severe, you may even need to report it to the police.

Cyberbullying is a serious problem that can hurt people both emotionally and mentally. But by being respectful online, protecting our personal information, and knowing how to respond if we’re bullied, we can help stop cyberbullying. Remember, everyone deserves to feel safe and respected, both in person and online.

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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Essays About Cyberbullying: Top 5 Examples and Prompts

Cyberbullying is a serious issue; if you’re writing essays about cyberbullying, these examples should give you inspiration for your assignment.

Cyberbullying is the public harassment, intimidation, and humiliation of others over the internet. It could include posting, sending, or streaming negative content to hurt and ridicule someone. 

With the internet’s power to spread information like wildfire to millions of netizens, coupled with its anonymity that empowers people to say things they wouldn’t otherwise say in person, cyberbullying has created alarming negative effects such as broad mistrust in the online space, a range of mental health issues and increasing suicide incidents.

Cyberbullying is a relevant subject as more people spend their time online. As a result, several institutions and groups have been stepping up efforts to combat bullying on multiple fronts. Here are a few essay examples on bullying: 

1. Support for Cyberbullying Victims Should Start at School by Ben Jackson

2. cancel culture: just another form of bullying by drm, 3. what is cyberbullying and how does it impact work productivity by georgi mamajanyan, 4. bullying, suicide, punishment by john schwartz, 5. can this technology put an end to bullying by sarah griffiths, 10 prompts on essays about cyberbullying, 1. how are cyberbullies made, 2. what are the effects of cyberbullying, 3. do existing laws respond to cyberbullying, 4. when does a joke go too far , 5. how can parent protect their kids from cyberbullying, 6. how can victims stand up against a cyberbully, 7. policy recommendations to counter cyberbullying. , 8. how to prevent cyberbullying victim suicide , 9. privacy settings, why they matter, 10. cyberbullying prevention programs .

“Bullying will always exist in one form or another. Instead of calling for websites to be deleted, let’s modernize our schools so they meet the needs of their pupils.” 

The student-author – himself a victim of bullying – raises concerns on how cyberbullying has become a more dangerous form of bullying, with its ubiquity online and, therefore, seeming inescapability. However, instead of lobbying for take-downs of harmful websites, which could be instantly replaced, Jackson calls for more proactive policies at school that could sufficiently stamp out the culture of bullying. You may also like these essays about cyber crime .

“Their cause may indeed be right and just; we’re not talking about the issues of outrage in this article. What we are talking about is whether or not calling-out individuals online is really social activism, or whether it’s just cyberbullying.”

Cancel culture is publicly calling out someone for a misdeed or misaligned morals or social behavior with the intent to change society for the better. DRM says that social media has “exponentially amplified” cancel or outrage culture, with the “canceled” facing the consequences as grave as a job layoff. However, the author does not see public humiliation effectively driving social change but only promoting a new form of cyberbullying. You might be interested in these articles about racism in schools .

“As workplace cyberbullying is a relatively new area of bullying, there isn’t a significant amount of research and clear data available around the topic. However, there is enough evidence of cyberbullying impacting the performance of employees in the long run​​.”

Cyberbullying threatens workplace productivity, and several companies are doubling down on anti-cyberbullying efforts. The author suggests a list of measures a company can adopt to be more capable of preventing and handling cyberbullying cases.  

“What should the punishment be for acts like cyberbullying and online humiliation? That question is as difficult to answer as how to integrate our values with all the things in our lives made of bits, balancing a right to privacy with the urge to text, tweet, stream and post.”

The writer recounts recent cases of cyberbullying that end in suicide and finds that state statutes “seem ill-fit” to give justice to these lives lost. Through interviews with lawyers and cybersecurity experts, Schwartz finds that imposing a harsher punishment against cyberbullying remains restrained by considerations of personal responsibility and constitutional freedoms. 

“Bullying can cast a dark shadow over people’s lives and leave permanent scars, but artificial intelligence may provide new ways of stamping our harassment and discrimination.”

Griffiths shows how artificial intelligence (AI) offers promising results in actively detecting and taking down bullying content online. The author dives into the efforts social media giants are taking to expand their platforms’ AI features to more accurately filter harmful content and even attempt to interpret suicidal signals.

To help narrow down your topic choices, here is a list of prompts with suggestions on how you could build your story:

Research has found that some bullies are victims of abuse and emotional trauma. But of course, no one’s hurt is a justification for bad behavior, significantly if it harms others. Find the latest research studies that dwell on factors that make a bully. Examine how the internet stimulates their urge to embarrass other people at the expense of “looking good.”

Victims of cyberbullying could develop anxiety, depression, and other stress-related illnesses. It would be great to interview cyberbullying victims for this essay. Allowing them to talk about their struggles could also empower them. Ask them what forms of support they think should be available in the future in schools or offices and how other victims can be encouraged to speak out.  

Examine existing anti-cyberbullying laws in your state and weigh in on how much people are satisfied or dissatisfied with them. Then, discuss ongoing proposals to amend these laws, if any, and find a state to compare them against – preferably one with laws touted to be a model for institutionalizing effective measures against online bullying. 

This is the digital counterpart of the question, “When does teasing become bullying?” Sharing a funny post about someone could be harmless and even nurture friendships. Dive deep into the fine lines that make online activities abusive. Are they frequent? Are they making other people look bad? Provide more questions that people can ask themselves to assess the situation better. 

You can also expand this by providing psychology experts’ tips on how to stop “playful” teasing kids from becoming full-blown bullies.

Kids are highly susceptible to cyberbullying. Everywhere, governments and non-profit organizations have been launching campaigns to support parents in setting up tech boundaries for their kids. Lay down these recommendations and discuss how each one can be effective. If you want to go the extra mile, interview some parents and find out what they are doing to enable their children to protect and defend themselves from online shamers. 

The bystander effect can further perpetuate the culture of bullying. Discuss the importance of encouraging victims to hold bullies accountable. Provide a step-by-step guide on the proper reporting of a cyberbullying incident either at school or directly via online platforms. Help them know what pieces of evidence they should gather that would suffice to take down posts. You may encourage them to get involved in campaigns and use their horrible experience to further anti-cyberbullying advocacy.

Research emerging policy recommendations to counter cyberbullying and enumerate how they can effectively weed out cyberbullies. Discuss how they are making headway in the legislative agenda and share your thoughts about them. Why do you think these bills are urgent and should be prioritized as urgent? 

To focus on policies protecting victims, you may want to navigate how the healthcare system responds to their mental health needs. 

You can explore how suicide helplines support cyberbullying victims. Gather data to see how many of their callers are cyberbullying victims and if there is an upward trend over the years.

Aside from helplines, what can family members and friends do to reach out to someone who may be suffering from online shaming? This is a challenge as most victims are too scared to go into the details of the incident, let alone mention it. Research what psychology experts say and build on their recommendations to encourage families, friends, and the larger society to take action. 

The most common cyberbullying tactic is the sharing of photos and posts online that are spread and made fun of. Suppressing the supply of personal information, photos, and videos that reach bullies is an excellent tactic to keep cyberbullying at bay. Lay down tips that could help people set up their privacy settings for protection. You can even discuss tips specific to social media platforms, given their different security vulnerabilities.  

Describe the programs and initiatives at your school, company, or community to combat cyberbullying. How are they cultivating awareness and enabling you to protect yourself in the digital space better? Interview relevant resource persons about the plans to continue stamping out power imbalances across the organization.

If you’re looking for more ideas, check out our essays about bullying . You might find an interesting topic that also relates to cyberbullying. 

Once you’ve found an exciting prompt to work on, check out our essay writing tips to ensure your essay will be understandable and impressively analytical. 

Cyberbullying: What is it and how can you stop it?

Explore the latest psychological science about the impact of cyberbullying and what to do if you or your child is a victim

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• Social Media and Internet

Cyberbullying can happen anywhere with an internet connection. While traditional, in-person bullying is still more common , data from the Cyberbullying Research Center suggest about 1 in every 4 teens has experienced cyberbullying, and about 1 in 6 has been a perpetrator. About 1 in 5 tweens, or kids ages 9 to 12, has been involved in cyberbullying (PDF, 5.57MB) .

As technology advances, so do opportunities to connect with people—but unfettered access to others isn’t always a good thing, especially for youth. Research has long linked more screen time with lower psychological well-being , including higher rates of anxiety and depression. The risk of harm is higher when kids and teens are victimized by cyberbullying.

Here’s what you need to know about cyberbullying, and psychology’s role in stopping it.

What is cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying occurs when someone uses technology to demean, inflict harm, or cause pain to another person. It is “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.” Perpetrators bully victims in any online setting, including social media, video or computer games, discussion boards, or text messaging on mobile devices.

Virtual bullying can affect anyone, regardless of age. However, the term “cyberbullying” usually refers to online bullying among children and teenagers. It may involve name calling, threats, sharing private or embarrassing photos, or excluding others.

One bully can harass another person online or several bullies can gang up on an individual. While a stranger can incite cyberbullying, it more frequently occurs among kids or teens who know each other from school or other social settings. Research suggests bullying often happens both at school and online .

Online harassment between adults can involve different terms, depending on the relationship and context. For example, dating violence, sexual harassment, workplace harassment, and scamming—more common among adults—can all happen on the internet.

How can cyberbullying impact the mental health of myself or my child?

Any form of bullying can negatively affect the victim’s well-being, both at the time the bullying occurs and in the future. Psychological research suggests being victimized by a cyberbully increases stress and may result in anxiety and depression symptoms . Some studies find anxiety and depression increase the likelihood adolescents will become victims to cyberbullying .

Cyberbullying can also cause educational harm , affecting a student’s attendance or academic performance, especially when bullying occurs both online and in school or when a student has to face their online bully in the classroom. Kids and teens may rely on negative coping mechanisms, such as substance use, to deal with the stress of cyberbullying. In extreme cases, kids and teens may struggle with self-harm or suicidal ideation .

How can parents talk to their children about cyberbullying?

Parents play a crucial role in preventing cyberbullying and associated harms. Be aware of what your kids are doing online, whether you check your child’s device, talk to them about their online behaviors, or install a monitoring program. Set rules about who your child can friend or interact with on social media platforms. For example, tell your child if they wouldn’t invite someone to your house, then they shouldn’t give them access to their social media accounts. Parents should also familiarize themselves with signs of cyberbullying , such as increased device use, anger or anxiety after using a device, or hiding devices when others are nearby.

Communicating regularly about cyberbullying is an important component in preventing it from affecting your child’s well-being. Psychologists recommend talking to kids about how to be safe online before they have personal access to the internet. Familiarize your child with the concept of cyberbullying as soon as they can understand it. Develop a game plan to problem solve if it occurs. Cultivating open dialogue about cyberbullying can ensure kids can identify the experience and tell an adult, before it escalates into a more harmful situation.

It’s also important to teach kids what to do if someone else is being victimized. For example, encourage your child to tell a teacher or parent if someone they know is experiencing cyberbullying.

Keep in mind kids may be hesitant to open up about cyberbullying because they’re afraid they’ll lose access to their devices. Encourage your child to be open with you by reminding them they won’t get in trouble for talking to you about cyberbullying. Clearly explain your goal is to allow them to communicate with their friends safely online.

How can I report cyberbullying?

How you handle cyberbullying depends on a few factors, such as the type of bullying and your child’s age. You may choose to intervene by helping a younger child problem solve whereas teens may prefer to handle the bullying on their own with a caregiver’s support.

In general, it’s a good practice to take screenshots of the cyberbullying incidents as a record, but not to respond to bullies’ messages. Consider blocking cyberbullies to prevent future harassment.

Parents should contact the app or website directly about removing bullying-related posts, especially if they reveal private or embarrassing information. Some social media sites suspend perpetrators’ accounts.

If the bullying also occurs at school or on a school-owned device, or if the bullying is affecting a child’s school performance, it may be appropriate to speak with your child’s teacher or school personnel.

What are the legal ramifications of cyberbullying?

In some cases, parents should report cyberbullying to law enforcement. If cyberbullying includes threats to someone’s physical safety, consider contacting your local police department.

What’s illegal can vary from state to state. Any illegal behaviors, such as blackmailing someone to send money, hate crimes, stalking, or posting sexual photos of a minor, can have legal repercussions. If you’re not sure about what’s legal and what’s not, check your state’s laws and law enforcement .

Are big tech companies responsible for promoting positive digital spaces?

In an ideal world, tech companies would prioritize creating safer online environments for young people. Some companies are working toward it already, including partnering with psychologists to better understand how their products affect kids, and how to keep them safe. But going the extra mile isn’t always profitable for technology companies. For now, it’s up to individuals, families, and communities to protect kids’ and teens’ best interest online.

What does the research show about psychology’s role in reducing this issue?

Many studies show preventative measures can drastically reduce cyberbullying perpetration and victimization . Parents and caregivers, schools, and technology companies play a role in educating kids about media literacy and mental health. Psychologists—thanks to their expertise in child and teen development, communication, relationships, and mental health—can also make important contributions in preventing cyberbullying.

Because cybervictimization coincides with anxiety and depression, research suggests mental health clinicians and educators should consider interventions that both address adolescents’ online experiences and support their mental, social, and emotional well-being. Psychologists can also help parents speak to their kids about cyberbullying, along with supporting families affected by it.

You can learn more about cyberbullying at these websites:

• Cyberbullying Research Center
• StopBullying.gov
• Nemours Kids Health

Acknowledgments

APA gratefully acknowledges the following contributors to this publication:

• Sarah Domoff, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Central Michigan University
• Dorothy Espelage, PhD, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of Education at the University of North Carolina
• Stephanie Fredrick, PhD, NCSP, assistant professor and associate director of the Dr. Jean M. Alberti Center for the Prevention of Bullying Abuse and School Violence at the University at Buffalo, State University of New York
• Brian TaeHyuk Keum, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Social Welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs
• Mitchell J. Prinstein, PhD, chief science officer at APA
• Susan Swearer, PhD, Willa Cather Professor of School Psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; licensed psychologist

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Cyber Crime Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on cyber crime.

Cyber Crime Essay – Everybody thinks that only stealing someone’s private data is Cyber Crime. But in defining terms we can say that ‘Cyber Crime refers to the use of an electronic device (computer, laptop, etc.) for stealing someone’s data or trying to harm them using a computer.

Besides, it is an illegal activity that involves a series of issues ranging from theft to using your system or IP address as a tool for committing a crime.

Types of Cyber Crime

Speaking in a broadway we can say that Cyber Crime are categorized into four major types. These are Financial, Privacy, Hacking, and Cyber Terrorism.

The financial crime they steal the money of user or account holders. Likewise, they also stole data of companies which can lead to financial crimes. Also, transactions are heavily risked because of them. Every year hackers stole lakhs and crores of rupees of businessmen and government.

Privacy crime includes stealing your private data which you do not want to share with the world. Moreover, due to it, the people suffer a lot and some even commit suicide because of their data’s misuse.

In, hacking they intentional deface a website to cause damage or loss to the public or owner. Apart from that, they destroy or make changes in the existing websites to diminish its value.

Modern-day terrorism has grown way beyond what it was 10-20 years ago. But cyber terrorism is not just related to terrorists or terrorist organizations. But to threat some person or property to the level of creating fear is also Cyber Terrorism.

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Cyber Crime in India

Web world or cyberspace is a massive community of millions and billions of users and websites. Also, people access it for different uses like shopping, movies, music, video games, transactions, and e-commerce, etc.

In this Age of Technology and easy access to the internet, anyone can easily reach it. Because of this fast pace growth from the previous decade. Besides, the internet has opened a world of information on which anyone can connect.

Due to, this the rate of crime especially the rate of Cyber Crime has increased much fold. Moreover, the rate of circulation of data is also increased much fold due to the higher speed of internet. Above all, due to all these issues, the Cybersecurity has become a major concern for society.

Laws related to Cyber Crimes

To stop the spread of Cyber Crime and to safeguard the interest of people the government has made several laws related to Cyber Crimes. Also, these laws serve as protection against Cyber Crime. Apart from that, the government has also introduced cyber cells in police stations to counter the problem of Cyber Crime as fast as they can.

Ways of stopping Cyber Crime

Cyber Crime is not something which we cannot deal with our self. Likewise, with little use of our common sense and logic, we can stop Cyber Crimes from happening.

To conclude, we can say that Cyber Crime is a dangerous offense to someone’s privacy or any material. Also, we can avoid Cyber Crime by following some basic logical things and using our common sense. Above all, Cyber Crime is a violation of not only law but of human rights too.

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Cybercrime Victimization and Cyberbullying Essay

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Also known as research on the victims of different crimes, victimology is believed to be one of the youngest criminological disciplines. Here, victims are required to describe their involvement in a certain crime and identify themselves properly (Daigle, 2012). One of the biggest areas that are currently of interest to victimology is cyber-crime. Even though victimology is not custom-designed to deal with cybercrimes, it is evident that the new generation of criminals has to be pursued and punished (Arntfield, 2015). The target population outlined by the author is the majority of people who are susceptible to being victimized online. Some of the authors describe cybercrime victimization as a complex process that revolves around several lifestyle activities.

At the same time, the experts dealing with cybercrimes and cyber-crime victimization came to an important conclusion – there are two main types of victims when it comes to cybercrimes: those who have an unremitting role in the whole criminal process and those who are involved in wrongdoings only indirectly (Arntfield, 2015). There is also a small category of victims that do not fall into any of the categories described above. Similar to the classic concept of victimization, three key factors are contributing to cyber-crime victimization. Arntfield (2015) used meta-analysis to gather the data and learn about the factors mentioned above. These include the provocation, the ability to choose a pertinent victim, and the lack of protection displayed by the latter. Using these factors, we can describe the ideas that are included in Arntfield’s (2015) article and discuss them in detail.

First of all, he accurately dwells on the concept of roles of victims in the process of cyber victimization. In the age of technological revolution, we should not overlook the impact of victims on the development of such things as cyberbullying and cyber victimization. Digital attacks are majorly contingent on the victim’s model of behavior because the latter may serve as both a prognosticator and a facilitator of cybercrime (Arntfield, 2015). The article provides us with acceptable information regarding the existing research on the subject.

Arntfield (2015) concludes that more interdisciplinary approaches are required to develop a new cybervictimological framework to align cyber activities with the canons of a classic victimological context. The main strength of the article is the author of the article describing one of the existing frameworks that are based on the routine activities inherent in the criminological theory. Nonetheless, when Arntfield (2015) explains that different routine activities that are performed by the potential victims online are the biggest predictors of future cyberbullying activities, there may be a sign of bias. The reason for this is the fact that the author of the article sees them as the key contributors to the concept of victimization because the model of anti-social behavior is commonly tolerated within the online environment. The absence of appropriate supervision also plays a rather big role in victimology.

Of course, cyber-victimology is a relatively productive tool when it comes to predicting individual behavior and personality types. The main weakness of the article is the lack of information regarding the development of technologies around us that leads to a situation where the most complex offender profiles cannot be spotted for a rather long time. Regardless, we should be capable of dealing with the challenges that transpire due to the continuous technological modernization of the world around us. A sense of impunity pushes wrongdoers into new cybercrimes (Arntfield, 2015). Even sexual and relation addiction found their way online and can be met here and there daily (O’Sullivan, 2013). The author’s points are relatively persuasive, so we need to learn how to interact with each other, but the price of such interactions seems to be a bit too high for those individuals who are prone to displaying their potential to become a victim of cybercrimes.

Arntfield, M. (2015). Towards a cybervictimology: Cyberbullying, routine activities theory, and the anti-sociality of social media. Canadian Journal of Communication, 40 (3), 371-388. Web.

Daigle, L. E. (2012). Victimology: A text/reader . Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

O’Sullivan, C. S. (2013). Sexual violence victimization of women, men, youth, and children. In R. C. Davis, A. J. Lurigio, & S. Herman (Eds.), Victims of crime (pp. 3-28). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

• Positivist, Sociological, Contemporary Criminology
• The Philosophy of Community-Based Correctional Programs
• Routine Activities Theory in Criminological Studies
• Crime Rates in the United States
• Use Criminological Theories to Predict Crime and Victimization in Your Neighborhood
• Hate Crimes and Anti-Discrimination Laws
• Crime Prevention and Control Effectiveness
• Victim’s Rights Movement in the 20th Century
• Ways of Punishing Offenders
• Physical Evidence in Criminology
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Cyberbullying Among Adolescents and Children: A Comprehensive Review of the Global Situation, Risk Factors, and Preventive Measures

Chengyan zhu.

1 School of Political Science and Public Administration, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China

Shiqing Huang

2 School of Medicine and Health Management, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China

Richard Evans

3 College of Engineering, Design and Physical Sciences, Brunel University London, Uxbridge, United Kingdom

Associated Data

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/ Supplementary Material , further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Background: Cyberbullying is well-recognized as a severe public health issue which affects both adolescents and children. Most extant studies have focused on national and regional effects of cyberbullying, with few examining the global perspective of cyberbullying. This systematic review comprehensively examines the global situation, risk factors, and preventive measures taken worldwide to fight cyberbullying among adolescents and children.

Methods: A systematic review of available literature was completed following PRISMA guidelines using the search themes “cyberbullying” and “adolescent or children”; the time frame was from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2019. Eight academic databases pertaining to public health, and communication and psychology were consulted, namely: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Communication & Mass Media Complete, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. Additional records identified through other sources included the references of reviews and two websites, Cyberbullying Research Center and United Nations Children's Fund. A total of 63 studies out of 2070 were included in our final review focusing on cyberbullying prevalence and risk factors.

Results: The prevalence rates of cyberbullying preparation ranged from 6.0 to 46.3%, while the rates of cyberbullying victimization ranged from 13.99 to 57.5%, based on 63 references. Verbal violence was the most common type of cyberbullying. Fourteen risk factors and three protective factors were revealed in this study. At the personal level, variables associated with cyberbullying including age, gender, online behavior, race, health condition, past experience of victimization, and impulsiveness were reviewed as risk factors. Likewise, at the situational level, parent-child relationship, interpersonal relationships, and geographical location were also reviewed in relation to cyberbullying. As for protective factors, empathy and emotional intelligence, parent-child relationship, and school climate were frequently mentioned.

Conclusion: The prevalence rate of cyberbullying has increased significantly in the observed 5-year period, and it is imperative that researchers from low and middle income countries focus sufficient attention on cyberbullying of children and adolescents. Despite a lack of scientific intervention research on cyberbullying, the review also identified several promising strategies for its prevention from the perspectives of youths, parents and schools. More research on cyberbullying is needed, especially on the issue of cross-national cyberbullying. International cooperation, multi-pronged and systematic approaches are highly encouraged to deal with cyberbullying.

Introduction

Childhood and adolescence are not only periods of growth, but also of emerging risk taking. Young people during these periods are particularly vulnerable and cannot fully understand the connection between behaviors and consequences ( 1 ). With peer pressures, the heat of passion, children and adolescents usually perform worse than adults when people are required to maintain self-discipline to achieve good results in unfamiliar situations. Impulsiveness, sensation seeking, thrill seeking, and other individual differences cause adolescents to risk rejecting standardized risk interventions ( 2 ).

About one-third of Internet users in the world are children and adolescents under the age of 18 ( 3 ). Digital technology provide a new form of interpersonal communication ( 4 ). However, surveys and news reports also show another picture in the Internet Age. The dark side of young people's internet usage is that they may bully or suffer from others' bullying in cyberspace. This behavior is also acknowledged as cyberbullying ( 5 ). Based on Olweus's definition, cyberbullying is usually regarded as bullying implemented through electronic media ( 6 , 7 ). Specifically, cyberbullying among children and adolescents can be summarized as the intentional and repeated harm from one or more peers that occurs in cyberspace caused by the use of computers, smartphones and other devices ( 4 , 8 – 12 ). In recent years, new forms of cyberbullying behaviors have emerged, such as cyberstalking and online dating abuse ( 13 – 15 ).

Although cyberbullying is still a relatively new field of research, cyberbullying among adolescents is considered to be a serious public health issue that is closely related to adolescents' behavior, mental health and development ( 16 , 17 ). The increasing rate of Internet adoption worldwide and the popularity of social media platforms among the young people have worsened this situation with most children and adolescents experiencing cyberbullying or online victimization during their lives. The confines of space and time are alleviated for bullies in virtual environments, creating new venues for cyberbullying with no geographical boundaries ( 6 ). Cyberbullying exerts negative effects on many aspects of young people's lives, including personal privacy invasion and psychological disorders. The influence of cyberbullying may be worse than traditional bullying as perpetrators can act anonymously and connect easily with children and adolescents at any time ( 18 ). In comparison with traditional victims, those bullied online show greater levels of depression, anxiety and loneliness ( 19 ). Self-esteem problems and school absenteeism have also proven to be related to cyberbullying ( 20 ).

Due to changes in use and behavioral patterns among the youth on social media, the manifestations and risk factors of cyberbullying have faced significant transformation. Further, as the boundaries of cyberbullying are not limited by geography, cyberbullying may not be a problem contained within a single country. In this sense, cyberbullying is a global problem and tackling it requires greater international collaboration. The adverse effects caused by cyberbullying, including reduced safety, lower educational attainment, poorer mental health and greater unhappiness, led UNICEF to state that “no child is absolutely safe in the digital world” ( 3 ).

Extant research has examined the prevalence and risk factors of cyberbullying to unravel the complexity of cyberbullying across different countries and their corresponding causes. However, due to variations in cyberbullying measurement and methodologies, no consistent conclusions have been drawn ( 21 ). Studies into inconsistencies in prevalence rates of cyberbullying, measured in the same country during the same time period, occur frequently. Selkie et al. systematically reviewed cyberbullying among American middle and high school students aged 10–19 years old in 2015, and revealed that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization ranged from 3 to 72%, while perpetration ranged from 1 to 41% ( 22 ). Risk and protective factors have also been broadly studied, but confirmation is still needed of those factors which have more significant effects on cyberbullying among young people. Clarification of these issues would be useful to allow further research to recognize cyberbullying more accurately.

This review aims to extend prior contributions and provide a comprehensive review of cyberbullying of children and adolescents from a global perspective, with the focus being on prevalence, associated risk factors and protective factors across countries. It is necessary to provide a global panorama based on research syntheses to fill the gaps in knowledge on this topic.

Search Strategies

This study strictly employed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. We consulted eight academic databases pertaining to public health, and communication and psychology, namely: Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, ProQuest, Communication & Mass Media Complete, CINAHL, and PsycArticles. Additional records identified through other sources included the references of reviews and two websites, Cyberbullying Research Center and United Nations Children's Fund. With regard to the duration of our review, since most studies on cyberbullying arose around 2015 ( 9 , 21 ), this study highlights the complementary aspects of the available information about cyberbullying during the recent 5 year period from January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2019.

One researcher extracted keywords and two researchers proposed modifications. We used two sets of subject terms to review articles, “cyberbullying” and “child OR adolescent.” Some keywords that refer to cyberbullying behaviors and young people are also included, such as threat, harass, intimidate, abuse, insult, humiliate, condemn, isolate, embarrass, forgery, slander, flame, stalk, manhunt, as well as teen, youth, young people and student. The search formula is (cyberbullying OR cyber-bullying OR cyber-aggression OR ((cyber OR online OR electronic OR Internet) AND (bully * OR aggres * OR violence OR perpetrat * OR victim * OR threat * OR harass * OR intimidat * OR * OR insult * OR humiliate * OR condemn * OR isolate * OR embarrass * OR forgery OR slander * OR flame OR stalk * OR manhunt))) AND (adolescen * OR child OR children OR teen? OR teenager? OR youth? OR “young people” OR “elementary school student * ” OR “middle school student * ” OR “high school student * ”). The main search approach is title search. Search strategies varied according to the database consulted, and we did not limit the type of literature for inclusion. Journals, conference papers and dissertations are all available.

Specifically, the inclusion criteria for our study were as follows: (a). reported or evaluated the prevalence and possible risk factors associated with cyberbullying, (b). respondents were students under the age of 18 or in primary, junior or senior high schools, and (c). studies were written in English. Exclusion criteria were: (a). respondents came from specific groups, such as clinical samples, children with disabilities, sexual minorities, specific ethnic groups, specific faith groups or samples with cross-national background, (b). review studies, qualitative studies, conceptual studies, book reviews, news reports or abstracts of meetings, and (c). studies focused solely on preventive measures that were usually meta-analytic and qualitative in nature. Figure 1 presents the details of the employed screening process, showing that a total of 63 studies out of 2070 were included in our final review.

PRISMA flow chart diagram showing the process of study selection for inclusion in the systematic review on children and adolescents cyberbullying.

Meta-analysis was not conducted as the limited research published within the 5 years revealed little research which reported odds ratio. On the other hand, due to the inconsistency of concepts, measuring instruments and recall periods, considerable variation could be found in research quality ( 23 ). Meta-analysis is not a preferred method.

Coding Scheme

For coding, we created a comprehensive code scheme to include the characteristics. For cyberbullying, we coded five types proposed by Willard ( 24 – 26 ), which included verbal violence, group violence, visual violence, impersonating and account forgery, and other behaviors. Among them, verbal violence is considered one of the most common types of cyberbullying and refers to the behavior of offensive responses, insults, mocking, threats, slander, and harassment. Group violence is associated with preventing others from joining certain groups or isolating others, forcing others to leave the group. Visual violence relates to the release and sharing of embarrassing photos and information without the owners' consent. Impersonating and account forgery refers to identity theft, stealing passwords, violating accounts and the creation of fake accounts to fraudulently present the behavior of others. Other behaviors include disclosure of privacy, sexual harassment, and cyberstalking. To comprehensively examine cyberbullying, we coded cyberbullying behaviors from both the perspectives of cyberbullying perpetrators and victims, if mentioned in the studies.

In relation to risk factors, we drew insights from the general aggression model, which contributes to the understanding of personal and situational factors in the cyberbullying of children and adolescents. We chose the general aggression model because (a) it contains more situational factors than other models (e.g., social ecological models) - such as school climate ( 9 ), and (b) we believe that the general aggression model is more suitable for helping researchers conduct a systematic review of cyberbullying risk and protective factors. This model provides a comprehensive framework that integrates domain specific theories of aggression, and has been widely applied in cyberbullying research ( 27 ). For instance, Kowalski and colleagues proposed a cyberbullying encounter through the general aggression model to understand the formation and development process of youth cyberbullying related to both victimization and perpetration ( 9 ). Victims and perpetrators enter the cyberbullying encounter with various individual characteristics, experiences, attitudes, desires, personalities, and motives that intersect to determine the course of the interaction. Correspondingly, the antecedents pertaining to cyberbullying are divided into two broad categories, personal factors and situational factors. Personal factors refer to individual characteristics, such as gender, age, motivation, personality, psychological states, socioeconomic status and technology use, values and perceptions, and other maladaptive behaviors. Situational factors focus on the provocation/support, parental involvement, school climate, and perceived anonymity. Consequently, our coders related to risk factors consisting of personal factors and situational factors from the perspectives of both cyberbullying perpetrators and victims.

We extracted information relating to individual papers and sample characteristics, including authors, year of publication, country, article type, sampling procedures, sample characteristics, measures of cyberbullying, and prevalence and risk factors from both cyberbullying perpetration and victimization perspectives. The key words extraction and coding work were performed twice by two trained research assistants in health informatics. The consistency test results are as follows: the Kappa value with “personal factors” was 0.932, and the Kappa value with “situational factors” was 0.807. The result shows that the coding consistency was high enough and acceptable. Disagreements were resolved through discussion with other authors.

Quality Assessment of Studies

The quality assessment of the studies is based on the recommended tool for assessing risk of bias, Cochrane Collaboration. This quality assessment tool focused on seven items: random sequence generation, allocation concealment, blinding of participants and personnel, blinding of outcome assessment, incomplete outcome data, selective reporting, and other sources of bias ( 28 ). We assessed each item as “low risk,” “high risk,” and “unclear” for included studies. A study is considered of “high quality” when it meets three or more “low risk” requirements. When one or more main flaw of a study may affect the research results, the study is considered as “low quality.” When a lack of information leads to a difficult judgement, the quality is considered to be “unclear.” Please refer to Appendix 1 for more details.

This comprehensive systematic review comprised a total of 63 studies. Appendices 2 , 3 show the descriptive information of the studies included. Among them, 58 (92%) studies measured two or more cyberbullying behavior types. The sample sizes of the youths range from several hundred to tens of thousands, with one thousand to five thousand being the most common. As for study distribution, the United States of America, Spain and China were most frequently mentioned. Table 1 presents the detail.

Descriptive information of studies included (2015–2019).

Prevalence of Global Cyberbullying

Prevalence across countries.

Among the 63 studies included, 22 studies reported on cyberbullying prevalence and 20 studies reported on prevalence from victimization and perpetration perspectives, respectively. Among the 20 studies, 11 national studies indicated that the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration ranged from 14.6 to 52.2% and 6.3 to 32%, respectively. These studies were conducted in the United States of America ( N = 4) ( 29 – 32 ), South Korea ( N = 3) ( 33 – 35 ), Singapore ( N = 1) ( 36 ), Malaysia ( N = 1) ( 37 ), Israel ( N = 1) ( 38 ), and Canada ( N = 1) ( 39 ). Only one of these 11 national studies is from an upper middle income country, and the rest are from highincome countries identified by the World Bank ( 40 ). By combining regional and community-level studies, the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and cyberbullying perpetration ranged from 13.99 to 57.5% and 6.0 to 46.3%, respectively. Spain reported the highest prevalence of cyberbullying victimization (57.5%) ( 41 ), followed by Malaysia (52.2%) ( 37 ), Israel (45%) ( 42 ), and China (44.5%) ( 43 ). The lowest reported victim rates were observed in Canada (13.99%) and South Korea (14.6%) ( 34 , 39 ). The reported prevalence of cyberbullying victimization in the United States of America ranged from 15.5 to 31.4% ( 29 , 44 ), while in Israel, rates ranged from 30 to 45% ( 26 , 42 ). In China, rates ranged from 6 to 46.3% with the country showing the highest prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration (46.30%) ( 15 , 43 , 45 , 46 ). Canadian and South Korean studies reported the lowest prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration at 7.99 and 6.3%, respectively ( 34 , 39 ).

A total of 10 studies were assessed as high quality studies. Among them, six studies came from high income countries, including Canada, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and South Korea ( 13 , 34 , 39 , 46 – 48 ). Three studies were from upper middle income countries, including Malaysia and China ( 37 , 43 ) and one from a lower middle income country, Nigeria ( 49 ). Figures 2 , ​ ,3 3 describe the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration respectively among high quality studies.

The prevalence of cyberbullying victimization of high quality studies.

The prevalence of cyberbullying perpetration of high quality studies.

Prevalence of Various Cyberbullying Behaviors

For the prevalence of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration, the data were reported in 18 and 14 studies, respectively. Figure 4 shows the distribution characteristics of the estimated value of prevalence of different cyberbullying behaviors with box plots. The longer the box, the greater the degree of variation of the numerical data and vice versa. The rate of victimization and crime of verbal violence, as well as the rate of victimization of other behaviors, such as cyberstalking and digital dating abuse, has a large degree of variation. Among the four specified types of cyberbullying behaviors, verbal violence was regarded as the most commonly reported behaviors in both perpetration and victimization rates, with a wide range of prevalence, ranging from 5 to 18%. Fewer studies reported the prevalence data for visual violence and group violence. Studies also showed that the prevalence of impersonation and account forgery were within a comparatively small scale. Specific results were as follows.

Cyberbullying prevalence across types (2015–2019).

Verbal Violence

A total of 13 studies reported verbal violence prevalence data ( 15 , 26 , 34 , 37 – 39 , 42 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 50 , 51 ). Ten studies reported the prevalence of verbal violence victimization ranging from 2.8 to 47.5%, while seven studies claimed perpetration prevalence ranging from 1.5 to 31.8%. Malaysia reported the highest prevalence of verbal violence victimization (47.5%) ( 37 ), followed by China (32%) ( 43 ). China reported that the prevalence of verbal violence victimization ranged from 5.1 to 32% ( 15 , 43 ). Israel reported that the prevalence of verbal violence victimization ranged from 3.4 to 18% ( 26 , 38 , 42 ). For perpetration rate, Malaysia reported the highest level at 31.8% ( 37 ), while a study for Spain reported the lowest, ranging from 3.2 to 6.4% ( 51 ).

Group Violence

The prevalence of group violence victimization was explored within 4 studies and ranged from 5 to 17.8% ( 26 , 34 , 42 , 43 ), while perpetration prevalence was reported in three studies, ranging from 10.1 to 19.07% ( 34 , 43 , 47 ). An Israeli study suggested that 9.8% of respondents had been excluded from the Internet, while 8.9% had been refused entry to a group or team ( 26 ). A study in South Korea argued that the perpetration prevalence of group violence was 10.1% ( 34 ), while a study in Italy reported that the rate of online group violence against others was 19.07% ( 47 ).

Visual Violence

The prevalence of visual violence victimization was explored within three studies and ranged from 2.6 to 12.1% ( 26 , 34 , 43 ), while the perpetration prevalence reported in four studies ranged from 1.7 to 6% ( 34 , 43 , 47 , 48 ). For victimization prevalence, a South Korean study found that 12.1% of respondents reported that their personal information was leaked online ( 34 ). An Israel study reported that the prevalence of outing the picture was 2.6% ( 26 ). For perpetration prevalence, a South Korean study found that 1.7% of respondents had reported that they had disclosed someone's personal information online ( 34 ). A German study reported that 6% of respondents had written a message (e.g., an email) to somebody using a fake identity ( 48 ).

Impersonating and Account Forgery

Four studies reported on the victimization prevalence of impersonating and account forgery, ranging from 1.1 to 10% ( 15 , 42 , 43 ), while five studies reported on perpetration prevalence, with the range being from 1.3 to 9.31% ( 15 , 43 , 47 , 48 , 51 ). In a Spanish study, 10% of respondents reported that their accounts had been infringed by others or that they could not access their account due to stolen passwords. In contrast, 4.5% of respondents reported that they had infringed other people's accounts or stolen passwords, with 2.5% stating that they had forged other people's accounts ( 51 ). An Israeli study reported that the prevalence of being impersonated was 7% ( 42 ), while in China, a study reported this to be 8.6% ( 43 ). Another study from China found that 1.1% of respondents had been impersonated to send dating-for-money messages ( 15 ).

Other Behaviors

The prevalence of disclosure of privacy, sexual harassment, and cyberstalking were also explored by scholars. Six studies reported the victimization prevalence of other cyberbullying behaviors ( 13 , 15 , 34 , 37 , 42 , 43 ), and four studies reported on perpetration prevalence ( 34 , 37 , 43 , 48 ). A study in China found that 1.2% of respondents reported that their privacy had been compromised without permission due to disputes ( 15 ). A study from China reported the prevalence of cyberstalking victimization was 11.9% ( 43 ), while a Portuguese study reported that this was 62% ( 13 ). In terms of perpetration prevalence, a Malaysian study reported 2.7% for sexual harassment ( 37 ).

Risk and Protective Factors of Cyberbullying

In terms of the risk factors associated with cyberbullying among children and adolescents, this comprehensive review highlighted both personal and situational factors. Personal factors referred to age, gender, online behavior, race, health conditions, past experiences of victimization, and impulsiveness, while situational factors consisted of parent-child relationship, interpersonal relationships, and geographical location. In addition, protective factors against cyberbullying included: empathy and emotional intelligence, parent-child relationship, and school climate. Table 2 shows the risk and protective factors for child and adolescent cyberbullying.

Risk and protective factors of cyberbullying among children and adolescents.

In terms of the risk factors associated with cyberbullying victimization at the personal level, many studies evidenced that females were more likely to be cyberbullied than males ( 13 , 26 , 29 , 38 , 43 , 52 , 54 , 55 , 58 ). Meanwhile, adolescents with mental health problems ( 61 ), such as depression ( 33 , 62 ), borderline personality disorder ( 63 ), eating disorders ( 41 ), sleep deprivation ( 56 ), and suicidal thoughts and suicide plans ( 64 ), were more likely to be associated with cyberbullying victimization. As for Internet usage, researchers agreed that youth victims were probably those that spent more time online than their counterparts ( 32 , 36 , 43 , 45 , 48 , 49 , 60 ). For situational risk factors, some studies have proven the relationship between cyberbullying victims and parental abuse, parental neglect, family dysfunction, inadequate monitoring, and parents' inconsistency in mediation, as well as communication issues ( 33 , 64 , 68 , 73 ). In terms of geographical location, some studies have reported that youths residing in city locations are more likely to be victims of cyberbullying than their peers from suburban areas ( 61 ).

Regarding the risk factors of cyberbullying perpetration at the personal level, it is generally believed that older teenagers, especially those aged over 15 years, are at greater risk of becoming cyberbullying perpetrators ( 55 , 67 ). When considering prior cyberbullying experiences, evidence showed that individuals who had experienced cyberbullying or face-to-face bullying tended to be aggressors in cyberbullying ( 35 , 42 , 49 , 51 , 55 ); in addition, the relationship between impulsiveness and cyberbullying perpetration was also explored by several pioneering scholars ( 55 , 72 , 80 ). The situational factors highlight the role of parents and teachers in cyberbullying experiences. For example, over-control and authoritarian parenting styles, as well as inharmonious teacher-student relationships ( 61 ) are perceived to lead to cyberbullying behaviors ( 74 , 75 ). In terms of differences in geographical locations, students residing in cities have a higher rate of online harassment than students living in more rural locations ( 49 ).

In terms of the protective factors in child and adolescent cyberbullying, scholars have focused on youths who have limited experiences of cyberbullying. At the personal level, high emotional intelligence, an ability for emotional self-control and empathy, such as cognitive empathy ability ( 44 , 55 ), were associated with lower rates of cyberbullying ( 57 ). At the situational level, a parent's role is seen as critical. For example, intimate parent-child relationships ( 46 ) and open active communication ( 19 ) were demonstrated to be related to lower experiences of cyberbullying and perpetration. Some scholars argued that parental supervision and monitoring of children's online activities can reduce their tendency to participate in some negative activities associated with cyberbullying ( 31 , 46 , 73 ). They further claimed that an authoritative parental style protects youths against cyberbullying ( 43 ). Conversely, another string of studies evidenced that parents' supervision of Internet usage was meaningless ( 45 ). In addition to conflicting roles of parental supervision, researchers have also looked into the role of schools, and posited that positive school climates contribute to less cyberbullying experiences ( 61 , 79 ).

Some risk factors may be protective factors under another condition. Some studies suggest that parental aggressive communication is related to severe cyberbullying victims, while open communication is a potential protective factor ( 19 ). Parental neglect, parental abuse, parental inconsistency in supervision of adolescents' online behavior, and family dysfunction are related to the direct or indirect harm of cyberbullying ( 33 , 68 ). Parental participation, a good parental-children relationship, communication and dialogue can enhance children's school adaptability and prevent cyberbullying behaviors ( 31 , 74 ). When parental monitoring reaches a balance between control and openness, it could become a protective factor against cyberbullying, and it could be a risk factor, if parental monitoring is too low or over-controlled ( 47 ).

Despite frequent discussion about the risk factors associated with cyberbullying among children and adolescents, some are still deemed controversial factors, such as age, race, gender, and the frequency of suffering on the internet. For cyberbullying victims, some studies claim that older teenagers are more vulnerable to cyberbullying ( 15 , 38 , 52 , 53 ), while other studies found conflicting results ( 26 , 33 ). As for student race, Alhajji et al. argued that non-white students were less likely to report cyberbullying ( 29 ), while Morin et al. observed no significant correlation between race and cyberbullying ( 52 ). For cyberbullying perpetration, Alvarez-Garcia found that gender differences may have indirect effects on cyberbullying perpetration ( 55 ), while others disagreed ( 42 , 61 , 68 – 70 ). Specifically, some studies revealed that males were more likely to become cyberbullying perpetrators ( 34 , 39 , 56 ), while Khurana et al. presented an opposite point of view, proposing that females were more likely to attack others ( 71 ). In terms of time spent on the Internet, some claimed that students who frequently surf the Internet had a higher chance of becoming perpetrators ( 49 ), while others stated that there was no clear and direct association between Internet usage and cyberbullying perpetration ( 55 ).

In addition to personal and situational factors, scholars have also explored other specific factors pertaining to cyberbullying risk and protection. For instance, mindfulness and depression were found to be significantly related to cyber perpetration ( 76 ), while eating disorder psychopathology in adolescents was associated with cyber victimization ( 41 ). For males who were familiar with their victims, such as family members, friends and acquaintances, they were more likely to be cyberstalking perpetrators than females or strangers, while pursuing desired closer relationships ( 13 ). In the school context, a lower social likability in class was identified as an indirect factor for cyberbullying ( 48 ).

This comprehensive review has established that the prevalence of global childhood and adolescent victimization from cyberbullying ranges from 13.99 to 57.5%, and that the perpetration prevalence ranges from 6.0 to 46.3%. Across the studies included in our research, verbal violence is observed as one of the most common acts of cyberbullying, including verbal offensive responses, insults, mocking, threats, slander, and harassment. The victimization prevalence of verbal violence is reported to be between 5 and 47.5%, and the perpetration prevalence is between 3.2 and 26.1%. Personal factors, such as gender, frequent use of social media platforms, depression, borderline personality disorder, eating disorders, sleep deprivation, and suicidal tendencies, were generally considered to be related to becoming a cyberbullying victim. Personal factors, such as high school students, past experiences, impulse, improperly controlled family education, poor teacher-student relationships, and the urban environment, were considered risk factors for cyberbullying perpetration. Situational factors, including parental abuse and neglect, improper monitoring, communication barriers between parents and children, as well as the urban environment, were also seen to potentially contribute to higher risks of both cyberbullying victimization and perpetration.

Increasing Prevalence of Global Cyberbullying With Changing Social Media Landscape and Measurement Alterations

This comprehensive review suggests that global cyberbullying rates, in terms of victimization and perpetration, were on the rise during the 5 year period, from 2015 to 2019. For example, in an earlier study conducted by Modecki et al. the average cyberbullying involvement rate was 15% ( 81 ). Similar observations were made by Hamm et al. who found that the median rates of youth having experienced bullying or who had bullied others online, was 23 and 15.2%, respectively ( 82 ). However, our systematic review summarized global children and adolescents cyberbullying in the last 5 years and revealed an average cyberbullying perpetration rate of 25.03%, ranging from 6.0 to 46.3%, while the average victimization was 33.08%, ranging from 13.99 to 57.5%. The underlying reason for increases may be attributed to the rapid changing landscape of social media and, in recent years, the drastic increase in Internet penetration rates. With the rise in Internet access, youths have greater opportunities to participate in online activities, provided by emerging social media platforms.

Although our review aims to provide a broader picture of cyberbullying, it is well-noted in extant research that difficulties exist in accurately estimating variations in prevalence in different countries ( 23 , 83 ). Many reasons exist to explain this. The first largely relates poor or unclear definition of the term cyberbullying; this hinders the determination of cyberbullying victimization and perpetration ( 84 ). Although traditional bullying behavior is well-defined, the definition cannot directly be applied to the virtual environment due to the complexity in changing online interactions. Without consensus on definitions, measurement and cyberbullying types may vary noticeably ( 83 , 85 ). Secondly, the estimation of prevalence of cyberbullying is heavily affected by research methods, such as recall period (lifetime, last year, last 6 months, last month, or last week etc.), demographic characteristics of the survey sample (age, gender, race, etc.), perspectives of cyberbullying experiences (victims, perpetrators, or both victim and perpetrator), and instruments (scales, study-specific questions) ( 23 , 84 , 86 ). The variety in research tools and instruments used to assess the prevalence of cyberbullying can cause confusion on this issue ( 84 ). Thirdly, variations in economic development, cultural backgrounds, human values, internet penetration rates, and frequency of using social media may lead to different conclusions across countries ( 87 ).

Acknowledging the Conflicting Role of the Identified Risk Factors With More Research Needed to Establish the Causality

Although this review has identified many personal and situational factors associated with cyberbullying, the majority of studies adopted a cross-sectional design and failed to reveal the causality ( 21 ). Nevertheless, knowledge on these correlational relationships provide valuable insights for understanding and preventing cyberbullying incidents. In terms of gender differences, females are believed to be at a higher risk of cyberbullying victimization compared to males. Two reasons may help to explain this. First, the preferred violence behaviors between two genders. females prefer indirect harassment, such as the spreading of rumors, while males tend toward direct bullying (e.g., assault) ( 29 ) and second, the cultural factors. From the traditional gender perspective, females tended to perceive a greater risk of communicating with others on the Internet, while males were more reluctant to express fear, vulnerability and insecurity when asked about their cyberbullying experiences ( 46 ). Females were more intolerant when experiencing cyberstalking and were more likely to report victimization experiences than males ( 13 ). Meanwhile, many researchers suggested that females are frequent users of emerging digital communication platforms, which increases their risk of unpleasant interpersonal contact and violence. From the perspective of cultural norms and masculinity, the reporting of cyberbullying is also widely acknowledged ( 37 ). For example, in addition, engaging in online activities is also regarded as a critical predictor for cyberbullying victimization. Enabled by the Internet, youths can easily find potential victims and start harassment at any time ( 49 ). Participating in online activities directly increases the chance of experiencing cyberbullying victimization and the possibility of becoming a victim ( 36 , 45 ). As for age, earlier involvement on social media and instant messaging tools may increase the chances of experiencing cyberbullying. For example, in Spain, these tools cannot be used without parental permission before the age of 14 ( 55 ). Besides, senior students were more likely to be more impulsive and less sympathetic. They may portray more aggressive and anti-social behaviors ( 55 , 72 ); hence senior students and students with higher impulsivity were usually more likely to become cyberbullying perpetrators.

Past experiences of victimization and family-related factors are another risk for cyberbullying crime. As for past experiences, one possible explanation is that young people who had experienced online or traditional school bullying may commit cyberbullying using e-mails, instant messages, and text messages for revenge, self-protection, or improving their social status ( 35 , 42 , 49 , 55 ). In becoming a cyberbullying perpetrator, the student may feel more powerful and superior, externalizing angry feelings and relieving the feelings of helplessness and sadness produced by past victimization experiences ( 51 ). As for family related factors, parenting styles are proven to be highly correlated to cyberbullying. In authoritative families, parents focus on rational behavioral control with clear rules and a high component of supervision and parental warmth, which have beneficial effects on children's lifestyles ( 43 ). Conversely, in indulgent families, children's behaviors are not heavily restricted and parents guide and encourage their children to adapt to society. The characteristics of this indulgent style, including parental support, positive communication, low imposition, and emotional expressiveness, possibly contribute to more parent-child trust and less misunderstanding ( 75 ). The protective role of warmth/affection and appropriate supervision, which are common features of authoritative or indulgent parenting styles, mitigate youth engagement in cyberbullying. On the contrary, authoritarian and neglectful styles, whether with excessive or insufficient control, are both proven to be risk factors for being a target of cyberbullying ( 33 , 76 ). In terms of geographical location, although several studies found that children residing in urban areas were more likely to be cyberbullying victims than those living in rural or suburban areas, we cannot draw a quick conclusion here, since whether this difference attributes to macro-level differences, such as community safety or socioeconomic status, or micro-level differences, such as teacher intervention in the classroom, courses provided, teacher-student ratio, is unclear across studies ( 61 ). An alternative explanation for this is the higher internet usage rate in urban areas ( 49 ).

Regarding health conditions, especially mental health, some scholars believe that young people with health problems are more likely to be identified as victims than people without health problems. They perceive health condition as a risk factor for cyberbullying ( 61 , 63 ). On the other hand, another group of scholars believe that cyberbullying has an important impact on the mental health of adolescents which can cause psychological distress consequences, such as post-traumatic stress mental disorder, depression, suicidal ideation, and drug abuse ( 70 , 87 ). It is highly possible that mental health could be risk factors, consequences of cyberbullying or both. Mental health cannot be used as standards, requirements, or decisive responses in cyberbullying research ( 13 ).

The Joint Effort Between Youth, Parents, Schools, and Communities to Form a Cyberbullying-Free Environment

This comprehensive review suggests that protecting children and adolescents from cyberbullying requires joint efforts between individuals, parents, schools, and communities, to form a cyberbullying-free environment. For individuals, young people are expected to improve their digital technology capabilities, especially in the use of social media platforms and instant messaging tools ( 55 ). To reduce the number of cyberbullying perpetrators, it is necessary to cultivate emotional self-regulation ability through appropriate emotional management training. Moreover, teachers, counselors, and parents are required to be armed with sufficient knowledge of emotional management and to develop emotional management capabilities and skills. In this way, they can be alert to the aggressive or angry emotions expressed by young people, and help them mediate any negative emotions ( 45 ), and avoid further anti-social behaviors ( 57 ).

For parents, styles of parenting involving a high level of parental involvement, care and support, are desirable in reducing the possibility of children's engagement in cyberbullying ( 74 , 75 ). If difficulties are encountered, open communication can contribute to enhancing the sense of security ( 73 ). In this vein, parents should be aware of the importance of caring, communicating and supervising their children, and participate actively in their children's lives ( 71 ). In order to keep a balance between control and openness ( 47 ), parents can engage in unbiased open communication with their children, and reach an agreement on the usage of computers and smart phones ( 34 , 35 , 55 ). Similarly, it is of vital importance to establish a positive communication channel with children ( 19 ).

For schools, a higher priority is needed to create a safe and positive campus environment, providing students with learning opportunities and ensuring that every student is treated equally. With a youth-friendly environment, students are able to focus more on their academic performance and develop a strong sense of belonging to the school ( 79 ). For countries recognizing collectivist cultural values, such as China and India, emphasizing peer attachment and a sense of collectivism can reduce the risk of cyberbullying perpetration and victimization ( 78 ). Besides, schools can cooperate with mental health agencies and neighboring communities to develop preventive programs, such as extracurricular activities and training ( 44 , 53 , 62 ). Specifically, school-based preventive measures against cyberbullying are expected to be sensitive to the characteristics of young people at different ages, and the intersection of race and school diversity ( 29 , 76 ). It is recommended that school policies that aim to embrace diversity and embody mutual respect among students are created ( 26 ). Considering the high prevalence of cyberbullying and a series of serious consequences, it is suggested that intervention against cyberbullying starts from an early stage, at about 10 years old ( 54 ). Schools can organize seminars to strengthen communication between teachers and students so that they can better understand the needs of students ( 61 ). In addition, schools should encourage cyberbullying victims to seek help and provide students with opportunities to report cyberbullying behaviors, such as creating online anonymous calls.

Conclusions and Limitations

The comprehensive study has reviewed related research on children and adolescents cyberbullying across different countries and regions, providing a positive understanding of the current situation of cyberbullying. The number of studies on cyberbullying has surged in the last 5 years, especially those related to risk factors and protective factors of cyberbullying. However, research on effective prevention is insufficient and evaluation of policy tools for cyberbullying intervention is a nascent research field. Our comprehensive review concludes with possible strategies for cyberbullying prevention, including personal emotion management, digital ability training, policy applicability, and interpersonal skills. We highlight the important role of parental control in cyberbullying prevention. As for the role of parental control, it depends on whether children believe their parents are capable of adequately supporting them, rather than simply interfering in their lives, restricting their online behavior, and controlling or removing their devices ( 50 ). In general, cyberbullying is on the rise, with the effectiveness of interventions to meet this problem still requiring further development and exploration ( 83 ).

Considering the overlaps between cyberbullying and traditional offline bullying, future research can explore the unique risk and protective factors that are distinguishable from traditional bullying ( 86 ). To further reveal the variations, researchers can compare the outcomes of interventions conducted in cyberbullying and traditional bullying preventions simultaneously, and the same interventions only targeting cyberbullying ( 88 ). In addition, cyberbullying also reflects a series of other social issues, such as personal privacy and security, public opinion monitoring, multinational perpetration and group crimes. To address this problem, efforts from multiple disciplines and novel analytical methods in the digital era are required. As the Internet provides enormous opportunities to connect young people from all over the world, cyberbullying perpetrators may come from transnational networks. Hence, cyberbullying of children and adolescents, involving multiple countries, is worth further attention.

Our study has several limitations. First, national representative studies are scarce, while few studies from middle and low income countries were included in our research due to language restrictions. Many of the studies included were conducted in schools, communities, provinces, and cities in high income countries. Meanwhile, our review only focused on victimization and perpetration. Future studies should consider more perspectives, such as bystanders and those with the dual identity of victim/perpetrator, to comprehensively analyze the risk and protective factors of cyberbullying.

Data Availability Statement

Author contributions.

SH, CZ, RE, and WZ conceived the study and developed the design. WZ analyzed the result and supervised the study. CZ and SH wrote the first draft. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Supplementary Material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.634909/full#supplementary-material

Essay on Cyber Bullying

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In the digital era, the internet and social media have transformed how we communicate, but they have also given rise to a sinister phenomenon: cyber bullying. This essay aims to dissect the issue of cyber bullying, exploring its definition, manifestations, impacts, and potential solutions, providing a comprehensive understanding for students engaging in essay writing competitions.

Cyber Bullying

Cyber Bullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. Unlike traditional bullying, cyber bullying allows the perpetrator to hide behind a screen, often making them bolder in their actions and words.

The Scope and Manifestations

Cyber bullying can take many forms:

• Harassing Messages : Sending threatening or abusive texts or emails.
• Social Media Bullying : Spreading rumors or posting hurtful comments on social platforms.
• Impersonation : Creating fake profiles to ridicule or defame someone.
• Cyberstalking : Repeatedly sending messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating.
• Sharing Private Information : Distributing someone’s personal information without consent, often to embarrass or threaten them.

Prevalence and Statistics

The prevalence of cyber bullying is alarming. Studies suggest that a significant percentage of young people have experienced cyber bullying at some point. The anonymity of the internet, the ease of spreading information, and the 24/7 nature of digital media contribute to its increasing incidence.

Impact on Victims

The effects of cyber bullying can be devastating and long-lasting:

• Emotional Trauma : Victims may experience anxiety, depression, and a sense of isolation.
• Social Withdrawal : Fear of bullying can lead to avoiding social interactions both online and offline.
• Academic Impact : It can lead to a decline in academic performance and school avoidance.
• Physical Health : Chronic stress from bullying can manifest in physical health issues.
• Suicidal Ideation : In extreme cases, prolonged cyber bullying can lead to suicidal thoughts or actions.

The Psychology Behind Cyber Bullying

Understanding the mindset of cyber bullies is crucial:

• Anonymity : The internet provides a veil of anonymity, emboldening individuals who might not engage in bullying offline.
• Lack of Empathy : The digital barrier can desensitize individuals to the consequences of their actions.
• Power Dynamics : Some engage in cyber bullying to exert power or control over others.

Legal and Ethical Considerations

Cyber bullying raises several legal and ethical issues:

Legal Considerations:

• Criminal Offense: In many jurisdictions, cyberbullying is considered a criminal offense, especially when it involves harassment, threats, or stalking online. Perpetrators can face charges such as harassment, cyberstalking, or even hate crimes in extreme cases.
• Age Restrictions: Laws often address cyberbullying differently for minors and adults. Special regulations, such as those under cyberbullying laws for minors, may apply to protect young victims or impose age-appropriate consequences on young offenders.
• Cyberbullying Legislation: Some regions have specific cyberbullying legislation that outlines legal consequences for offenders. For example, the United States has laws like “Grace’s Law” in Maryland, targeting cyberbullying.
• School Policies: Educational institutions often have policies in place to address cyberbullying among students. These policies may involve disciplinary actions or even expulsion in severe cases.
• Cyber Harassment Laws: Many jurisdictions have laws against cyber harassment, which encompass various forms of online abuse, including cyberbullying.

Ethical Considerations:

• Respect for Privacy: Ethical considerations emphasize the importance of respecting individuals’ privacy and not engaging in invasive or harmful online behavior.
• Digital Empathy: Practicing digital empathy involves being mindful of the impact of one’s online actions on others and promoting online kindness and respect.
• Cyberbullying Prevention: Ethical obligations include actively working to prevent cyberbullying, either by intervening as a bystander or reporting abusive behavior.
• Media Literacy: Promoting media literacy and critical thinking skills helps individuals discern between credible sources and misinformation, reducing the spread of harmful content.
• Online Accountability: Ethical behavior online includes taking responsibility for one’s actions, acknowledging mistakes, and making amends when necessary.
• Creating Safe Online Spaces: Ethical considerations call for the creation and maintenance of safe, inclusive online spaces where individuals can express themselves without fear of harassment.
• Educational Initiatives: Ethical efforts involve educating individuals, particularly young people, about the consequences of cyberbullying and promoting ethical online behavior.
• Supporting Victims: Ethical obligations extend to providing support and assistance to cyberbullying victims, ensuring they receive the help they need to cope with the emotional impact.

Role of Education and Awareness

Combatting cyber bullying requires a multifaceted approach:

• Awareness Campaigns : Educating young people about the harms of cyber bullying and promoting digital citizenship.
• Parental Involvement : Parents should be aware of their children’s online activities and foster open communication.
• School Policies : Implementing clear policies and programs in schools to address and prevent cyber bullying.

Technological Interventions

Technology can be part of the solution:

• Monitoring Tools : Software that can monitor online activities and flag potential bullying behavior.
• Reporting Mechanisms : Social media platforms should have easy and effective ways to report bullying.

Personal and Social Strategies

Individuals can take steps to protect themselves and others:

• Cyber Hygiene : Practicing safe online behavior, like keeping personal information private.
• Support Networks : Building a support network of friends, family, and counselors.
• Bystander Intervention : Encouraging those who witness cyber bullying to speak up or report it.

In conclusion, crafting an essay on cyberbullying requires a nuanced approach, combining research, empathy, and ethical awareness. This guide has offered valuable insights and tips to assist students in addressing this pressing issue effectively. By understanding its definition, impact, and prevention strategies, writers can create essays that raise awareness, promote empathy, and contribute to the ongoing fight against cyberbullying.

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Cyberbullying: Everything You Need to Know

• Cyberbullying
• How to Respond

Cyberbullying is the act of intentionally and consistently mistreating or harassing someone through the use of electronic devices or other forms of electronic communication (like social media platforms).

Because cyberbullying mainly affects children and adolescents, many brush it off as a part of growing up. However, cyberbullying can have dire mental and emotional consequences if left unaddressed.

This article discusses cyberbullying, its adverse effects, and what can be done about it.

FangXiaNuo / Getty Images

Cyberbullying Statistics and State Laws

The rise of digital communication methods has paved the way for a new type of bullying to form, one that takes place outside of the schoolyard. Cyberbullying follows kids home, making it much more difficult to ignore or cope.

Statistics 

As many as 15% of young people between 12 and 18 have been cyberbullied at some point. However, over 25% of children between 13 and 15 were cyberbullied in one year alone.

About 6.2% of people admitted that they’ve engaged in cyberbullying at some point in the last year. The age at which a person is most likely to cyberbully one of their peers is 13.

Those subject to online bullying are twice as likely to self-harm or attempt suicide . The percentage is much higher in young people who identify as LGBTQ, at 56%.

Cyberbullying by Sex and Sexual Orientation

Cyberbullying statistics differ among various groups, including:

• Girls and boys reported similar numbers when asked if they have been cyberbullied, at 23.7% and 21.9%, respectively.
• LGBTQ adolescents report cyberbullying at higher rates, at 31.7%. Up to 56% of young people who identify as LGBTQ have experienced cyberbullying.
• Transgender teens were the most likely to be cyberbullied, at a significantly high rate of 35.4%.

State Laws 

The laws surrounding cyberbullying vary from state to state. However, all 50 states have developed and implemented specific policies or laws to protect children from being cyberbullied in and out of the classroom.

The laws were put into place so that students who are being cyberbullied at school can have access to support systems, and those who are being cyberbullied at home have a way to report the incidents.

Legal policies or programs developed to help stop cyberbullying include:

• Bullying prevention programs
• Cyberbullying education courses for teachers
• Procedures designed to investigate instances of cyberbullying
• Support systems for children who have been subject to cyberbullying 

Are There Federal Laws Against Cyberbullying?

There are no federal laws or policies that protect people from cyberbullying. However, federal involvement may occur if the bullying overlaps with harassment. Federal law will get involved if the bullying concerns a person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, disability, or religion.

Examples of Cyberbullying 

There are several types of bullying that can occur online, and they all look different.

Harassment can include comments, text messages, or threatening emails designed to make the cyberbullied person feel scared, embarrassed, or ashamed of themselves.

Other forms of harassment include:

• Using group chats as a way to gang up on one person
• Making derogatory comments about a person based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, or other characteristics
• Posting mean or untrue things on social media sites, such as Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, as a way to publicly hurt the person experiencing the cyberbullying  

Impersonation

A person may try to pretend to be the person they are cyberbullying to attempt to embarrass, shame, or hurt them publicly. Some examples of this include:

• Hacking into someone’s online profile and changing any part of it, whether it be a photo or their "About Me" portion, to something that is either harmful or inappropriate
• Catfishing, which is when a person creates a fake persona to trick someone into a relationship with them as a joke or for their own personal gain
• Making a fake profile using the screen name of their target to post inappropriate or rude remarks on other people’s pages

Other Examples

Not all forms of cyberbullying are the same, and cyberbullies use other tactics to ensure that their target feels as bad as possible. Some tactics include:

• Taking nude or otherwise degrading photos of a person without their consent
• Sharing or posting nude pictures with a wide audience to embarrass the person they are cyberbullying
• Sharing personal information about a person on a public website that could cause them to feel unsafe
• Physically bullying someone in school and getting someone else to record it so that it can be watched and passed around later
• Circulating rumors about a person

How to Know When a Joke Turns Into Cyberbullying

People may often try to downplay cyberbullying by saying it was just a joke. However, any incident that continues to make a person feel shame, hurt, or blatantly disrespected is not a joke and should be addressed. People who engage in cyberbullying tactics know that they’ve crossed these boundaries, from being playful to being harmful.

Effects and Consequences of Cyberbullying 

Research shows many negative effects of cyberbullying, some of which can lead to severe mental health issues. Cyberbullied people are twice as likely to experience suicidal thoughts, actions, or behaviors and engage in self-harm as those who are not.

Other negative health consequences of cyberbullying are:

• Stomach pain and digestive issues
• Sleep disturbances
• Difficulties with academics
• Violent behaviors
• High levels of stress
• Inability to feel safe
• Feelings of loneliness and isolation
• Feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness

If You’ve Been Cyberbullied 

Being on the receiving end of cyberbullying is hard to cope with. It can feel like you have nowhere to turn and no escape. However, some things can be done to help overcome cyberbullying experiences.

Advice for Preteens and Teenagers

The best thing you can do if you’re being cyberbullied is tell an adult you trust. It may be challenging to start the conversation because you may feel ashamed or embarrassed. However, if it is not addressed, it can get worse.

Other ways you can cope with cyberbullying include:

• Walk away : Walking away online involves ignoring the bullies, stepping back from your computer or phone, and finding something you enjoy doing to distract yourself from the bullying.
• Don’t retaliate : You may want to defend yourself at the time. But engaging with the bullies can make matters worse.
• Keep evidence : Save all copies of the cyberbullying, whether it be posts, texts, or emails, and keep them if the bullying escalates and you need to report them.
• Report : Social media sites take harassment seriously, and reporting them to site administrators may block the bully from using the site.
• Block : You can block your bully from contacting you on social media platforms and through text messages.

In some cases, therapy may be a good option to help cope with the aftermath of cyberbullying.

Advice for Parents

As a parent, watching your child experience cyberbullying can be difficult. To help in the right ways, you can:

• Offer support and comfort : Listening to your child explain what's happening can be helpful. If you've experienced bullying as a child, sharing that experience may provide some perspective on how it can be overcome and that the feelings don't last forever.
• Make sure they know they are not at fault : Whatever the bully uses to target your child can make them feel like something is wrong with them. Offer praise to your child for speaking up and reassure them that it's not their fault.
• Contact the school : Schools have policies to protect children from bullying, but to help, you have to inform school officials.
• Keep records : Ask your child for all the records of the bullying and keep a copy for yourself. This evidence will be helpful to have if the bullying escalates and further action needs to be taken.
• Try to get them help : In many cases, cyberbullying can lead to mental stress and sometimes mental health disorders. Getting your child a therapist gives them a safe place to work through their experience.

In the Workplace 

Although cyberbullying more often affects children and adolescents, it can also happen to adults in the workplace. If you are dealing with cyberbullying at your workplace, you can:

• Let your bully know how what they said affected you and that you expect it to stop.
• Keep copies of any harassment that goes on in the workplace.
• Report your cyberbully to your human resources (HR) department.
• Report your cyberbully to law enforcement if you are being threatened.
• Close off all personal communication pathways with your cyberbully.
• Maintain a professional attitude at work regardless of what is being said or done.
• Seek out support through friends, family, or professional help.

Effective Action Against Cyberbullying

If cyberbullying continues, actions will have to be taken to get it to stop, such as:

• Talking to a school official : Talking to someone at school may be difficult, but once you do, you may be grateful that you have some support. Schools have policies to address cyberbullying.
• Confide in parents or trusted friends : Discuss your experience with your parents or others you trust. Having support on your side will make you feel less alone.
• Report it on social media : Social media sites have strict rules on the types of interactions and content sharing allowed. Report your aggressor to the site to get them banned and eliminate their ability to contact you.
• Block the bully : Phones, computers, and social media platforms contain options to block correspondence from others. Use these blocking tools to help free yourself from cyberbullying.

Help Is Available

If you or someone you know are having suicidal thoughts, dial  988  to contact the  988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline  and connect with a trained counselor. To find mental health resources in your area, contact the  Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline  at  800-662-4357  for information.

Cyberbullying occurs over electronic communication methods like cell phones, computers, social media, and other online platforms. While anyone can be subject to cyberbullying, it is most likely to occur between the ages of 12 and 18.

Cyberbullying can be severe and lead to serious health issues, such as new or worsened mental health disorders, sleep issues, or thoughts of suicide or self-harm. There are laws to prevent cyberbullying, so it's essential to report it when it happens. Coping strategies include stepping away from electronics, blocking bullies, and getting.

Alhajji M, Bass S, Dai T. Cyberbullying, mental health, and violence in adolescents and associations with sex and race: data from the 2015 youth risk behavior survey . Glob Pediatr Health. 2019;6:2333794X19868887. doi:10.1177/2333794X19868887

Cyberbullying Research Center. Cyberbullying in 2021 by age, gender, sexual orientation, and race .

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: StopBullying.gov. Facts about bullying .

John A, Glendenning AC, Marchant A, et al. Self-harm, suicidal behaviours, and cyberbullying in children and young people: systematic review .  J Med Internet Res . 2018;20(4):e129. doi:10.2196/jmir.9044

Cyberbullying Research Center. Bullying, cyberbullying, and LGBTQ students .

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: StopBullying.gov. Laws, policies, and regulations .

Wolke D, Lee K, Guy A. Cyberbullying: a storm in a teacup? . Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2017;26(8):899-908. doi:10.1007/s00787-017-0954-6

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: StopBullying.gov. Cyberbullying tactics .

Garett R, Lord LR, Young SD. Associations between social media and cyberbullying: a review of the literature . mHealth . 2016;2:46-46. doi:10.21037/mhealth.2016.12.01

Nemours Teens Health. Cyberbullying .

Nixon CL. Current perspectives: the impact of cyberbullying on adolescent health . Adolesc Health Med Ther. 2014;5:143-58. doi:10.2147/AHMT.S36456

Nemours Kids Health. Cyberbullying (for parents) .

By Angelica Bottaro Bottaro has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and an Advanced Diploma in Journalism. She is based in Canada.

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Thesis Statement for Cyber Bullying

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Essay about The Effects and Consequences of Cyber-bullying

This paper defines and discusses what cyber-bullying is, what the actions of cyber-bullying are, and how much of a severe problem it has become. It also discusses the some of the psychological ramifications of being cyber-bullied; as well as explain some of the legal ramifications of what can happen if someone becomes a cyber-bully. It also discusses some of the things that can be done to prevent cyber-bullying or if it does happen to keep it from going any further.

Keywords:  Cyber-bullying, legal consequences of cyber-bullying.

The Effects and Consequences of Cyber-bullying

Bullying has been around for a very long time. Over the last few decades, it has taken a new form over the Internet and social media and is referred to as cyber-bullying. Lately, cyber-bullying has become the focus and topic of research. This paper will focus on cyber-bullying and the severe legal consequences that have come about due to the severity of the new way to bully an individual. This paper will discuss the various aspects of cyber-bullying and the effects that it has had on individuals, including suicides and the different legal consequences that have been written into the federal law due to the high rise within the cyber-bullying will also be discussed Cyber-bullying has become an epidemic and is detrimental to the health of this nation’s youth.

Cyber-bullying

It could be asked what is bullying exactly; even though it is an easy question to ask, it is not an easy question to answer. Simply because “this question is not helped by the fact that sociological researchers do not even agree on the definition of face-to-face bullying” (Butler, Kift, & Campbell, 2009). On the other hand, cyber-bullying is easy to define. However, one of the biggest problems about cyber-bullying is that most people either don’t know what it is or what it consists of. Cyber-bullying has been defined as “any behavior performed through electronic or digital media by individuals or groups that repeatedly communicate hostile or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or discomfort on others” (Akar, 2017). There are several various categories or activities that are considered to be cyber-bullying; Del Siegle (2010) defines them as:

• Flaming: Online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar language.
• Harassment: Repeatedly sending nasty, mean, and insulting messages.
• Denigration: “Dissing” someone online. Sending or posting gossip or rumors about a person to damage his or her reputation or friendships.
• Impersonation: Pretending to be someone else and sending or posting material to get that person in trouble or danger or to damage that person’s reputation or friendships.
• Outing: Sharing someone’s secrets or embarrassing information or images online.
• Trickery: Talking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information or images online.
• Exclusion: Intentionally and cruelly excluding someone from an online group.
• Cyber stalking: Repeated, intense harassment and denigration that includes threats or creates significant fear.”

 The biggest difference between face-to-face bullying and cyber-bullying is that with face to face no one will likely remember what happened. Unfortunately, with cyber-bullying, like anything else on the internet, once it is out there it is out there for the world to see, and people can never really get rid of it.

Some people might think that a person is pulling a joke. They might think that what they wrote or shown is not a big deal, or that it doesn’t happen all that often. However, ” more than 1 out of 5 students report being bullied, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics” (DeNisco, 2018). Another example is that “Prevalent rates for victims of cyber-bullying (cyber victims) range anywhere from 4 percent to 72 percent, while the prevalence rates for cyberbullies range from 4 percent to 20 percent” (Gorzig, 2016).  Like other crimes that take power away from individuals, those are only the cases that are reported. For example, “The Cyber-bullying Research Center indicates that 50% of teenagers have been cyber-bullied at some point, and 20% are regularly cyber-bullied” (Waggoner, 2016). To most, it would be considered that it happens too often.

Causes and after effects of Cyber-bullying

The causes of cyber-bullying are not always that clear. For some, it is attention, power, and for others, mostly girls, it’s relationship issues (Lotrean, Ailoaiei, & Stan, 2016). For most, more than likely, it’s for power of some kind. Unfortunately, no one really knows the exact reasons why people become a cyber-bully, maybe it is for the same reasons people become regular bullies. All that is known for certain are the after effects of being cyber-bullied. It has been proven that cyber-bullying and bullying have had a negative effect on child’s life in general and that “both traditional and cyber-bullying among adolescents is considered a major health concern” (Gorzig, 2016). “Cyberbullying could lead negative emotions, depression, loneliness, suicidal tendency, decrease in academic achievement, isolation, anxiety and lowered self-esteem sexual harassment and even death threats” (Akar, 2017).  It is also known from past experiences that bullying can lead to shootings; it’s just a matter of time before it happens because of cyber-bullying. It is not funny when someone is being bullied through social media. There have been many suicides due to cyber-bullying, and sadly nothing was done about it because our legal system at the time hadn’t caught up to the technology and unfortunately still is not quite there yet: “In many respects the law has struggled to keep apace with advances in technology. The problem of cyberbullying is no different” (Butler, Kift, & Campbell, 2009)

People get away with cyber-bullying because the teachers and administrators at the school are more afraid of a lawsuit than wanting to protect their charges. “School administrators, however, have been reluctant to get involved in cyber-bullying incidents, fearing civil litigation over regulating speech or behaviors that are protected by the First Amendment“ (Stewart & Fritsch, 2011). To make the matter worse// even if they do want to act, they do not know when they have the authority to intervene (Stewart & Fritsch, 2011).

Consequences. Unfortunately, there are no actual federal laws for cyber-bullying; however, some of what is defined as cyber-bullying does overlap with other federal laws. Also, there has been some progress in fighting cyber-bullying. For instance, some states have implemented an online reporting system for cyber-bullying (DeNisco, 2018).  And in 2008 California passed a law giving school administrators authority to discipline online bullies, later this law became known as Seth’s Law, which was signed by the governor in 2011 (Stewart & Fritsch, 2011); also “In 2012, the law was expanded to require schools to investigate student complaints about online bullying, even if the bullying occurs are off campus. Additionally, there could be disciplinary action taken if the cyber attack created an on-campus disruption” (Waggoner, 2016).  And “In October 2013, Governor Jerry Brown of California signed legislation that allows educators to suspend or expel cyberbullies, even if the harassment had nothing to do with school and occurred off of the school grounds” (Waggoner, 2016).

Other states have taken have acted as well “According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (2009), 47 states have enacted laws that explicitly address electronic forms of harassment and stalking” (Stewart & Fritsch, 2011). By doing so some of these actions overlap and become a federal case instead of a state/local case.

There is not much that can be done to prevent cyber-bullying. The best thing that can be done is to educate children, parents and school personnel on what cyber-bullying is and what the warning signs are. Which unfortunately could also mean that they are bored, or a just a typical adolescent/teenager. The best thing to prevent it is open communication, open to both teachers and parents. Not just before but during as well as after so the situation does not escalate and become something much worse, such as a suicide or a mass shooting. As a deterrent, the lawmakers also need to pass and expand federal and state laws to combat cyber-bullying. Also, if someone is found guilty of cyber-bullying it should be a felony, not a misdemeanor. However, like all laws and punishment of those laws, the person’s state of mind and cognitive ability must be taken into consideration. That is because if the person who is doing the bullying does not understand what they did wrong then how will it stop.

At the pace that technology is advancing it is going to be a while before the law will be able to catch up. What this means is that until technology’s rate of advancement slows down it is going to be society’s responsibility to change this direction of thought. Within society, it will fall mainly to the teachers and the parents to educate the future generations, that this way of thinking is not appropriate and if something like this is happening they need to tell someone, so it can be addressed. But it should not just fall on to them, like the old saying it takes a village to raise a child. The other reason that it will fall mainly two these two groups, as they have the most control over the adolescents for most of the time. At home, a parent should know what their child is looking at or do on the internet. Parents should also know who their children are talking to and what they are doing on their phones. Teachers and school personnel might not know about their phone however they should know about the internet usage and have certain block or programs to set off red flags if any cyber-bullying behavior is perpetrated from one of their machines.

 This paper has discussed the various aspects of cyber-bullying. And on how wide-spread and how dangerous that cyber-bullying has taken over the internet and social media. On the causes and phycological after effects of cyber-bullying. And how people have gotten away with being cyberbullies. The other main issue that was discussed was, how more severe those consequences have gotten to be due to the prominent level of cyber-bullying has gotten to be, and the high rate of suicides, from the after-effects of being cyber-bullied. And finally, how cyber-bullying might be prevented or at least mitigated to something that is a very happens very rarely.

Akar, F. (2017). School Psychological Counselors’ Opinions about Causes & Consequences of Cyber bullying&Preventive Policies at Schools. Proceedings of the Multidisciplinary Academic Conference, pp. 445-459. Butler, D., Kift, S., & Campbell, M. (2009). Cyber Bullying In Schools and the Law: Is There an Effective Means of Addressing the Power Imbalance? eLaw: Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law, 84-114. DeNisco, A. (2018, January). Districts turn to technology to combat bullying. District Administration, pp. 21-21. Gorzig, A. (2016). Adolescents’ Viewing of Suicide-Related Web Content and Psychological Problems: Differentiating the Roles of Cyber-bullying Involvement. CYBERPSYCHOLOGY, BEHAVIOR, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING, 502-509. Lotrean, L. M., Ailoaiei, R., & Stan, O. (2016). Use of information technology by adolescents and young people and its effect on health promotion. Balneo Research Journal, 3(7), 76-80. Siegle, D. (2010, Spring). Cyber-bullying and Sexting: Technology Abuses of the 21st Century. Gifted Child Today, pp. 14-65. Stewart, D. M., & Fritsch, E. J. (2011). School and Law Enforcement Efforts to Combat Cyber-bullying. Preventing School Failure, 55(2), pp. 79-87. Waggoner, C. R. (2016). Cyber Bullying: The Public School Response. Insights to a Changing World Journal, 10-20.