Harmful Effects
Cyber-bullying has been described as a form of relational aggression (Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007) which is bullying that uses psychological attacks to manipulate relationships.
Cyber-bullies use electronic methods to threaten the relationships and social standing of targets and can also use the internet to potentially exclude or ostracize victims from social groups both online and offline. Jackson and Cohen (2012) describe the effects that cyber-bullying has on victims at the individual level, at the relationship level, and at group levels.They describe how victims of cyber-bullying experience increases in their perception of loneliness, which can have a huge impact on a victim's self-esteem, self-image, and social skills. Another individual effect is that victims feel less optimistic about their peer relations and feel less hopeful about their ability to create and maintain meaningful relationships with peers. Because cyber-bullying is relational in nature, one of the main goals is to damage a victim's relationships. Healthy relationships can serve as a protective factor and having a strong support group can provide a barrier against online aggression (Low & Espelage, 2012), but victims of cyber-bullying often report feelings of social stigmatization and feel excluded from peer groups (Jackson & Cohen, 2012).
Raskauskas and Stoltz (2007) surveyed adolescents on the effects of cyber-bullying on their personal lives. The majority of electronic victims (93%) reported that they had experienced negative effects from cyber-bullying and described feelings of sadness, hopelessness, depression, fear, and and increased suspicion about their peers.
Victims have also reported feelings of anger, humiliation, helplessness, and anxiety (Ortega et al., 2009).
Because of the nature of cyber-bullying, victims often feel powerless to prevent it either because they are unaware of who their attacker is because of the anonymity the internet provides, or because even when they do know the
identity of their online aggressor, cyber-bullying is extremely difficult to prevent or defend against. Depending on the frequency of the online harassment, the severity of effects victims feels varies. Some people report that they are not bothered at all by cyber-bullying, but in some cases victims report extreme decreases in self-efficacy and increases in depressive symptoms and social anxiety and may even exhibit suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors (Jackson& Cohen, 2012).
Cyber-bullying also has potentially negative side effects for cyber-bullies as well. Cyber-bullying has been related to poor performance in school, aversive conflict and violence in peer and family relationships, and decreased development of social skills (Low & Espelage, 2012). Cyber-bullying is an unhealthy act of aggression that is becoming more pervasive as new technology lends itself to new methods of internet aggression and prevention methods are needed to help not only the victims but also the bullies themselves.
Cyber-bullying has been described as a form of relational aggression (Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007) which is bullying that uses psychological attacks to manipulate relationships.
Cyber-bullies use electronic methods to threaten the relationships and social standing of targets and can also use the internet to potentially exclude or ostracize victims from social groups both online and offline. Jackson and Cohen (2012) describe the effects that cyber-bullying has on victims at the individual level, at the relationship level, and at group levels.They describe how victims of cyber-bullying experience increases in their perception of loneliness, which can have a huge impact on a victim's self-esteem, self-image, and social skills. Another individual effect is that victims feel less optimistic about their peer relations and feel less hopeful about their ability to create and maintain meaningful relationships with peers. Because cyber-bullying is relational in nature, one of the main goals is to damage a victim's relationships. Healthy relationships can serve as a protective factor and having a strong support group can provide a barrier against online aggression (Low & Espelage, 2012), but victims of cyber-bullying often report feelings of social stigmatization and feel excluded from peer groups (Jackson & Cohen, 2012).
Raskauskas and Stoltz (2007) surveyed adolescents on the effects of cyber-bullying on their personal lives. The majority of electronic victims (93%) reported that they had experienced negative effects from cyber-bullying and described feelings of sadness, hopelessness, depression, fear, and and increased suspicion about their peers.
Victims have also reported feelings of anger, humiliation, helplessness, and anxiety (Ortega et al., 2009).
Because of the nature of cyber-bullying, victims often feel powerless to prevent it either because they are unaware of who their attacker is because of the anonymity the internet provides, or because even when they do know the
identity of their online aggressor, cyber-bullying is extremely difficult to prevent or defend against. Depending on the frequency of the online harassment, the severity of effects victims feels varies. Some people report that they are not bothered at all by cyber-bullying, but in some cases victims report extreme decreases in self-efficacy and increases in depressive symptoms and social anxiety and may even exhibit suicidal ideation and suicidal behaviors (Jackson& Cohen, 2012).
Cyber-bullying also has potentially negative side effects for cyber-bullies as well. Cyber-bullying has been related to poor performance in school, aversive conflict and violence in peer and family relationships, and decreased development of social skills (Low & Espelage, 2012). Cyber-bullying is an unhealthy act of aggression that is becoming more pervasive as new technology lends itself to new methods of internet aggression and prevention methods are needed to help not only the victims but also the bullies themselves.