Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a form of online aggression that may have an important health impact, and thus needs to be addressed using evidence-based interventions. Cyberbullying is most prevalent amongst young adolescents. They are in a developmental phase that is characterized by an increased importance of the peer group, high information and communication technology use for social purposes, and risk taking. These factors explain their higher odds of being involved in cyberbullying, either as a perpetrator, victim, or bystander. Because cyberbullying is often interwoven with traditional bullying in the school context, one way to tackle the problem is to integrate anti-cyberbullying components into a whole-school anti-bullying approach. Such an approach not only considers the problem in different phases, but also involves different stakeholders (i.e., pupils, teachers, parents). Cyberbullying, however, can also be prevented, detected or reported, and addressed at the platforms (e.g., social networking sites) where the cyberbullying is actually taking place. These platforms can use reflective interfaces to make people think twice before they actually post a harassing message, support users with protecting their account, use reporting mechanisms to detect cyberbullying instances, and intervene. In addition, other technological solutions (e.g., helplines, serious games) might be used to address the problem. Tackling cyberbullying amongst young people is important as it impacts their mental and physical health, both in the short and the long term. Moreover, involvement in cyberbullying is also related to other externalizing problems (e.g., substance abuse and conduct problems) for perpetrators, and other internalizing problems (e.g., suicidal ideation and self-harm) amongst victims.