Defining Cyberbullying

Defining Cyberbullying

According to Sticca and Perren, cyberbullying as the contemporary form of bullying is regarded to be the most dangerous form of bullying compared to the traditional way of bullying (742). Notably, cyberbullying is most common in young people since 10 to 20 percent of the youths experience cyberbullying regularly. Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that occurs mostly on digital devices such as computers, tablets, and cell phones. The tools are used to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target an individual since the devices used to bully people involve a broader audience. It is done using MMS, SMS, or social networks like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. Markedly, due to the increased use of mobile phones by youths, cell phones have become the most popular technology for cyberbullying.

Types of Bullying

Cyberbullying occurs in many ways where cyberbullies can create fake accounts on social media or convince others to post content online about a victim with the people posting not realizing the content, which is embarrassing or hurting the victim. The two common types of bullying are public and anonymous bullying. Public bullying is the type of bullying that occurs in cases where the bully may post negative things about the victim through a blog, website, or social media with a broad audience (Sticca and Perren 746). For instance, this may involve the bully creating a fake account of another person. Conversely, anonymous bullying is the type of bullying that takes place indirectly. It may include the bully tricking or convincing an individual to post content about the victim on the online platforms with that person not realizing that the content embarrasses or hurts the victim.