Technological development over the last few decades has led to a rise in social interactions that have had negative consequences such as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a repetitive and intentional act of harm towards others using electronic devices. With the global surge of mobile phone and computer ownership, the popularization of information sharing, and the presence of over 90% of the world’s population on social networks, cyberbullying is more frequent. It occurs when there is inadequate adult supervision, making adolescents its victims. For example, in 2021 and 2022 studies in England and Saudi Arabia, cyberbullying towards adolescents had prevalence rates of 17.9% and 21%, respectively (Gohal et al., 2023). Cyberbullying occurs in many forms, such as sending a recipient offensive, angry, intimidating, cruel, or rude messages and sharing private, false, or sensitive information about a person to others. Purposefully excluding a person from an online group is also a form of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is influenced by age, gender, the time one spends on the internet, and one’s relationship with one’s parent or guardian. Since cyberbullying peaks between 14 and 15 years, most adolescents are victims and experience mental and physical health effects, harming their overall well-being.
Undergoing bullying at the adolescent stage is regarded as a public health issue because it affects the victim’s development, which may persist into adulthood. Cyberbullying has a widespread impact on adolescent emotional, physical, and mental health, making addressing and mitigating it a necessity. There is growing evidence of the mental health effects of cyberbullying on adolescents, whereby it is associated with substantial levels of loneliness, anxiety, and depression. According to a study by Kumar and Goldstein, females are more susceptible to depression than males and display more symptoms (2020). Girls are more attracted to social media platforms than boys, making them victims. Similarly, they react differently to cyberbullying because when males experience it, they are more likely to become bullies and retaliate. In contrast, women conceal their feelings, leading to them transitioning into psychological, physical, and emotional challenges. Depression arising from cyberbullying leads to withdrawal in adolescents, leading to feelings of apathy and not enjoying the things they normally enjoy, such as communicating with friends on social networks. Moreover, sadness, lack of energy, appetite loss or overeating, and difficulty concentrating on their education. Furthermore, in some instances, depression turns into anger and aggression, leading to the victim plotting revenge schemes, as evidenced in school shooting instances and other violent acts.
Undoubtedly, loneliness as a side effect of cyberbullying is common among adolescents, primarily in situations where they feel avoided or sensitive or untrue information has been shared about them. During such situations, the victims feel isolated and alone, leading to depression. The loneliness also leads to low self-esteem, affecting the victim’s perception of themselves, leading to problems extending to adulthood. Regrettably, adolescents who identify as LGBTQ become victims of cyberbullying more, increasing their feelings of loneliness and isolation (Hartanto, 2022). Markedly, the anxiety arising from cyberbullying has negative effects on adolescents’ mental health. They continually feel restless, nervous, and tense, affecting their daily functioning. The anxiety also leads to hyperventilation, sweating, trembling, insomnia, having trouble sleeping, and experiencing gastro-intestinal problems. The adolescents are also prone to avoid situations that trigger anxiety, leading to social isolation and skipping school, behavior that affects their future (Varela et al., 2022). The anxiety may extend to panic disorder, affecting their psychological health in the long run. Adolescents with anxiety develop unhealthy coping skills as they advance in age, such as substance misuse, leading to an overall poor life quality.
Additionally, cyberbullying is a public health concern because of the negative emotions associated with it, including sadness, anger, humiliation, shame, and frustration. Such feelings lead adolescents to trouble forming relationships with their peers because they fear trusting and socializing. Emotional challenges have led to the victims contemplating suicide because of the compilation of negative feelings and the hopelessness that their situation lacks a solution. According to Pepra et al., suicide is the leading cause of death among adolescents in the U.S., and cyberbullying raises the risk of exacerbating feelings of self-harm (2023). Also, cyberbullying victims were also over four times as likely to report suicidal attempts than those who have not been bullied. Suicide contemplations and attempts for the bullying victims are accompanied by factors such as lack of support at school and home and minimal supervision of their social media use. Hence, to lower the risk of suicide, cyberbullying is a public health problem that must be addressed.
Adolescents with a high risk of becoming cyberbullies have low awareness of the damage they inflict, high moral disengagement levels, lack of empathy, involvement in school bullying, and lack of parental support and guidance. Adolescence is an age of exploration and taking bold steps, and it may lead to one settling scores with people they disagree with offensive, false, or sensitive information. One may enjoy the satisfaction they feel for setting scores, neglecting the recipient’s feelings. It is easier to reform such as cyberbullying by telling them about the consequences of their actions. However, some cyberbullies are morally disengaged and engage in cyberbullying with the sole intention of hurting others’ feelings (Sorrentino et al., 2023). They obtain satisfaction from hurting others, leading to them hurting a significant number of their peers with no remorse. A lack of empathy arises from one being cyberbullied, leading to them becoming bullies as a form of aggression or vengeance. Further, adolescents who have previously been considered school or in-person bullies have a high likelihood of becoming cyberbullied due to minimal consideration for others’ feelings. Such a transition arises from feelings of superiority or insecurity over their peers. Besides, adolescents who lack parental guidance and support in their daily activities are more likely to become cyberbullies than those whose parents supervise their activities (Sorrentino et al., 2023). The lack of parental guidance leads to adolescents irresponsibly exploring the internet and may lead to them becoming cyberbullies. Also, adolescents have a high risk of becoming cyberbullied if they lack parental support and have minimal social interactions with their peers.
Cyberbullying among adolescents is associated with poor social support, lack of parental control, and peer relations. Protecting adolescents against cyberbullying is achievable through educating them on its consequences, punishing the perpetrators, and maintaining close and open relationships with adolescents. Adolescents with proper relations with their peers and more social support from friends were less likely to be cyberbullying victims. At the same time, when students feel less lonely, they are not prone to victimization when they have friends to talk to. Also, more parental support and control leads to adolescents forming stronger bonds, making them unlikely to become perpetrators or victims of cyberbullying (Łosiak-Pilch et al., 2022). To prevent adolescents from becoming cyberbullies or victims, it must become a part of the school curriculum, emphasizing it as a public health concern. When adolescents know the harm it causes their peers, including suicide, they are less likely to engage in it. Moreover, a school environment should be pleasant for all adolescents, and their daily lives are made more comfortable when teachers punish all students accused and proven as cyberbullies to set an example to others. Additionally, parents and teachers should be close to their adolescents, creating endless opportunities for them to report cyberbullying. The fear of reporting it leads to devastating consequences for their emotional and psychological health.
Overall, cyberbullying is a globally prevalent act with negative implications for adolescents’ psychological and emotional health. It is imperative to develop strategies to prevent its spread as technology advances. Since most cyberbullies are their victims’ peers, schools should have clear policies on the consequences of cyberbullying. For example, it should be intolerable, with the consequences being expulsion. Awareness and education are also key to eliminating cyberbullying, and schools should ensure that all students know why they should not engage in it. Further, parents and educators should have partnerships whereby they hold information sessions about what they should be vigilant of concerning perpetrating or being a victim. Also, educators must provide teachers with proactive tips to continually share with their children regarding the real-life dangers of cyberbullying. Students must always be encouraged to tell adults about instances of cyberbullying, whether as victims or witnesses. Speaking out is important for preventing all the associated health consequences, which impact their health into adulthood. Hence, while dangerous to adolescents, cyberbullying is preventable through vigilance, shutting it down, and speaking out against it.
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Hartanto, A. (2022). Cyberattack: Cyberbullying Impact on LGBT Teenager’s Mental Health and the Way to Deal with it. Kata Kita: Journal of Language, Literature, and Teaching, 10(2), 267–275. https://katakita.petra.ac.id/index.php/sastra-inggris/article/download/13144/11508
Kumar, V. L., & Goldstein, M. A. (2020). Cyberbullying and adolescents. Current pediatrics report pp. 8, 86–92. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7864530/
Łosiak-Pilch, J., Grygiel, P., Ostafińska-Molik, B., & Wysocka, E. (2022). Cyberbullying and its protective and risk factors among Polish adolescents. Current Issues in Personality Psychology, 10(3), 190-204. https://czasopisma.bg.ug.edu.pl/index.php/CIiPP/article/download/7289/6491
Peprah, P., Oduro, M. S., Okwei, R., Adu, C., Asiamah-Asare, B. Y., & Agyemang-Duah, W. (2023). Cyberbullying victimization and suicidal ideation among in-school adolescents in three countries: implications for prevention and intervention. BMC psychiatry, 23(1), 944. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12888-023-05268-9
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Varela, J. J., Hernández, C., Miranda, R., Barlett, C. P., & Rodríguez-Rivas, M. E. (2022). Victims of cyberbullying: Feeling loneliness and depression among youth and adult Chileans during the pandemic. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(10), 5886. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/10/5886