Assessing Concerns and Issues about the Mediation of Technology in Cyberbullying

Abstract

Cyberbullying has emerged as a recent form of peer aggression in our communities. As its name implies, cyberbullying occurs through the use of an electronic medium with the purpose to harm others. Although research has already demonstrated a number of serious consequences of cyber-victimization, many questions remain unanswered concerning the impact of cyberbullying. Longitudinal data do not yet exist to provide empirical evidence concerning the long-term effects of cyberbullying, but many researchers believe that these might be as bad, if not worse, than those resulting from traditional bullying. In the debate on the true impact of cyberbullying, various concerns related to the mediation of technology, have been raised by numerous researchers and writers. These concerns include new media’s potential to safeguard anonymity, to intrude 24/7 in peers’ lives, to remain unnoticed for teachers, parents and educators and to strip away cues of non-verbal communication by the victim. To meet the demand for more conceptual clarity on the terrain of cyberbullying, this article offers a conceptual framework by bringing together these issues and critically discussing them within the scope of the current knowledge on cyberbullying.

Keywords

• cyberbullying
• teenagers
• online harassment