Inner Conflicts of Those Involved in Cyberbullying – Between Taboo, Rejection, Ignorance and Tolerance

Abstract

This paper addresses the individual perceptions and handling of cyberbullying from the perspective of young victims, perpetrators and bystanders. It examines the extent to which cyberbullying tends to be ignored, tolerated, rejected, actively addressed or justified and neutralised by those involved. This is based on empirical data taken from 40 qualitative interviews with adolescents aged thirteen to seventeen. The explorative examination was based on grounded theory. The data demonstrate differences and commonalities in the perceptions of cyberbullying among juveniles as well as the adolescents’ strategies for dealing and coping with the phenomenon. This highlights the inner conflicts of different kinds of actors and their strategies to address or even overcome them. Overall, the findings indicate that it is necessary to consider the individual perceptions of people involved in cyberbullying in order to understand their ways of dealing with it.

Keywords

• bystander
• cyberbullying
• inner conflicts
• juveniles
• perception
• perpetrators