The Internet's Dark Side: Cyberbullying That Pushes People to The Brink!

Cyberbullying is a form of bullying that takes place online or through digital devices. Digital devices that use the internet such as computers, cell phones, etc. Cyberbullying has been categorized as toxic behavior through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices (Patchin & Hinduja, 2015). These digital devices can access Social Networking Services (SNS), which is the media where cyberbullying happens. We can find cyberbullying in various SNS, such as social media, online gaming environments (McInroy & Mishna, 2017), etc. This phenomenon has involved many people in the world, especially adults. Zalaquett & Chatters (2014) consider that Cyberbullying is a global problem that occurs in adults.

Then, why does this happen? SNS provides various useful features that can help us make self-presentations. Self-presentation is a central feature of SNS because their interface is based on creating visible personal profiles that display a friends list, personal information, and photos (Dredge et al., 2014). However, in some conditions, this can be detrimental. Lately, many social media (Instagram) users only have an account without daring to post anything (not do self-presentations), because this makes them potentially victims of cyberbullying. Self-presentation can be used as capital for cyberbullying perpetrators in carrying out their actions and become environments in which users can target and harass other users (Dredge et al., 2014).

Users who are targeted and harassed have become victims of cyberbullying which will have psychological impacts. Cyberbullying adversely impacts the psychological health (self-esteem, depression, and anxiety) of adolescents (Baruah et al., 2017). Apart from these three impacts, there are other impacts of cyberbullying that can even drag someone (especially the victim) to the brink, from serious psychological disorders to death. For example, Choi Jin Ri (Sulli Choi), a famous K-Pop star died on October 14th, 2019, at 25 years old. Sulli had been long harassed by cyberbullying, including hate speech, stalking, and threatening (Ling & Stringhini, 2020).

Many people think cyberbullying is a trivial matter, but it turns out the impact is very serious. Through SNS on digital devices, perpetrators carry out their actions and make victims appear every day. Psychological health is also very seriously affected, up to the potential for death.

References

Zalaquett, C. P., & Chatters, S. J. (2014). Cyberbullying in College: Frequency, Characteristics, and Practical Implications. SAGE Journals, 4(1), 1--8. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014526721

Dredge, R., Gleeson, J., & De La Piedad Garcia, X. (2014). Presentation on Facebook and Risk of Cyberbullying Victimisation.Computers in Human Behavior, 40, 16--22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.07.035

Patchin, J. W., & Hinduja, S. (2015). Measuring Cyberbullying: Implications for Research. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 23, 69--74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2015.05.013

McInroy, L. B., & Mishna, F. (2017). Cyberbullying on Online Gaming Platforms for Children and Youth. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 34(6), 597--607. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-017-0498-0

Baruah, H., Dashora, P., Parmar, A. (2017). Impact of Cyberbullying on Psychological Health of Adolescents. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 6(4), 137-144.

Laffan, D. A., Stenson, A., & Flood, C. (2023). The Role of Cyberbullying Victimization in the Relationship Between Adult BTS Fans' Psychological Sense of Community and Wellbeing. Journal of Community Psychology, 51(4), 1479-1494. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22924