Cyberbullying: Concepts, dynamics, characters and health implications

Abstract

The study aimed to conduct a critical review of a set of bibliographical reviews to identify how the scientific community understands cyberbullying, how the phenomenon has been conceptualized, how its dynamics have been described, what characters are identified and what associations are related to the health of intimidated persons and perpetrators. The literature has shown that there is no consensus on the concept of cyberbullying, but there are arguments that advocate its specificity and differentiation vis-à-vis bullying, (it can occur at any moment and without a physically demarcated space; it can be disseminated globally, the length of permanence of the offensive posts is undetermined). As for the gender issue associated with this practice, a reductionist bias was observed in the debate, indicating differences based on an alleged technological superiority of boys. The reviewed studies show that both victims and those who practice cyberbullying undergo negative experiences in their psychological and behavioral health, where school dropout may also occur, along with social isolation, depression, suicidal ideation and suicide. However, there is hardly any questioning about cyberculture and how it establishes new socialities – knowledge and debate crucial to understanding the phenomenon.