What does the argentine written press report about the phenomenon of cyberbullying?

Abstract

In recent years, the terms "bullying" and "cyberbullying" have been adopted by the Argentinian media, including the written press. These are technical terms that refer to specific problems. The local press has adopted them in order to report about the characteristics, consequences, and possible approaches to these situations. The analysis of the press' publications on a certain phenomenon enables us to see interesting aspects of the process of dissemination of information, the discourse used and the collective consciousness it creates. Therefore, the general objective of this work is focused on investigating the type of information and contents regarding cyberbullying in the Argentinian press. A qualitative methodological approach was used, which included the use of a thematic and content analysis. It is noted that only a low proportion of journalism articles was found in which the three basic characteristics of the cyberbullying were pointed out (the intentionality, the repetition in time and the existence of an imbalance of power). In addition, it is observed that the written press provides more information related to the characteristics and possible approaches to cyberbullying, and, to a lesser extent, to its detection. The negative consequences of this problem regarding the psychological health of those involved are mentioned, highlighting indicators and individual consequences, but without referring to indicators or to collective, institutional or social consequences. The development of a hostile and unsupportive school environment, the normalization of aggressive behaviors, the positive assessment of violent behavior in order to obtain social success, and the possible consequences for teachers and families are not mentioned by the press. Also, it is observed that the press gives little room to the students' point of view, who, from their experiences, attitudes and perspectives on this phenomenon, could make important contributions for the development of both prevention strategies and effective boarding tools. The findings obtained are discussed through thematic and content analysis in order to broaden the knowledge about this phenomenon in our local environment. Within the limitations of this study, it is worth mentioning that the different publications began the digitization of their copies in different years, which could affect the total number of articles surveyed and the amount registered for each of the digital portals. Likewise, for this study, only two descriptors were used to carry out the search, so future studies could incorporate other terms in order to broaden and deepen the findings. This could also contribute to generate other analysis categories, in order to record other aspects related to the type and content of information not addressed in this study.