Redazione RHC : 19 July 2025 09:47
News reports are highlighting an ever-increasing number of cases of cyberbullying, some with dramatic outcomes (see incitement to suicide). Cyberbullying is a new form of psychological violence, an invasion and “misappropriation” of other people’s lives. According to a recent survey conducted by Save the Children, cyberbullying is considered the most dangerous social phenomenon for as many as 72% of children.
Data from the latest Istat report shows that this phenomenon is growing alarmingly: 5.9% of children reported having repeatedly suffered harassment through text messages, emails, chats, and social networks. Girls are particularly susceptible to cyberbullying (7.1% of girls versus 4.6% of boys). We need a lot of time to address such a complex and nuanced topic, with its myriad legal, psychological, emotional, and social aspects. In this article, I will simply attempt to address the psychological consequences of cyberbullying in adolescents.
First, let’s clarify the concept of cyberbullying. Knowing your enemy precisely can help you fight it more effectively and, above all, prevent it. Cyberbullying refers to abuse and harassment carried out through the repeated sending of offensive messages via text messages and social media chats. The purpose of these acts is harassment and public denigration of the chosen victim.
According to data collected and analyzed by the law firm network View Net Legal, cyberbullying can be classified as any form of denigration, pressure, harassment, blackmail, or identity theft. In this context, the unlawful acquisition and processing of personal data to the detriment of minors also becomes relevant. The aim, in fact, is to isolate the child through the exercise of terrible psychological violence.
Bullying is the fruit of a society that tolerates oppression, that pursues a model of strength and success, that exalts the most extreme competition and authoritarian and dominant leadership, and that refuses to accept defeat. In this society, the mass media, from television to video games, present us with models of youth violence as an expression of power and vitality. In a culture founded on the negative values of oppression, arrogance, cunning, and competition at all costs.
It becomes almost natural to bully the weakest, and various factors can contribute to the genesis and maintenance of bullying behavior, such as the group dynamics that develop among students and which tend to create a situation of moral disengagement, through direct or indirect methods, such as minimizing the consequences of bullying, attributing responsibility for events to the victim, or shifting and spreading responsibility to others.
Unconscious indifference, or the parenting style of parents, with the lack of the ability to say the “no” that helps them grow, do not provide clear rules for their children because they often believe them capable to self-regulate without providing punishments for broken rules. Or a school environment in which teachers don’t apply the rules or apply them in an unclear, uneven, and uneven manner across all classes in the same school, with a mix of rigidity and tolerance, could lead to the genesis of this problem.
The psychological consequences of cyberbullying are easy to understand. They range from shame and embarrassment to social isolation for the victim, not to mention various forms of depression, panic attacks, and extreme acts such as suicide attempts. According to experts at Telefono Azzurro, cyberbullying is even more psychologically devastating than bullying.
In the virtual world, bullying (images, comments) often cannot be deleted, or if they are, they have already reached an uncontrollable, widespread level. Cyberbullying, therefore, creates incurable wounds precisely because the phenomenon is self-perpetuating and impossible for an individual to control. For children, cyberbullying can begin as a kind of game and then escalate, resulting in various types of victims: in short, it is a true social plague. Experts agree that children initially have difficulty understanding the difference between a joke and a violation of privacy or actual harassment.
For these reasons, concerted preventive information efforts by both schools and families are essential. Research conducted by Slonje and Smith (2013) found that both bullying and cyberbullying have the same negative effect on victims, but certain characteristics of cyberbullying, such as its impact and anonymity, can exacerbate the situation. Obviously, the psychological impact can vary depending on its severity and the length of time it has lasted.
We cannot talk about Cyberbullying without talking about Bullying, for the simple reason that it is a manifestation of this deviance, of which it possesses all the characteristics, except physicality, as stated by Salvatore Romeo (psychiatrist). Bullying and Cyberbullying are, therefore, deviant youth behaviors, that is, behaviors that put a person’s physical, mental, and social well-being at risk and that generally hide a latent and unconscious internal distress that can lead to a much more serious psychological disorder, or lead to more or less serious legal consequences. serious.
In most cases, adolescents are well aware of the risks they face, but they often tend to underestimate them and, above all, underestimate the consequences of their behavior, especially due to a superficial understanding of their dangerousness.
Cyberbullying is a practice that includes all the actions and behaviors characteristic of bullying, except physical violence. Therefore, it is a series of offensive behaviors, repeated over time, intentional, and carried out with the sole purpose of causing offense and suffering to the victim. Not pranks or exaggerated games, but actions carried out with the intention of causing harm with no other goal than to make someone suffer or demonstrate one’s strength.
While with simple bullying, domineering and violent behaviors are more frequently carried out in school, sports, or recreational settings and are limited to situations where the victim is physically present, with cyberbullying the phenomenon becomes more continuous, persistent, and penetrating, as bullies can invade living spaces virtually, with messages and videos sent from cell phones or computers, thus becoming extremely cruel and persecutory, destroying even the place where the victim might have felt protected.
A recent study conducted by researcher Erin Burke Quinlan, who analyzed questionnaires and brain scans of over 600 young people from various European countries when they were 14, 16, and 19 years old, found that over 30 participants had experienced chronic bullying. The data from these participants were then compared with those of young people who had not been bullied or who had not experienced frequent bullying. The scientists found that severe bullying was correlated with changes in brain volume and with depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity at age 19. Being a victim can, therefore, increase the likelihood of developing mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and even drug abuse.
The study confirms the findings of previous research linking bullying with mental health problems, but also revealed something new: bullying can reduce the volume of parts of the dorsal striatum, particularly the caudate nucleus and the putamen.
The caudate nucleus and the putamen are not considered directly relevant to anxiety, but they contribute to related behaviors, such as reward sensitivity, motivation, conditioning, attention, and emotional processing.
Another American study shows that victims carry with them psychological and somatic disorders such as flashbacks, anxiety attacks, and sleep disturbances: in terms of psychological aspects. Palpitations, abdominal pain, constipation, even diarrhea: these are the somatizations of situations resulting from psychological damage.
Children who have had similar experiences show worse mental and physical performance. Confirmation comes from a study published in Pediatrics: conducted on over 4,000 adolescents, it highlighted how bullying episodes perpetrated over time cause greater and more serious health consequences.
To this data—obtained after three surveys taken at different points in their growth—the researchers added an increase in depressive symptoms and a reduction in self-esteem that were fairly widespread among all victims.
“The study highlights the importance of early intervention to stop bullying.”
Laura states Bogart, a researcher at the Department of Pediatrics at Boston Hospital and the first author of the publication.
“It is necessary to develop a strategy of consistent interventions over time: even if bullying episodes have not occurred for several years, it is necessary to address the persistent effects.”
If not recognized and addressed in time, it can also lead the victim to believe they have no escape. From this awareness arises the idea that there is no alternative to suicide, as recent news events demonstrate.
In conclusion, new technologies, although they have opened up a space for growing possibilities for interaction between individuals, overcoming all the physical barriers that limit face-to-face interactions, necessarily require adaptation and the adoption of a new “communicative grammar.” In these cases, children and adolescents in particular should be taught to recognize violent behavior.
Above all, they should be encouraged to discuss the issue with their caregivers, be they parents, teachers, or others. The great risk is that violent acts often go unreported, and victims continue to passively endure. For all these reasons, the psychological consequences, both short- and long-term, should not be underestimated.
To defend yourself from cyberbullies, you must first put their image into perspective: they are human beings like us, with lives just like others, only they act like bullies because they probably perceive their fragility and tend to cover it up with aggressive and domineering behavior, and to counteract their underlying insecurity by attacking others.
The cyberbully’s harassing behavior is intended to intimidate and intimidate the victim, belittling their personality and self-esteem. Therefore, the best reaction will undoubtedly be not to appear frightened and to react rationally and without violence, always maintaining high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem. Self-esteem.
To foster a space for dialogue and support for victims, the National Anti-Cyberbullying Center (CNAC) was established in Italy. Its goal is to establish collaboration with European individuals and organizations that share its mission and principles. It allows victims, families, teachers, or the cyberbully to obtain free consultations for an initial legal assessment of the incident and to learn about the legal tools available to combat the violence they have suffered. CNAC’s activities also include cyber coaching courses (training), dedicated to children and adults (students, parents, teachers, or professionals from various sectors), thanks also to participation in the MIUR project “Generazioni Connesse” (https://anticyberbullismo.it/).
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