Cyberbullying - Definition and Facts

Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using digital devices such as cell/mobile phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, e-mail, apps, social media, forums, or gaming when people view, participate in, or share content. Cyberbullying includes the deliberate sending, posting, or sharing of negative, harmful, false, or mean content about someone else. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else causing embarrassment or humiliation. Some cyberbullying may also be unlawful or criminal behaviour (adapted from UNICEF, no date; PHE, 2014; US Government, no date). 

Primary reference(s)

UNICEF, no date. Cyberbullying: What is it and how to stop it. 10 things teens want to know about cyberbullying. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Accessed 19 May 2025.

PHE, 2014. Cyberbullying: An analysis of data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey for England, 2014. Public Health England (PHE). Accessed 18 May 2025.

US Government, no date. What is Cyberbullying. StopBullying is a federal government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Annotations

Additional scientific description

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) describes cyberbullying as bullying with the use of digital technologies. It is repeated behaviour, aimed at scaring, angering or shaming those who are targeted. Examples include: spreading lies about or posting embarrassing photos of someone on social media; sending hurtful messages or threats via messaging platforms; and impersonating someone and sending mean messages to others on their behalf (UNICEF, no date).

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNICEF define cyberbullying as wilful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices (ITU & UNICEF, 2015). It may involve direct (such as chat or text messaging), semi-public (such as posting a harassing message on an e-mail list) or public communications (such as creating a website devoted to making fun of the victim).

Face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying can often happen alongside each other. But cyberbullying leaves a digital footprint - a record that can prove useful and provide evidence to help stop the abuse (UNICEF, no date). Online harassment is harassment taking place via the internet (on a social network, a forum, a multiplayer video game, or blogs).

Other cyberbullying activities include: the dissemination of photos or videos ridiculing the person; grooming; radicalisation; non-consensual diffusion of intimate photos or personal information; dissemination of false rumours; identity theft from social media accounts; impersonating another person online; sharing private messages; creating hate websites/social media pages; excluding people from online groups; flaming, or using purposeful extreme or offensive language in order to get into online arguments and fights; and cyber stalking (PHE, 2014; Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, 2019; Family Lives, no date).

Socio-economic or educational disadvantage, disability, minority ethnic origin (some groups) and LGBT status are also indicators of a high risk for cyberbullying.

Metrics and numeric limits

UNESCO reports that Cyberbullying is a widespread issue affecting children worldwide, with half of children in Europe, 60% in the USA, and a third in South Africa reporting experiences. In the USA, it's the top classroom concern for teachers (UNESCO, 2021). 

Key relevant UN convention / multilateral treaty

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) calls for the protection of children’s rights and safeguards them from all forms of violence, including cyberbullying. This convention outlines the essential rights necessary for the dignity and harmonious development of children (UN, 1990).

The Convention on Countering Cybercrime, approved by a UN General Assembly committee in August 2024, provides a framework for international cooperation to address various cybercrimes, including cyberbullying. It also tackles issues such as online child sexual abuse and grooming. (UN, 2024).

Drivers

The drivers include widespread digital access, unregulated platform use, anonymity online, and algorithmic amplification of harmful content. 

Impacts

Cyberbullying is a widespread issue affecting children worldwide, with half of children in Europe, 60% in the USA, and a third in South Africa reporting experiences. In the USA, it's the top classroom concern for teachers. While 84% of parents worldwide worry about online safety, 58% spend less than 30 minutes discussing it with their children. Additionally, 49% of U.S. children say their parents don’t monitor their online activity, and half admit to hiding it (UNESCO, 2021).  

Research has demonstrated the causal relationship between experiencing bullying and poorer health and wellbeing outcomes in children and adolescents, with potentially long-term impacts into adulthood. The negative effect of bullying has also been demonstrated among the perpetrators of bullying and not just the victims. A survey revealed that Instagram was the leading platform for cyberbullying incidents. The findings showed that 42% of young people experienced cyberbullying on Instagram, followed by 37% on Facebook and 31% on Snapchat (Ray et al., 2024).

Multi-hazard context

There is often an interaction between being bullied and bullying others; those who are both bullies and victims (bully/victims) are likely to display the worst health and social outcomes. In summary: 20% of children and young people indicate that a fear of cyber-bullies made them reluctant to go to school; 5% reported self-harm; 3% reported an attempt of suicide as a direct result of cyberbullying (UKCCIS, 2012);  As an example of impacts on mental health, Maurya et al. (2022) reported on a 3-year cohort study in India reported that adolescents experiencing cyberbullying victimisation were twice more likely to suffer from depressive symptoms than their counterparts.  The internet creates not only a threat for teens who could fall victim to cyberbullying – but also the potential for children to engage in online crimes, trolling, and cyberbullying themselves (Comparitech, 2024). Radicalisation and grooming are also of concern.

Risk Management

With many children vulnerable to cyberbullying and online risks, protecting them from internet-related dangers is essential. Governments, policymakers, and digital service providers should consider implementing measures to prevent abuse within the online community (Nazir & Thabassum, 2021). Schools can play a critical role by utilizing cyberbullying assessments to identify victims and perpetrators and equipping educators with proper guidelines to address such incidents. Parents should also adopt an active role in supervising younger children’s internet use (Kavuk-Kalender & Kaaser, 2018). At-risk children should have easy access to helplines, hotlines, or awareness centres, along with legal support to tackle cyberbullying. To mitigate the significant privacy risks associated with children's personal information, robust measures must be enacted to protect their data (OECD, 2021).  

Since cyberbullying often occurs more covertly than traditional bullying, making it harder to detect, societal awareness and education are crucial in addressing gaps where laws and regulations may fall short. Preventive actions, such as empathy training, teacher and staff development, awareness campaigns, and technology-based solutions, can further contribute to reducing cyberbullying (Özgür, 2020).

Monitoring

Monitoring is complex and requires engagement from many partners. Helfrich et al (2020), in their review, reinforced the importance of parent involvement in cyberbullying prevention efforts and informed future prevention and intervention program development.

References

Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, 2019. Child Online Safety: Minimizing the Risk of Violence, Abuse and Exploitation Online. Broadband Commission – a joint initiative of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Accessed 18 May 2025.

Comparitech, 2024. Cyberbullying data, facts and statistics for 2018–2024. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Family Lives, no date. What is Cyberbullying? Accessed 18 May 2025.

Helfrich, E.L., Doty, J.L., Su, Y-W., Yourell, J.L. and Gabrielli, J., 2020. Parental views on preventing and minimizing negative effects of cyberbullying. Children and Youth Services Review, 118, 105377. Accessed 19 May 2025.

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2015. Guidelines for Industry on Child Online Protection: 2015 Edition. Accessed 13 January 2025.

Kavuk-Kalender, M. and Keser, H., 2018. Cyberbullying awareness in secondary and high schools. World Journal on Educational Technology: Current Issues, 10(4), pp.25–36. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Maurya, C., Muhammad, T., Dhillon, P. and Maurya, P., 2022. The effects of cyberbullying victimization on depression and suicidal ideation among adolescents and young adults: a three-year cohort study from India. BMC Psychiatry, 22, 599. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Nazir, T. and Thabassum, L., 2021. Cyberbullying: Definition, types, effects, related factors and precautions to be taken during COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Indian Psychology, 9(4), pp.480–491. DOI: 10.25215/0904.047. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 2021. OECD Legal Instruments: Recommendation on Children in the Digital Environment. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Public Health England (PHE), 2014. Cyberbullying: An analysis of data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey for England, 2014. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Ray, G., McDermott, C.D. and Nicho, M., 2024. Cyberbullying on social media: Definitions, prevalence, and impact challenges. Journal of Cybersecurity, 10(1), tyae026. DOI: 10.1093/cybsec/tyae026. Accessed 17 January 2025.

UK Council for Child Internet Safety (UKCCIS), 2012. Virtual Violence II: Progress and Challenges in the Fight Against Cyberbullying (Pupils). Accessed 19 May 2025.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), no date. Cyberbullying: What is it and how to stop it. 10 things teens want to know about cyberbullying. Accessed 19 May 2025.

United Nations (UN), 1990. Convention on the Rights of the Child. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Accessed 13 January 2025.

United Nations (UN), 2024. United Nations Convention against Cybercrime: Strengthening International Cooperation for Combating Certain Crimes Committed by Means of Information and Communications Technology Systems and for the Sharing of Evidence in Electronic Form of Serious Crimes. Accessed 19 May 2025.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 2021. Tackling cyberbullying and other forms of online violence involving children and young people: Fact sheet. Accessed 18 May 2025.

Cite this

United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), & International Science Council (ISC). (2025). UNDRR–ISC Hazard Information Profiles – 2025 Update: TL0106 Cyberbullying United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction; International Science Council. https://www.undrr.org/terms/hips/TL0106  [Copy citation]

This part of the article was originally published by UNDRR (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) titled "Cyberbullying," which can be accessed through this link: https://www.undrr.org/understanding-disaster-risk/terminology/hips/tl0106