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Cyberbullying (peer violence) - online bullying

Updated: 6 hours ago


The almost constant presence on the Internet means that phenomena and problems familiar from the real world are also transferred there. The violence experienced by children on the Internet is to a large extent an extension of conflicts transferred from the peer environment taking place at school or in the classroom.

Aggression on the internet has become a widespread phenomenon. More than half of young online users admit to having witnessed various forms of aggression on social media.

However, unlike traditional peer violence, cyberbullying can have more serious consequences for the person experiencing the violence - due to the much reduced ability to defend themselves. Unlike traditional violence, the phenomenon of cyberbullying is characterised by the high level of anonymity of the perpetrator and the speed with which compromising material can be disseminated online, which is very difficult and often impossible to remove.

Digital bullying very often goes unnoticed by those around the victim, as this form of violence does not show clear signs of abuse (such as bruises or other physical injuries). However, it leaves equally deep wounds in the psyche, which often heal much more difficult than physical violence.

The phenomenon of cyberbullying is defined as violence using information and communication technologies. It is also sometimes referred to as cyberbullying. Regardless of the term, its purpose is always to cause harm to another person.

There are very many types of cyberbullying. Among its most common forms are:

Hate speech", which "involves the use of language to incite, spread or justify hatred and discrimination, as well as violence against specific individuals, groups of individuals. Acceptance of hate speech (...) can lead to so-called 'hatecrimes'" i.e. insulting, ridiculing or humiliating others[1].

A flame (flame war) is an argument on the Internet. Most often, the spat starts with a provocative post by one of the users, often including aggressive and malicious comments. Initiating this type of argument is sometimes understood among children and young people as fashionable, "trendy" behaviour.

Cyber stalking - involves harassing the victim continuously and regularly by sending insulting messages. This type of behaviour can also take place in virtual spaces, such as online games. Cyber-bullying can also include sending threats or forwarding messages received from the victim to humiliate them.

Masquerade - this phenomenon involves creating false accounts on online portals in order to harm the victim.

Trolling - this form of violence involves posting a large number of unpleasant comments about the victim. Trolling can also manifest itself in altering photos and information posted on the victim's profile, or posting offensive statuses on their behalf. The troll wants to influence others, ridicule them, call them names in order to arouse strong emotions - anger, irritation, sadness. He or she does not want to enter into a substantive discussion, but to evoke certain emotions[2].

Flood - this occurs when a large number of messages are sent to a single recipient. They may contain identical content, be empty or deliberately distorted. Flooding is therefore a kind of spam attack targeting a single recipient.

Sexting - is the sending of nude or semi-nude photos of oneself. Particularly popular among teenagers, at the stage of first falling in love. In certain situations, such pictures can be used for blackmail or published without the knowledge and consent of the person who sent them. This is a very serious form of online violence that can lead to disastrous consequences: from damaged reputations to mental illness to suicide attempts[3].

Patostream - is an internet broadcast via popular services such as YouTube or Twitch, where video-reports (or duplicated excerpts thereof) of alcohol or other drug use, brawling, self-destructive behaviour, including behaviour that may be criminal or criminal in nature, are made available to viewers. Broadcasts of this kind allow interaction with streamers[4]. Often, the specific behaviour of the streamers or of the persons appearing in the video-relations (so-called actors) depends on the transfer of a sum of money by the viewers[5].

Sextortion is the acquisition of material of a sexual nature from someone. The first images or films are usually sent voluntarily, while subsequent materials are usually created by threat or blackmail[6].

Sharenting - refers to the unreflective posting of photos, videos and information from a child's life online. Often with sharenting we are talking about sharing content without children's knowledge or consent. There is also a second related term, oversharenting, which emphasises excess. Posting too many pictures and those of an intimate nature can give rise to situations such as deviant use of photographs or even making a child feel embarrassed.

Internet challenges (challenge), which have been popular with young people for years. The idea behind them is to upload videos or photos of people attempting the most bizarre tasks - in theory funny, usually not very clever, often dangerous. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more common to hear about the tragic consequences of this type of activity[7].

A new phenomenon among children and young people is self-cyberbullying. Taking advantage of the anonymity offered by the Internet, young people impersonate fictitious third parties and publish offensive, critical comments about themselves on their own social network profiles. Then the author observes the reactions of his or her friends who, upon seeing the offensive comments, try to stand up for him or her. According to experts, this is an action which, on the one hand, is intended to focus the attention of other Internet users on the victim of verbal attacks, and on the other hand, from a psychological point of view, is comparable to self-aggressive behaviour as a response to the many emotional problems of young people.

The law imposes a special responsibility for the safety of minors on adults and on authorities, institutions and organisations, as the child, as a victim of cyberbullying, cannot take effective legal action himself. His or her powers of redress are exercised by parents or legal guardians.

On 6 June 2011, an amendment to the Act - Penal Code, published in the Journal of Laws of 2011 No. 72, item 381, came into force, recognising cyberbullying and stalking as a prohibited act in Poland. Currently, this act is punishable under Article 190 a of the Penal Code.

Unfortunately, perpetrators of cyberbullying, especially those committing crimes with intent, take advantage of the anonymity of the Internet, and modern technology, very often allows them to go unpunished. Also, the lack of cooperation on the part of network administrators, as well as the lack of clear regulation of their responsibility, is not conducive to identifying the perpetrator of criminal activity on the Internet. The prosecutor's office has repeatedly discontinued proceedings due to the inability to detect the perpetrators.


[1] Contemporary crime and social pathologies from the perspective of interdisciplinary criminological research, eds E. PÅ‚ywaczewski, E. Jurgielewicz-Delegacz, D. Dajnowicz-Piesiecka, C.H.Beck 2017, https://sip.legalis.pl/document-full.seam?documentId=mjxw62zogi3damjvg42tmnjogyxde [accessed 30.10.2024].

[2] M. Nowikowska, Zjawisko "trollingu" w Internecie, [in:] Media in the digital era. Wyzwania zagrożenia, ed. K. Chałubińska-Jentkiewicz, M. Nowikowska, K. Wąsowski, Warsaw 2021, p. 193.

[3] M. Cichoński, J. Węgrzynowicz-Cichońska, Sexting legal countermeasures [in:] Problemy nowelizacji prawa sądowego, Lublin 2013, pp. 14-30.

[4] A. Lesniwska, Internet as a public space. Legal and ethical issues, Electronic Media Law No. 2/2023, p. 24.

[5] A. Kmieciak-Goławska, Patostreaming as a tool for popularising the subculture of violence, "Biuletyn Polski Towarzystwa Kryminologicznego im. profesora Stanisława Batawii", 2019, pp. 172-177.

[6] K. Lenczowska-Soboń, G. Ocieczek, P. Opitek, Practical aspects of combating drug crime committed in the 'real world' and cyberspace, Prokuratura i Prawo nr7/2022,

[7] Dangerous online challenges, https://www.gov.pl/web/cyfryzacja/niebezpieczne-internetowe-challenge [accessed 27.10.2024].

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