Author(s): Kristen N. Sobba, Monica Radu
Cyberbullying behavior is known to cause severe consequences from short-term mental health issues to long-term physical and emotional trauma. Much research has been conducted on this topic; however, significantly less research has been conducted on cyberbullying bystanders. The current study assesses college students’ responses to cyberbullying behavior. Specifically, do bystanders actively encourage, passively respond, or actively discourage cyberbullying behavior when they witness an incident. Our results reveal that students who have less exposure to cyberbullying are more likely to actively discourage cyberbullying activity compared to their counterparts. In addition, those who were prior victims of cyberbullying were also significantly more likely to actively respond to cyberbullying incidents. These results indicate that bystanders can play a significant role in cyberbullying incidents which, in turn, could lead to long-term benefits by deterring future cyberbullies. Policy implications and legal ramifications are also addressed concerning cyberbullying activity.