The Story of Clara: A Case Study in Digital Harassment Dynamics
Clara, a 13-year-old student, received an offensive message in her class WhatsApp group. Initially thinking it would be a one-time occurrence, she soon found herself targeted by relentless bullying, cruel memes, and mocking comments. Frustrated and exhausted, Clara decided to retaliate by posting memes about another classmate. Some laughed, others added laughing emojis, and many remained silent bystanders. Within weeks, Clara transitioned from victim to harasser and passive observer of the online dynamics around her.
This narrative, based on real-life observations from our research, illustrates that digital harassment is not merely an isolated incident between a perpetrator and victim. It’s a complex social dynamic, surprisingly cyclical, involving not just the traditional roles of digital victim and harasser but also an additional party: the digital bystander.
A 18-Month Longitudinal Study
To better understand these dynamics, we conducted an 18-month longitudinal study involving over a thousand Spanish adolescents, ranging from 11 to 17 years old. Through three-phase follow-ups, six months apart, we examined the evolution of the primary roles in digital harassment: victim, harasser, and bystander.
A significant finding was the prevalence of “chronification” – being a victim, harasser, or bystander at one point strongly predicts continued involvement in these roles. This suggests that digital harassment is not a sporadic event but can deeply embed itself in adolescents’ social interactions, perpetuating as a stable form of violence.
The Victim at the Heart of the Violence Cycle
Our most revealing discovery was that digital victimization significantly predicts subsequent cyberbullying as a harasser or bystander. Adolescents who experience digital harassment are more likely to become harassers or bystanders six months later.
Why does this role shift occur? One hypothesis is that victims, feeling powerless and frustrated, may view aggression as a form of revenge or a means to regain lost power and status. The stress and pain from victimization can lead to hostile interpretations of social interactions, potentially triggering aggressive behavior even if not directed at the original harasser.
Similarly, being a victim might make an adolescent more aware of cyberbullying dynamics, but fear of further victimization may lead them to adopt a passive observer role as a form of self-protection.
Interestingly, this predictive relationship appears to be unidirectional. Our analysis found no evidence that being a harasser or bystander predicts future victimization. Thus, the experience of being a victim is the true catalyst for transitioning to other roles. This is what we must prevent.
Breaking the Cycle: Practical Implications
- Digital Literacy and Risk Prevention: Teach minors, from a young age, to use the internet safely and responsibly. This includes protecting personal information and knowing how and when to seek help. Reducing digital victimization is crucial, as it’s the primary driver of this cycle. Schools should incorporate evidence-based prevention programs into their tutorial plans, such as our Safety.net program with tools for teachers and families.
- Empowering the Bystander: Prevention programs should focus on bystanders, encouraging them not to remain passive but instead act as defenders. Fostering empathy and providing tools for intervention, whether defending the victim or reporting harassment, is essential. A bystander who becomes a defender disrupts the social reinforcement that empowers the harasser and alters power dynamics in the classroom.
- Supporting the Victim to Prevent Retaliation: Offer psychological support and constructive alternatives for managing frustration and anger to victims, breaking the violence cycle.
- Working with the Harasser: Understand the reasons behind a harasser’s violent behavior and provide tools for channeling their emotions in less harmful ways.
Focusing on victims and bystanders in digital harassment cases is not only an act of justice but also the most intelligent strategy to disarm the engine of online violence.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is digital harassment? Digital harassment refers to the use of digital communication tools, like social media or messaging apps, to repeatedly and intentionally harm someone through verbal or non-verbal abuse.
- Why do victims become harassers? Feeling powerless and frustrated, victims may view aggression as revenge or a means to regain lost status. The stress from victimization can lead to hostile interpretations of social interactions, potentially triggering aggressive behavior.
- What role do bystanders play? Bystanders, often the most numerous in these dynamics, tend to remain passive due to fear of becoming the next victim or psychological phenomena like moral disengagement or diffusion of responsibility.
- How can we prevent digital harassment? Comprehensive strategies include digital literacy education, empowering bystanders to intervene, supporting victims, and addressing harassers’ underlying issues.
