In the recent literature and research on peer-to-peer bullying victimisation, it has been debated whether cybervictimisation is a new phenomenon or if it is just another form of bullying victimisation that happens in a different context: online instead of offline (Olweus, 2012).

Similarities and differences between the two forms of peer victimisation have been highlighted, but it is quite clear that offline victimisation and cybervictimisation significantly overlap with each other (Gini et al., 2018; Kowalski et al., 2014; Modecki, Minchin, Harbaugh, Guerra, & Runions, 2014). Victims of cybervictimisation often also report high levels of offline victimisation and this indicates that many young people may be targets of bullying behaviour in both face-to-face and online contexts. Only a minority of adolescents suffer from “pure” cybervictimisation, without any experience of victimisation in face-to-face interactions with peers.

Cybervictimisation, however, potentially differs from offline bullying victimisation in some respects, due to how new technologies influence the way we interact and communicate with others.

Reflection Activity