Repetitive and malicious aggressive behaviors carried out by an individual or group against a victim who is unable to defend themselves, using various communication tools, are referred to as cyberbullying. Experts emphasize that actions such as spreading rumors about the victim in the virtual environment, copying personal conversations, and sending them to others are also considered cyberbullying. Stating that insufficient monitoring of virtual spaces allows bullies to easily hide their identities, Prof. Dr. Sırrı Akbaba said, “They can continue their actions without fear of being caught and punished. The ability to quickly deliver cyberbullying material to many people and to save copies once uploaded causes its effect to last longer compared to traditional bullying.”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Rector's Advisor and Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of Psychology Lecturer Prof. Dr. Sırrı Akbaba made statements regarding the types and characteristics of cyberbullying.
“Copying personal conversations and sending them to others is also cyberbullying”
Stating that cyberbullying is repetitive and malicious aggressive behavior carried out by an individual or group against a victim who is unable to defend themselves, using various communication tools, Prof. Dr. Sırrı Akbaba listed examples of cyberbullying as;
- Secretly taking embarrassing photos of an individual with a mobile phone,
- Preparing web pages that embarrass or disparage someone,
- Sending humiliating, mocking, sexually harassing, and violent messages via email or mobile phone,
- Spreading rumors about the victim in the virtual environment,
- Copying personal conversations and sending them to others.
“They don’t fear being caught thanks to their ability to hide their identities”
Stating that other names for cyberbullying are ‘electronic bullying, internet bullying, digital bullying, and online harm,’ Akbaba said, “Based on the individuals involved in cyberbullying, three groups of concepts can be mentioned. These are cyberbullying, cyber-victimization, and cyber-bully/victimization.”
Akbaba also touched upon the characteristics of cyberbullying, explaining, “It is observed that the bully can easily hide their identity in the virtual environment. The ability to hide their identity allows the cyberbully to comfortably use email and web-based applications for behaviors such as threatening, mocking, and spreading rumors, without fear of being caught and punished.”
“Insufficient monitoring of virtual space allows cyberbullies to achieve their goals”
Stating that another characteristic is power imbalance, Akbaba said, “It is very difficult to avoid and remove material found in the virtual environment. The cyberbully's better use of information and communication technologies than the cyber-victim, and the cyberbully's higher status in the virtual environment than the cyber-victim, can be given as examples of situations that lead to power imbalance.”
Akbaba emphasized that insufficient monitoring of virtual space is another factor that allows cyberbullies to achieve their goals.
“Its effect lasts longer than traditional bullying”
Prof. Dr. Sırrı Akbaba pointed out that the ability to deliver cyberbullying material to many people in a short time through ‘cut-copy-paste’ and ‘forward’ methods makes controlling cyberbullying and fighting it difficult, and concluded his words as follows:
“In traditional bullying, the impact is less because the victimization is known by fewer people. Once cyberbullying material is uploaded to the online environment, even if the original is deleted, many copies can be stored in the virtual environment and kept accessible to other people. This causes the victim's shame and fear to persist. The cyber-victim experiences the same pain again every time they read, watch, or listen to this material. In traditional bullying, the impact is limited to the time of the bullying, apart from the mental experience.”