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Cyber Aggression

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Encyclopedia of Adolescence

Overview

With the inception of information and communication technology (ICT) came new ways of causing others harm with potentially greater consequences for targets. ICTs have rapidly become a pervasive part of everyday life, allowing individuals to engage in aggressive behavior on multiple distinct platforms with different capabilities. Contemporary online media allows users to transfer offensive texts, edited and unedited images, audio, and video files. However, it is not only the content of a message that makes cyber aggression unique. Specific features of ICTs facilitate anonymity, planning, permanence and rumination. Additionally, perpetrators may feel more comfortable engaging in cyber aggression because of the visual, emotional, and physical distance from their. Finally, online contexts allow individuals to select their target audience, both bystanders and victims, thereby maximizing the extent of the harm they cause while minimizing consequences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Telethon Kids Institute, Subiaco, Western Australia, Australia

    Kevin C. Runions

  2. University of Western Ontario located in London, Ontario, Canada

    Michal Bak

  3. Edith Cowan University and Telethon Kids Institute in Western Australia, Subiaco, Australia

    Donna Cross

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  1. Kevin C. Runions
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  2. Michal Bak
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  3. Donna Cross
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Correspondence to Kevin C. Runions .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA

    Roger J.R. Levesque

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Runions, K.C., Bak, M., Cross, D. (2016). Cyber Aggression. In: Levesque, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_780-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32132-5_780-1

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