Cyberbullying on the rise across Europe
Cyberbullying is an urgent problem for children and teenagers across Europe according to a report by the OECD covering 29 countries surveyed report an increase. Although the rates differ sharply, with the Baltic states, the United Kingdom and Ireland showing higher levels, it is crucial to understand the factors that contribute to these differences.
According to experts, these differences are due to a complex interplay of technological, cultural and institutional factors. Technological factors include internet access, smartphone penetration and the prevalence of specific online platforms. All of these influence how often and in what way young people interact online.
Cultural norms regarding conflict resolution, communication styles and acceptable levels of aggression also play a role. Societies that are more tolerant of verbal hostility or indirect aggression often show higher levels of cyberbullying. Institutional factors such as education in digital literacy, school-based prevention programmes and parental involvement in online safety contribute to national differences in the prevalence of cyberbullying.
The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have exacerbated the problem, as school closures and a growing reliance on digital platforms for social interaction have created more opportunities both for positive connections and for harmful online behaviour. While anonymity, immediacy and a wider audience can act as amplifiers, they can also weaken social responsibility and empathy, increasing the risk that hostile or exclusionary behaviour becomes normalised online.
Strikingly, it is more often girls who are targeted by cyberbullying. This trend is likely linked to girls’ greater involvement in social media and self-presentation activities, which often makes them more vulnerable to forms of relational aggression such as social exclusion, the spreading of rumours and image-based harassment.
Family structure also appears to influence vulnerability to cyberbullying. Young people from single-parent families report higher rates of victimisation than those from two-parent households. This difference may be explained by the greater time, financial and emotional pressures single parents face, which can limit their ability to monitor their children’s online activities and advise them on safe online behaviour. Children in these families may also spend more time online in search of social contact, putting them at greater risk of cyberbullying.
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