Types of cyberbullying?

Verbal Aggression and Harassment

This is the most common and direct form of cyberbullying.

It includes the constant sending of insults, threats or vexatious messages through instant messaging applications (WhatsApp, Telegram), comments on social networks (Instagram, TikTok) or on online gaming platforms.

This category is called harassment and involves a persistent bombardment of offensive messages that seek to undermine self-esteem and generate fear in the victim.

Within this group we also find flaming, which refers to very aggressive and public verbal fights in forums, chats or WhatsApp groups.

Unlike harassment, flaming is usually a short but very violent outburst, where the language is deliberately inflammatory.

Often, what starts as flaming can escalate into sustained harassment over time against one of the parties.

Social Exclusion and Denigration

Cyberbullying is not always a direct attack; like silent bullying, it can be relational.

Exclusion is a potent form of cyberbullying: it involves deliberately excluding a classmate from a class WhatsApp group, an online game or a private group on a social network.

The aim is to socially isolate the victim and make him or her feel invisible or unwanted, replicating the "law of ice" in the digital environment.

Denigration goes one step further. It consists of spreading rumors, lies, photomontages or manipulated videos to damage the victim's reputation and social image.

It includes the creation of fake profiles or web pages (e.g. on Instagram or TikTok) with the sole purpose of ridiculing that person, uploading humiliating content and encouraging others to participate.

This form of harassment seeks to destroy the victim's social relationships.

Impersonation and Disclosure of Information

Impersonation is an advanced tactic where the aggressor accesses the victim's private accounts (email, social networks) or creates fake profiles impersonating the victim.

The goal is to act on her behalf to get her into trouble or ridicule her: they send offensive messages to her friends, post inappropriate content or change her profile information.

The victim loses control of their own digital identity. Related to this is outing, which consists of revealing and publicly disseminating private and sensitive information about the victim without their consent.

This can be secrets, confidences, intimate photographs (which would result in non-consensual sexting) or their sexual orientation. This violation of trust is one of the most traumatic forms of cyberbullying.

Summary

Harassment is the most direct type: it consists of the repeated sending of insults and threats through messaging or comments on networks to generate fear and damage self-esteem

Denigration seeks to damage reputation by spreading rumors, photomontages or creating fake profiles to ridicule. Digital exclusion replicates the "law of ice" in online groups.

Impersonation occurs when the offender uses the victim's accounts or creates fake profiles in the victim's name. "Outing" is the public disclosure of secrets or intimate photos without consent