The Experience of School Cyberbullying: an Analysis of Retrospective Interviews

The experience of cyberbullying participants is analyzed through their rethinking. The study uses the theory of social comparison and the theory of social norms as the main mechanisms that help to identify situations of rethinking, as well as their causes. With the help of thematic coding, topics were identified in which there was a comparison of views regarding the past experiences of informants in childhood and now. A total of 20 in-depth semi-structured interviews were analyzed with young people aged 20 to 30 who had experienced cyberbullying situations in the role of the aggressor, victim or spectator. Based on empirical material, forms of cyberbullying were identified; classification of bullying participants, the strategies they use during school time, as well as the aspects that were rethought by the informants during the interview. The experience of participants in the study in cyberbullying and traditional forms of bullying was compared. The results of the study from a practical point of view will help in the formation of programs to prevent online aggression.