Definition and Conceptualization of Cyberbullying
Numerous definitions of cyberbullying have been proposed in the research literature, and there appear to be challenges as well as debates within the scientific community about how cyberbullying should be conceptualized (Menesini et al., 2012). The challenge of defining cyberbullying is attributed to a lack of clarity on how cyberbullying should be conceptualized (Tokunaga, 2010; Vandebosch & Van Cleemput, 2008) as well as the rapid evolution of new technologies (Nocentini et al., 2010). Despite these challenges, researchers have realized the importance of including the definitions of cyberbullying in their surveys (Tokunaga, 2010). They, however, have debated whether the three criteria proposed by Olweus (1993) for defining face-to-face (or traditional) bullying, including intentionality, repetition, and imbalance of power, would apply to cyberbullying (Menesini et al., 2012).
Despite the debates regarding how cyberbullying should be defined among researchers, the definitions used in research share one common feature: Cyberbullying is a type of bullying, which occurs in the digital realm or medium of electronic text (Notar et al., 2013; Wong-Lo & Bullock, 2011). Moreover, research on cyberbullying highlights that there are a variety of terminologies for the phenomenon, depending on which acts are considered in the definition, including internet harassment, online harassment, and online bullying (Menesini et al., 2012). The five common criteria for the definition of cyberbullying, such as intentionality, repetition, imbalance of power, anonymity, and public vs. private, are included in the definition of cyberbullying used in research conducted in several countries (Menesini et al., 2012). In addition, according to Vandebosch and Van Cleemput (2008), definitions of cyberbullying also include behaviors that are not covered by face-to-face bullying. Such behaviors include having personal communications copied and sent to others, forwarding large amounts of icons and emoticons to others, changing the photos, and sending them for others to view.