Cyberbullying and cyberhate as an overlapping phenomenon among adolescents in Estonia and Spain: Cross-cultural differences and common risk factors

Abstract

We present research conducted in the framework of the European project H2020 RAYUEALA on cybercrime and minors with the aim of analyzing the prevalence of and relationship between cyberbullying and online hate speech among adolescents in two different areas of Europe (Spain −South- and Estonia −North-).

We implemented a representative survey in the region of Madrid (Spain, n = 682) and Estonia (n = 415) with a stratified probability sampling method. We analysed frequencies together with a bivariate analysis and logistic regression.

The results show a similar general prevalence in cyberbullying victimization, but online insults were more common in Estonia and account takeover and exclusion from a group were more common in Spain. However, online insults, racism, and LGTBIphobia had a higher difference in perpetration prevalence in Estonia. While common risk factors for victimization were being a female, being LGTBI, and spending more than three hours online, the leading risk factor for perpetrating was being male. Finally, there was strong overlap between being a cyberbullying and a cyberhate offender.

We suggest some potential explanations for these differences: the extent of technological implementation in the region and the time spent online, information provided in the school and at home, and culturally predominant racism and LGTBphobia. The overlap between being a cyberbullying and a cyberhate offender, the gender- and sexual orientation-related risk factors, and the regional differences in prevalence show the importance of addressing the social and cultural aspects of online violence and the importance of social inequalities and power imbalance.