The Effect of Cyberbullying on Mental Health

At this time, mental health has become one of the priorities in living a healthy and happy life. Not infrequently, many people visit a professional so that their mental health is maintained. But along with the development of technology, the causes of mental disorders are also increasing. One type of mental disorder that is often encountered is depression. Depression is a mood disorder characterized by feelings of deep sadness and loss of interest in things you like. Based on the 2018 Basic Health Research (Riskesdas), it shows that more than 19 million people aged over 15 years of experience mental emotional disorders, and more than 12 million people aged more than 15 years of experience depression (Rokom, 2021) and one of the causes of depression is due to there is cyberbullying. Of course this is one thing that needs to be of concern to all of us. However, cyberbullying can not only cause depression but can cause other disorders.

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that is carried out using digital technology, such as social media, text messages, or gaming platforms. Like other types of bullying, cyberbullying is also done to intimidate, harass, frighten, or embarrass the victim. The impact of this cyberbullying can be in the form of emotional impacts in the form of feeling ashamed, afraid, worried, even humiliated, feeling ostracized and isolated from other people, feeling insecure and helpless, feeling annoyed or angry at the perpetrators of cyberbullying, feeling compelled to take revenge, both on the perpetrators. cyberbullying or on other people who are weaker. In addition, a person can also withdraw from the social environment because the psychological condition of the victim tends to experience anxiety and fear. They do not hesitate to withdraw from the social environment, even the impact of this cyberbullying can cause victims to have suicidal thoughts.

Of course, if you have reached this stage, you are strongly encouraged to see a professional such as a psychologist or psychiatrist. Because in addition to such a serious impact, cyberbullying can also result in the loss of someone’s precious life. To be able to overcome this, the roles of several important figures such as parents, teachers and even the surrounding environment are needed so that cyberbullying can be prevented and does not cause unwanted negative impacts.

References:

Cyberbullying: Apa itu dan bagaimana menghentikannya. (2022). Retrieved 17 November 2022, from https://www.unicef.org/indonesia/id/child-protection/apa-itu-cyberbullying

Effects of Cyberbullying | American SPCC – Negative Consequences of Cyberbullying. (2022). Retrieved 16 November 2022, from https://americanspcc.org/impact-of-cyberbullying/

Fisipol. (2022). Penyebab Dan Dampak Dari Cyberbullying. Retrieved 17 November 2022, from https://ilmukomunikasi.uma.ac.id/2022/07/14/penyebab-dan-dampak-dari-cyberbullying/

Hana. D.S. (2019). Dampak Psikologis Peserta Didik yang Menjadi Korban Cyber Bullying. Prosiding Berkala Psikologi (1), 20-29.

Hidajat, M., Adam, A. R., Danaparamita, M., & Suhendrik. (2015). Dampak Media Sosial Dalam Cyberbullying. ComTech, Vol.6, No.1 , 72-81.

John, A., Glendenning, A., Marchant, A., Montgomery, P., Stewart, A., & Wood, S. et al. (2018). Self-Harm, Suicidal Behaviours, and Cyberbullying in Children and Young People: Systematic Review. Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 20(4), e129. doi: 10.2196/jmir.9044

Wang, M. J., et al. (2019). How Common is Cyberbullying among Adults? Exploring Gender, Ethnic, and Age Differences in the Prevalence of Cyberbullying. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 22(11), pp 736–741.

World Health Organization (2021). Depression.