Impact of Cyberbullying on Adolescent Mental Health and Strategies for Prevention in the Context of Social Media
Abstract
With digital devices and social media enabling it, cyberbullying has emerged as a growing threat to adolescents’ mental health, taking forms such as harassment, denigration, exclusion, and privacy invasion. Its impact is intensified by anonymity, rapid dissemination, and power imbalance. This study examines the characteristics and psychological drivers of cyberbullying, its negative effects on adolescents, and to propose multi-level strategies for prevention and intervention. By analyzing relevant domestic and international literature as well as typical case studies, the paper provides a systematic overview of the manifestations, trends, and governance measures of cyberbullying. The results show that under the impact of platform mechanisms, psychological motivations, empathy deficits, public opinion, legal gaps, and group psychology, cyberbullying often develops into cycles of harm and norm. These dynamics cause adolescents to face withdrawal, low self-esteem, mood instability, mental disorders, burnout, and poor school adaptation, with possibly serious outcomes.
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