Global research trends on cyberbullying: A bibliometric study

Abstract

The rapid growth of the media industry, particularly social media, has enhanced interaction and information sharing but has also led to harmful uses of cyberspace, such as cyberbullying. This phenomenon, primarily affecting adolescents, involves repeated harm through electronic devices in forms like abusive or aggressive text messages, inappropriate videos, and identity theft. The present study utilizes the Scopus database to analyze 5201 publications on cyberbullying from 1999 to 2023. Using various bibliometric network methods for analysis such as networks, citation, co-citation, collaboration, and keyword co-occurrence networks, along with intellectual structure maps, we identified key contributors and publications from this field.

The study identifies significant growth in scientific output over the years, with prominent contributors like Michelle F. Wright, Heidi Vandebosch, and Rosario Ortega-Ruiz, and key journals including Computers in Human behavior, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, and Journal of Interpersonal Violence. The United States leads research production, with substantial collaboration among American institutions, followed by Canada and the United Kingdom. This study recognizes social media, gender, and online abuse as key topics well-explored in studies on cyberbullying. However, further investigation is required in fields such as cyber dating violence and harassment, along with the associated challenges faced by sexual minorities. Our results show a growing research interest among academics in understanding the various aspects of cyberbullying in recent years.