Some problems with cyberbullying research

- Research on cyberbullying is plagued by inconsistent findings and exaggerated claims.
- To build a coherent body of knowledge, a consensual definition is important.
- Cyberbullying overlaps a lot with traditional bullying.
- It is important to measure cyberbullying in a bullying context.
- Cyberbullying should be regarded as a subcategory of bullying.

Research on cyberbullying is plagued by inconsistent findings and exaggerated claims about prevalence, development over time, and effects. To build a useful and coherent body of knowledge, it essential to achieve some degree of consensus on the definition of the phenomenon as a scientific concept and that efforts to measure cyberbullying are made in a 'bullying context.' This will help to ensure that findings on cyberbullying are not confounded with findings on general cyberaggression or cyberharassment. We tentatively recommend that cyberbullying should be regarded as a subcategory or specific form of bullying, in line with other forms such as verbal, physical, and indirect/relational.