The Bystander Effect: Why Do Witnesses Refrain from Acting in Cyberbullying Cases?

Abstract

Cyberbullying has received much attention from researchers interested in reducing its harms. While the presence of bystanders has been examined in this context, there is still inadequate understanding of bystanders’ common decision not to intervene in cyberbullying. Using the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE) as its theoretical underpinning, this study seeks to explain the inaction of witnesses to cyberbullying through several constructs: depersonalization (a mediating factor), along with group polarization, moral disengagement, group norm misinterpretation, and empathy arousal inhibition as predictors of how witnesses resolve the conflict between intervention and nonintervention, ultimately failing to intervene. Additionally, this paper discussed how the invisibility, anonymity, and dearth of communication cues in computer-mediated communication (CMC) contribute to the observed bystander effect.