Protect Your Child from Digital Threat: A Comprehensive Medical Reference for Researchers and Clinicians

Cyberbullying has emerged as a significant public health concern affecting children and adolescents worldwide, facilitated by the rapid proliferation of digital technologies and social media platforms. Despite growing scholarly attention, cyberbullying remains an incompletely understood and inconsistently measured phenomenon. This narrative review synthesises the existing evidence on the epidemiology, psychological impact, and clinical management of cyberbullying in young people aged under 18 years. Prevalence estimates vary widely across studies and geographic regions, ranging from approximately 10% to 40% of adolescents reporting victimisation, with considerable heterogeneity attributable to definitional inconsistencies and methodological variation. The epidemiological literature also indicates important age- and gender-related patterns, with victimisation peaking during early to mid-adolescence (approximately 11–15 years), a developmental period characterised by heightened peer orientation, identity formation, and increasing digital autonomy. Cyberbullying victims demonstrate substantially elevated rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, suicidal ideation, and self-harm compared with non-victimised peers. The unique characteristics of the online environment — including the potential for anonymous perpetration, audience amplification, and the absence of temporal or spatial escape — appear to intensify psychological harm relative to traditional forms of bullying. Clinically, robust assessment frameworks, trauma-informed psychotherapeutic interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy, and family- and school-based strategies represent the cornerstones of management. Prevention programmes that simultaneously target individual digital literacy, peer norms, and systemic policy reform show the greatest promise. This review highlights critical gaps in longitudinal research, the clinical operationalisation of cyberbullying, and the need for culturally adapted interventions. Future studies should prioritise longitudinal and cross-cultural designs, standardised definitions, and rigorous evaluation of targeted clinical and school-based interventions to strengthen causal inference and inform evidence-based prevention strategies.