Cyberbullying: a threat for relationships and social health

The rapid growth of powerful digital and technological devices such as smartphones and tablets among young people is one of the main factors responsible for the attitude of new adolescents generation to replace personal face-to-face relationships with virtual ones, preferring messages, tweet in social groups and images posted on the web (Instagram, Facebook, etc). Even though this lifestyle change facilitates and amplifies the contact opportunities among people, it might represent a new possibility for the phenomenon of bullying to spread, assuming an even more subtle and cowardly modality, the cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying consists in using technology to hurt, threaten, upset or harass someone else by means of aggressive messages, posts of personal information, pictures or videos. Intimidation and unpleasant comments may deal with a person's behaviour, sexual orientation, physical differences or any other kind of discrimination.