From the trenches: Cyberbullying and beyond

Abstract

Welcome to this collection of state-of-the-art writings on cyberbullying. The title of this opening chapter alludes to three things. Firstly, that we are in a war and fighting from the trenches - where hand-to-hand fighting occurs - up close and personal with the enemy. We believe that some of the intervention and prevention work in the area of cyberbullying has been exactly this - hasty approaches to fighting an enemy that caught most of us off guard - perhaps being aware of the potential threat - but not the intensity or frequency of it. The second issue is that we are dealing explicitly with cyberbullying. The authors present a timely critique of the area - from definitional issues to intervention and prevention approaches. In a relatively short space of time, we have been flooded with the positive aspects of the Web 2.0 technological and digital revolution. Even more so, we have been faced with the ever evolving menace of bullying behaviours that utilise these new technologies and media. Thirdly, we want to encourage you to consider the lessons learnt from the initial emergence, and ongoing experience of, cyberbullying. That is, as you read these critical reviews of the literature, we want you to speculate about future developments in the area. In particular, we believe that it is worth taking heed of the messages in these chapters for the days and years ahead, as we see another important issue on the horizon - the rapid growth in the development and implementation of artificial intelligence and robotics. As an ethical and civil society, it is our duty to learn from the past, account for the present, and plan effectively for the future. We can always hope for the best, but we should plan for the worst. So, as the chapters aid our understanding of cyberbullying, the things we have learnt and have done well (or not so well), as individuals with an interest in how to protect childhood whilst encouraging creativity and imagination in the modern world, we do need to lift our heads from the sand and look to the unknown future – to plan ahead for the children yet to be born.