Cyberbullying contra professores: a autoridade escolar como alvo de violência virtual

Abstract

The contemporary context demonstrates that children and adolescents have increasingly used the virtual environment and the Internet as privileged spaces for communication, self-expression, and the establishment of social bonds. While bullying has traditionally been confined to the physical environment in which it occurs, its manifestations are no longer restricted to the spatial boundaries of schools or other face-to-face settings. In the digital context, such practices acquire new dynamics and significantly expand their reach, becoming what is known as cyberbullying. This phenomenon is characterized by intentional, repetitive, aggressive, and hostile actions or behaviors carried out by individuals or groups through electronic devices connected to the Internet, with the deliberate aim of causing harm, humiliation, or suffering to the victim. An important aspect of this issue concerns the expansion of the targets of virtual violence. Whereas such attacks were initially directed primarily at other students, they currently affect other members of the school community, especially teachers, who represent figures of pedagogical, disciplinary, and institutional authority. Considering the complexity of this scenario and the transformations in school relationships mediated by digital technologies, this study sought to identify the factors underlying the various forms of violence directed at teachers, as well as to analyze, from the perspective of Critical Theory, the contemporary role of humiliation and the public degradation of teachers’ image. To achieve these objectives, the study was organized into two parts. The first presents a theoretical and conceptual discussion of cyberbullying against teachers. The second consists of an analysis of videos portraying situations related to the research problem.