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The Dark Side of Social Media - Cyberbullying, Catfishing and Trolling: A Systematic Literature Review

Christine Olckers ; Marie J. Hattingh (2022) — EPiC Series in Computing, Volume 84: Proceedings of the Society 5.0 Conference 2022

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DOI: 10.29007/qhl5 (opens in a new tab)

Country:   Global
Tags:   Attachment Styles, Bots, Catfishing, Cyberbullying, Fake Identities, Online Dating Deception, Social Media, Trolling
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Synopsis

            
The publication provides a neutral, source-grounded overview of a systematic literature review on the dark side of social media, focusing on cyberbullying, catfishing, and trolling. It explains the aim to identify factors contributing to these behaviors from the perpetrators’ perspective and to consider ways to prevent them. The authors describe a multi-database search of English-language articles published between 2011 and 2021, selecting studies that offered empirical evidence from perpetrators and that examined factors across cyberbullying, catfishing, and trolling. A Prisma-inspired flow and quality assessment were used to filter the final set of sources, which totaled thirty articles. Key findings are summarized by behavioral domain. For cyberbullying and trolling, the review highlights the Dark Triad (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) and related dark traits as repeatedly identified predictors of problematic online behavior, with psychopathy and everyday sadism linked to trolling and Machiavellianism linked to cyberbullying in several studies. The authors note that narcissism is not a standalone predictor for cyberbullying or trolling, though it may interact with other factors. In the catfishing domain, attachment styles and concerns about social acceptance are emphasized as drivers of deceptive online self-presentation, along with motives to obtain relationship satisfaction or information. The review also covers problematic online use, loneliness, and the behavioral differentiation among trolling types, while acknowledging the role of online anonymity and easy access to social platforms. The authors acknowledge limitations, including variability in definitions and measurements, a relatively small corpus of perpetrator-focused studies, and the challenge of drawing broad prevention conclusions. They conclude that the prevalence of dark triad traits complicates prevention efforts and call for further research beyond personality factors to examine cultural, economic, and environmental influences. The publication concludes with a cautious note on implications for policy and practice, given the current evidence base.

          

        
                  

            
Identified Gaps

            
The review identifies limited available literature on factors contributing to harmful social-media use, particularly catfishing compared with cyberbullying. It also indicates that cultural, economic, and environmental contributors have not been addressed by its psychological focus.

          

        
                  

            
Methods

            
Systematic literature review of English-language academic journal and conference publications from 2011–2021. Searches of WorldCat, ScienceDirect, Springer Link, and LISTA used terms covering trolling, cyberbullying, catfishing, fake profiles, dark social media, and influencers. From 2,074 initial records, 30 articles were retained after duplicate removal, screening, eligibility review, and quality assessment focused on perpetrator-oriented, empirical, and generalizable evidence.

          

        
                  

            
Limitations

            
The review is limited by the number of available articles on factors contributing to harmful social-media use and by limited knowledge of personality disorders. The authors note that robust personality research requires testing each participant and takes time. The review also has limited ability to provide prevention guidance. Its eligibility criteria excluded victim-focused studies, non-English publications, pre-2011 publications, and nonacademic sources.

          

        
                  

            
Future Work

            
Further research should examine whether cultural, economic, or environmental influences contribute to cyberbullying, trolling, and catfishing.

          

              

    
    

        
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