Cyberbullying Offending on Instagram: The role of the Dark Triad traits

As an aggressive online behavior, cyberbullying negatively impacts people who use social network sites. Most of the research on cyberbullying has been done on adolescents and high school students without focusing on a specific platform. In the present study, I investigated the role of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism, known as the Dark Triad, in cyberbullying among ۵۸۲ Instagram users of different ages in Iran. Statistical correlation and regression tests were used and the results showed a positive association between the Dark triad traits and cyberbullying. Narcissism and psychopathy also positively contributed to cyberbullying offending. This finding expands our knowledge about aggressive online behaviors on the platform of Instagram. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Keywords:

Dark Triad , Cyberbullying , Personality , Instagram