How stressful is online victimization? Effects of victim's personality and properties of the incident

An online survey was used to assess the lifetime experiences of online victimization of internet users aged 10 to 50 years (N = 9,760). It gathered descriptions and categorizations of the most recent incident (n = 4,498), and analysed the variables associated with emotional distress. Results showed that less serious (verbal and sexual harassment, flaming) and more serious incidents (denigration, impersonation, outing, and trickery) can be distinguished. Both characteristics of the victims and properties of the incident were identified as predictors of distress. Higher neuroticism, chronic stress, and prior experiences of online victimization correlated with stronger stress. The safety measures of the provider, greater internet literacy, and, unexpectedly, offender anonymity correlated with lower stress. However, perceived distress depended most strongly on the impact on daily life.