Peer-reviewed article
Smartphones, Emotions and Bullying Among Adolescents: A PRISMA Systematic Review.
Bello-Correas C, Alzás T, Alonso-Díaz L ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review of 34 studies examines bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents aged 12-16, focusing on how smartphones and digital connectivity affect young people's emotional well-being. The research shows that cyberbullying extends school violence into digital spaces, making it hard for victims to escape, and is linked to serious mental health problems including self-harm and suicidal thoughts. Girls and LGBTQ+ students face higher vulnerability, and schools vary in their support resources. The review concludes that teaching emotional skills and digital emotional intelligence through education can help protect adolescents from these harms.
Key points
- Cyberbullying acts as a persistent extension of school-based violence with continuous digital exposure making it difficult for victims to emotionally disconnect
- Prolonged bullying correlates with psychosocial distress including self-harming behaviors and suicidal ideation
- Girls and LGBTQ+ students report heightened vulnerability to bullying
- Disparities exist between public and state-subsidized schools in institutional involvement and emotional support resources
- Systematic emotional education developing socio-emotional skills acts as a key protective factor, with digital emotional intelligence emerging as a promising preventive strategy
Limitations
This is a narrative synthesis of heterogeneous studies without meta-analysis, so it cannot provide precise quantitative estimates of effect sizes or definitively rank the strength of different protective interventions. The review does not specify which countries the 34 studies represent, limiting understanding of geographic applicability and cultural variation.
Abstract
This systematic review, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, analyzes scientific literature on bullying and cyberbullying among adolescents (aged 12-16) in educational settings, focusing on ICT, smartphone hyperconnectivity, and emotional education. An exhaustive search across Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Dialnet, CSIC, SciELO, and Google Scholar identified 34 empirical studies. A narrative synthesis was performed due to methodological heterogeneity. The synthesized evidence suggests that cyberbullying frequently acts as a persistent extension of school violence, where continuous digital exposure makes it difficult for victims to emotionally disconnect. Empirical data indicate a concerning correlation between prolonged bullying and psychosocial distress, including self-harming behaviors and suicidal ideation. Furthermore, results highlight systemic gaps: heightened vulnerability is reported among girls and LGBTQ+ students, alongside disparities between public and state-subsidized schools regarding institutional involvement and emotional support resources. Educational implications suggest reactive protocols are insufficient. Evidence supports that systematic emotional education, enhancing socio-emotional skills like impulse control, empathy, self-esteem and emotional regulation, acts as a key protective factor. Consequently, fostering "digital emotional intelligence" emerges as a promising preventive educational strategy to protect adolescents' well-being in hyperconnected environments.