THE ROLE OF ARGOT IN CYBERBULLYING IN SECRET GROUPS

Abstract

Social media plays a significant role in communication between people; through personal profiles, individuals can easily get to know each other, form friendships, and find the common interests. Social media also has a "group creation function," where users can join to groups at the discretion of an "admin" or group creator; membership is depend on the group creator’s approval. Our research focuses not on cyberbullying itself as a crime, but rather on a specific aspect of it—the role of argot in covert cyberbullying groups. Examining their interactions shows that, despite of their different origins, these two concepts are closely interconnected. The use of argot elements in cyberbullying makes the text more obscure and incomprehensible to outsiders, while it remains easily understandable to members of a specific social group.

Keywords: Argot, Cyberbullying, Internet communication, Social networks.