"I feel like everyone does it" - adolescents' perceptions and awareness of the association between humour, banter, and cyberbullying

Abstract Literature has acknowledged the alliance between face-to-face bullying behaviours and humour. However, comparably, little is known regarding humour and cyberbullying. Humour may be a motivating factor and, as such, explain why some individuals engage in cyberbullying. This study aimed to gain insight into adolescents’ views and perceptions of how humour and ‘banter’ play a role within cyberbullying. Seven focus groups were carried out with 28 United Kingdom based secondary school students (female =20, male=8) aged between 11 and 15 years old. Reflexive thematic analysis identified three prominent overarching themes which became salient across each focus group: Banter as a social interaction, Online misinterpretation, and “Bad” banter and cyberbullying. Results indicate young people have a shared understanding of online humoristic aggressive behaviours, such as online banter, describing them as ambiguous and difficult to interpret. Participants demonstrated an understanding of how ambiguity, caused by the online environment combined with banter interactions, can be interpreted as perceived or fully acknowledged cyberbullying behaviour. Motivations for these behaviours are considered within the findings of the data analysis and previous literature. Findings are discussed with potential preventative implications and considerations for future research.