In summarizing the psychological mechanisms involved in cyberbullying, Kowalski et al. (2014, 2019) highlight that online aggression is often facilitated by factors such as reduced empathy, moral disengagement, and a diminished awareness of the harm caused to victims due to the physical and psychological distance of online communication. The authors stress that adolescents engaging in cyberbullying may not fully appreciate the emotional consequences of their actions.

The authors state that adolescents who cyberbully frequently demonstrate limited concern for the suffering of their victims. They argue that a ‘deficiency in empathy and awareness of the consequences of online behaviors’ can contribute to cyberbullying, and report that an intervention focused on increasing empathic skills led to significant reductions in self-reported cyberbullying perpetration.

Adolescents who are targeted via cyberbullying report increased depressive affect, anxiety, loneliness, suicidal behavior, and somatic symptoms. This is relevant background on harms associated with cyberbullying, but it does not specifically claim that adolescents lack empathy or awareness of the harm caused by their online actions.

This study investigates the association of empathy, internet moral judgment, and internet self-efficacy with bystander helping behavior among adolescents. It provides related context on adolescent online behavior and empathy, but it does not specifically state that adolescents often lack empathy or awareness of harm caused by their own online actions.

Findings support focused efforts in schools to improve empathy as a means to reduce the incidence of these forms of interpersonal harm. The results show that lower empathy is associated with greater cyberbullying involvement, but the article does not specifically say that adolescents often lack awareness of the harm caused by their online actions.

The three essential theoretical components of this model are decreased empathy of the sender (Gorry, 2009), the receiver’s perception of the imaginary audience (Vartanian, 2000), and impression management by the receiver (Krämer & Winter, 2004). Furthermore, Gorry (2009) suggests that disinhibition resulting in online cruelty may be a result of a lack of empathy. Empathy, which serves as a social anchor in minimizing the occurrence of such behaviours in face-to-face settings, is not an essential feature of online communications. We must, therefore, be vigilant to ensure that empathy in interactions is not lost with the burgeoning of online relationships.

In discussing perpetrators, the review states: "Cyberbullies may show low levels of empathy and moral disengagement, which can facilitate aggressive behaviors online." It adds that the online environment can create "a sense of anonymity and distance from the victim, which might reduce the awareness of the harm caused or the perceived responsibility for one’s actions." This article presents evidence that some adolescents who cyberbully can display reduced empathy and awareness of harm, but it does not attribute this lack of empathy to adolescents in general, nor does it cite Kowalski et al. (2020) as the source of such a statement.

This clinical review explains that "features of online communication, such as perceived anonymity, the lack of face-to-face feedback, and physical distance, may diminish adolescents’ perception of the consequences of their actions and reduce empathy for victims." It notes that these features can make it easier for youth to engage in behaviors that are harmful without fully appreciating the impact. However, the article does not attribute this observation specifically to Kowalski et al. (2020), nor does it claim that adolescents broadly and consistently lack empathy; instead, it describes contextual factors that can undermine empathy and awareness in online interactions.

Improvement in adolescents' empathy, which is manifested in reduced levels of cyberbullying (either victimization or perpetration), is reported. The paper argues that empathy training may reduce cyberbullying among adolescents, which is relevant to the broader issue of empathy and online harm but does not directly report that adolescents often lack empathy and awareness.

Results, published in the Journal of Early Adolescence, showed that those higher in empathy were significantly less likely to cyberbully others in general. The study found that higher empathy was associated with lower likelihood of cyberbullying others, which is relevant background on adolescent empathy and online harm.

This undergraduate project argues that certain patterns of adolescent social media use are associated with ‘low self-esteem, depression, and even suicidality.’ It states that these risks ‘reveal the urgent need to evoke empathy in adolescents who frequently use social media sites so they can begin to stray from harmful online behaviors,’ implying that some adolescents may lack sufficient empathy or awareness of the harm they cause in these contexts.

The study found that social media use was linked with empathy-related outcomes in late adolescents, including personal distress and some empathic responses. It discusses both positive and negative online social effects, but it does not directly support the specific claim about adolescents lacking awareness of harm caused by their online actions.

Kowalski and colleagues published a 2020 review on cyberbullying that discussed adolescents' online behavior, empathy, and moral disengagement. In that literature, researchers note that some adolescents do not fully consider the consequences of their online actions and may show limited empathy toward targets, but this is a general research summary rather than a directly verified quotation from the paper.