Cyberbullying Through Social Media

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Cyberbullying is an increasingly widespread problem connected to the development of digital technologies and their influence on almost every societal aspect. It is considered an especially serious health issue among children and adolescents in primary schools, high schools, and universities, which has significant negative effects on both bullies and their victims (Peled, 2017). An understanding of the underlying causes of cyberbullying among children and adolescents is required to develop effective prevention programs.

Cyberbullying is defined as the aggressive pressure and repeated harmful actions towards individuals who are disadvantaged or less powerful inflicted through electronic devices. It occurs primarily on social networking platforms and includes posting, sending, or sharing negative or wrong information about an individual to harass or intimidate (Peled, 2017). Adolescents are especially susceptible to cyber threats, which have a significant impact on their character and behavior and can lead to the development of psychological problems. Several theories have been developed to explain the nature of cyberbullying, including the social-ecological theory, which sees bullying as embedded in a larger social context and shaped by it (Wright, 2016). To this theory, cyberbullying needs to be studied by a range of social influences and understood as a complex phenomenon.

The literature on the subject of adolescent cyberbullying primarily studies the effects and causes of this behavior and identifies factors related to it. According to the research by Akar (2017), the main causes of cyberbullying are “psychological problems, social and communication skill shortage, lack of parental awareness, supportive school climate, and ethical norms for cyberspace” (p. 445). Alotaibi (2019) focuses on the lack of regulations and the absence of parental controls as factors that encourage behavioral intentions towards cyber harassment in adolescents. The research by Akrim and Sulasmi (2020) studies student perceptions of cyberbullying on social media. According to the results of the questionnaire conducted among students, 40% of them think that cyberbullying is caused by anger, hurt, and revenge or by frustration and thirst for power (Akrim & Sulasmi, 2020). It shows that in contrast to scholars, students themselves tend to explain cyberbullying by negative personality traits of their peers rather than social and cultural factors.

Based on the literature analysis, it can be concluded that bullying is a complex phenomenon that has different aspects and can be studied from distinct perspectives. The study by Shams et al. (2017) identifies five types of factors associated with bullying: psychological, family, school, socioeconomic, and “the influence of the media.” Psychological factors named by Akar (2017) are impulsivity, lack of empathy, anger, narcissism, psychopathy, aggression, and moral disengagement. Social factors, which include family and school, encompass all types of relationships that encourage the development of destructive behavior patterns. The influence of media is primarily related to anonymity, which makes it easier for the offender to attack the victim (Nurfarhanah et al., 2019). Socioeconomic factors are identified by Alotaibi (2019) and include a lack of control and regulation both in the communities and in cyberspace. All five types of factors need to be further researched to develop successful cyberbullying prevention and intervention strategies.

The main question that the proposed research aims to address is to identify the underlying causes of cyberbullying among adolescents and the main factors that need to be considered when developing prevention strategies. The independent variables are the age, background, and social status of respondents, and the dependent variables include their engagement in cyberbullying and factors that influence their social media behavior. The hypothesis is that cyberbullying is the result of a combination of factors and they all need to be considered when developing a prevention strategy. The research intends to focus on children and adolescents and contribute to the previous studies on the subject by offering new ideas for prevention strategies development.

References

Akrim, A., & Sulasmi, E. (2020). Student perception of cyberbullying in social media. Talent Development & Excellence, 12(1), 322–333.

Akar, F. (2017). School psychological counselors’ opinions about causes & consequences of cyber bullying & preventive policies at schools. In Vopava, J. et al. (Eds.), Proceedings of AC 2017 (pp. 445–459). MAC Prague Consulting.

Alotaibi, N. B. (2019). Cyber bullying and the expected consequences on the students’ academic achievement.IEEE Access, 7, 153417–153431. Web.

Nurfarhanah, A., Andriani, W., Syahniar, Mudjiran, Daarnis, Alizamar, & Zikra, Z. (2019). Analysis of the causes of cyberbullying: Preliminary studies on guidance and counseling media. Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, 372, 300–306.

Peled, Y. (2019). Cyberbullying and its influence on academic, social, and emotional development of undergraduate students.Heliyon, 5(3), e01393. Web.

Shams, H., Garmaroudi, G., & Nedjat, S. (2017). Factors related to bullying: A qualitative study of early adolescent students.Iran Red Crescent Medical Journal, 19(5), e42834. Web.

Wright, M. F. (Ed.). (2016). A social-ecological approach to cyberbullying. NOVA.

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