A Qualitative Exploration of College Students’ Perceptions of Cyberbullying

This study facilitates understanding of college students’ current and previous experiences with cyberbullying and negative social media experiences using an exploratory, qualitative design. Participants were 16 undergraduate freshman or sophomores (9 women, 7 men) at a medium-sized, United States un...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:TechTrends 2021-07, Vol.65 (4), p.464-472
Main Authors: Meter, Diana J., Budziszewski, Ross, Phillips, Abigail, Beckert, Troy E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggression
Bullying
College students
Colleges & universities
Computer Mediated Communication
Cyberbullying
Definitions
Education
Educational Technology
Empowerment
Experience
Interviews
Knowledge Level
Learning and Instruction
Original Paper
Semi Structured Interviews
Social Media
Student Attitudes
Students
Undergraduate Students
Young adults
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Summary:This study facilitates understanding of college students’ current and previous experiences with cyberbullying and negative social media experiences using an exploratory, qualitative design. Participants were 16 undergraduate freshman or sophomores (9 women, 7 men) at a medium-sized, United States university. A 13 question, semi-structured interview probed participants’ past and present experiences with cyberbullying. Iterative, thematic analysis was used to analyze data. Codes were clustered together based on similarity, then grouped into hierarchical themes. First, participants considered cyberbullying to be a grey area , and their definitions of cyberbullying varied considerably. Almost all participants indicated that they experienced and witnessed the most cyberbullying during adolescence . Third, participants mentioned screens and fake personas as mechanisms through which aggressors could distance themselves from victims, empowering individuals to disengage from the harm they were causing. Last, participants described a lack of education and knowledge about cyberbullying resources . Results have policy implications including the need to educate young people about cyberbullying, and, importantly, how to report cyberbully attacks.
ISSN:8756-3894
1559-7075
DOI:10.1007/s11528-021-00605-9