Cyberbullying phenomenon: an investigation among Afghan university students

Abstract

Online application is almost entirely used for modern communication, which might encourage negative or cyberbullying (CB) behaviors. Therefore, the present study aimed at investigating the prevalence rates of cyberbullying perpetration (CP) and cyber victimization (CV) among Afghan university students. The study also sought to investigate the most common and dominant social media platforms which promote CP and CV and as well as the reasons for not reporting these incidences. In addition, it also explored the significant difference in the prevalence rate of CP and CV by gender, age, and internet frequency. The researcher targeted a sample size of 629 respondents. A descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analyzing the data. The results revealed that Afghan students were highly perpetrated and victimized by cyberbullying. It was also found that Facebook had the most dominant role in promoting and prevalence of cyberbullying. Gender differences were found in the CP. Female students were more to the exposure of being victimized than male students. Age groups and internet frequency were found statistically significant differences in the prevalence of CV but it was opposite to the CP among Afghan students. A significant positive correlation was found between CP and CV. Some practical implications were presented to the authorities and other involved parties.