Prevalence and Prevention Strategies of Cyberbullying among Nigerian Students

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a problem that has emerged as a byproduct of modern-day technologies. This form of aggression occurs when one or more individuals use a technological medium for the purpose of intimidating or harming others. In spite of the popularity of technological devices among Nigerian youths presently, there remains a critical gap in literature relating to cyberbullying and its possible effects on students in Nigeria. This study thus sought to identify if a relationship exists between traditional bullying and cyberbullying; examine the effect of cyberbullying on students’ psychological behavior; and examine ways in which cyberbullying might be prevented. The sample consists of students from tertiary institutions while the results were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The result of the findings showed that significant correlations were found between traditional bullies and cyberbullies (rranks = 0.322, p < 0.001), cyberbullies and cyberbullied victim (rranks = 0.401, p < 0.0001). There were also significant correlations found between bullies and bully victims (rranks = 0.326, p < 0.001) and between bullied victim and cyberbully victim (rranks = 0.160, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that traditional bullying and cyberbullying share a strong relationship with one another. Furthermore, it was also discovered that those who were victimized through traditional bullying or cyberbullying were also likely to bully others. The result showed that cyberbullied victims often exhibit a variety of negative outcomes especially anger, embarrassment, fear and anxiety. A Spearman Rank-Order correlation revealed a negative association between grade level and cyberbullies (rranks = 0.034, p = 0.355) as well as grade level and cyberbully victims (rranks = 0.107, p = 0.217). A significantly positive relationship occurred between frequency of computer use and cyberbullies (rranks = 0.206, p = 0.015), as well as between frequency of computer use and electronic victimization (rranks = 0.223, p = 0.012). The study concluded that parents, school and mental health providers must not only be aware of cyberbullying and its consequences, but must also have access to ways to deal with this growing concern through public awareness building, anger management training for youths and the establishment of mentorship programs for youths to help one other.