Cyberbullying and Its Impact on Mental Health of Adolescents

Abstract

The impact of social media in the twenty-first century is huge and extensive. Its role is simply impossible to ignore especially with reference to the young people or adolescents. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, bullying is an aggressive behaviour that seeks to control, harm or threaten others. Cyber-bullying refers to bullying or harassment that takes place in the virtual world such as social networking sites, emails etc., using digital devices like computer, cell-phone and so on. With the onset of technology and the rise of social media, children and adolescents are bringing their bullies home with them. There is no safe zone anymore as this form of bullying can happen at any time, anyplace and any situation.

The present study was undertaken to find out the association between cyber-bullying and mental health issues of adolescents. In order to achieve this objective, the investigators used a descriptive survey method of research. The population for the study has been defined as the eleventh and twelfth-grade students. The sample comprised of 100 students (50 male and 50 female students), which was selected with the help of incidental sampling technique. Questionnaires were used for data collection. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation was used to find out the relationship (if any) between the variables and Students’ t-test was used to find the gender difference (if any) on the variables mentioned.

The study reveals that the majority of the student population have been victims or have witnessed cyberbullying and have been involved in bullying others. There is a strong association between cyberbullying and degrading mental health of adolescents. The findings and the implications of the study have been discussed in the paper.