Characterization of Cyberbullying Victimization and Perpetration Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

Social media users' attitudes toward cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic: associations with gender and verification status

Introduction

Social media platforms such as Twitter and Weibo facilitate both positive and negative communication, including cyberbullying. Empirical evidence has revealed that cyberbullying increases when public crises occur, that such behavior is gendered, and that social media user account verification may deter it. However, the association of gender and verification status with cyberbullying is underexplored. This study aims to address this gap by examining how Weibo users' gender, verification status, and expression of affect and anger in posts influence cyberbullying attitudes. Specifically, it investigates how these factors differ between posts pro- and anti-cyberbullying of COVID-19 cases during the pandemic.

Methods

This study utilized social role theory, the Barlett and Gentile Cyberbullying Model, and general strain theory as theoretical frameworks. We applied text classification techniques to identify pro-cyberbullying and anti-cyberbullying posts on Weibo. Subsequently, we used a standardized mean difference method to compare the emotional content of these posts. Our analysis focused on the prevalence of affective and anger-related expressions, particularly examining variations across gender and verification status of the users.

Results

Our text classification identified distinct pro-cyberbullying and anti-cyberbullying posts. The standardized mean difference analysis revealed that pro-cyberbullying posts contained significantly more emotional content compared to anti-cyberbullying posts. Further, within the pro-cyberbullying category, posts by verified female users exhibited a higher frequency of anger-related words than those by other users.

Discussion

The findings from this study can enhance researchers' algorithms for identifying cyberbullying attitudes, refine the characterization of cyberbullying behavior using real-world social media data through the integration of the mentioned theories, and help government bodies improve their cyberbullying monitoring especially in the context of public health crises.

Does the COVID-19 Pandemic Increase or Decrease the Global Cyberbullying Behaviors? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Although cyberbullying is an emerging public health problem, it is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic affects cyberbullying. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on cyberbullying, to estimate the global cyberbullying prevalence and to explore factors related to cyberbullying during the COVID-19 pandemic. We searched the Medline, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Eric, PsycINFO, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Wanfang, Chinese CNKI, and EBSCO databases to identify relevant empirical studies published between 2019 and 2022. A total of 36 studies were included. Quality assessment, meta-analyses, and subgroup analyses were conducted. The pooled prevalences were 16% for overall cyberbullying, 18% for victimization and 11% for perpetration during the COVID-19 pandemic, which were lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The pooled prevalence of postpandemic cyberbullying perpetration is lower in children than in adults. In addition, both virus- and lockdown-related stressors were the main factors contributing to cyberbullying. The COVID-19 crisis may reduce cyberbullying, and the pooled prevalence of cyberbullying during the pandemic in adults is higher than in children and adolescents. In addition, the transient-enduring factor model of postpandemic cyberbullying built in this review could help identify people at high risk of cyberbullying during public health emergencies.

The Relationship Between Bullying and Risk of Suicide Among Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Objectives

Although adolescents appear less vulnerable to coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the side effects of this pandemic can still be devastating. Bullying and suicidality are significant global issues with detrimental effects on young people, particularly during school closure. This study aimed to identify the relationship between bullying and suicide risk among adolescents in Indonesia during the COVID- 19 pandemic.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted on adolescents aged 14-18 years in May 2020 in Bandung, Indonesia, using a webbased closed survey. The Adolescent Peer Relations Instrument and the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-Revised were used to measure bullying and risk of suicide. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was performed.

Results

This study included 268 participants in 2020 and 175 participants in 2019. In 2020, the prevalence of perpetrators and victims of bullying combined was 74.6%. Meanwhile, in 2019, the prevalence of perpetrators and victims of bullying combined was 82.9%. Risk of suicide increased from 26.1% in 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic) to 36.5% in 2020 (during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic). The risk of perpetrators and suicide victims was higher than that of perpetrators and victims alone (odds ratio [OR]=4.0, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.5-6.6 vs. OR=1.3, 95% CI=1.0-2.9 and OR=1.6, 95% CI=1.1-2.8, respectively).

Conclusion

Bullying can enhance the likelihood of suicide among adolescents in Indonesia, and the risk was highest for the combination of victims and perpetrators. It is very important to provide early risk prediction for youths with bullying behavior and improve the knowledge and understanding of families and schools regarding the negative effects of bullying behavior.