The Evolution of Cyberbullying in Children and Adolescents

Abstract

The current research aims to investigate the evolution of cyberbullying in children and adolescents, as several studies have indicated that there is a development of cyberbullying at different stages of life. The problem of cyberbullying is a growing issue at different stages of life and is closely related to other variables such as aggression and engaging in cyberbullying. Internet bullying or cyberbullying is a growing problem among school-aged children and adolescents, with increased access to and reliance on technology. It is likely that victims of cyberbullying will become more common. Current estimates indicate that up to 35-20% of children and adolescents have reported being exposed to cyberbullying. As research on online harm is still relatively new, there is no clear understanding of basic information such as physical and developmental differences in experiences of online harm (Al-Anzi, 2019: 25). The cyberbullying scale in this study consists of (15) items for Samathna & Lambros. After verifying the accuracy, stability, and suitability of its translation for the Iraqi environment, the researchers in the current study adopted the descriptive approach. The study aimed to identify the development of cyberbullying among children and adolescents, the statistical differences in the development of cyberbullying according to age (6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16), gender (male, female), and the researchers used the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).