| Cyber-bullying is a proliferating, pervasive phenomenon that affects large numbers of youth. A sample of 268 grade seven and eight Northern Ontario students were surveyed with regards to their experiences with, and perceptions of cyber-bullying. The study results support the notion that cyber-bullying is prevalent, with 70% of participants indicating at least one occurrence of cyber-bully perpetration or victimization. Nearly half of the youth reported that adults knew what they were doing on the internet always or most of the time and, as participant's ratings of internet supervision increased so too did their perceptions of cyber-bullying being reported. For the most part students agreed that cyber-bullying is hurtful; however, participants who self-reported participating in cyber-bully behaviours were significantly less likely to agree that cyber-bullies should be reported and that they should receive consequences for their actions. Furthermore, direct cyber-bully behaviours were perceived as more likely to be reported, and the cyber-bully more likely to receive consequences than indirect cyber-bullying. Interestingly, participants of cyber-bullying scored higher on empathy scales than non-participants. Results suggest that distinct cyber-bully behaviours are perceived differently but, overall, youth perceive cyber-bullying to be harmful, acknowledge that it should be reported and believe that it should be punished. Such findings can inform policy makers of the internet behaviours that may be most harmful to youth, implicate potential prevention strategies, and suggest further research is required. |
