The New Era of Bullying: A Phenomenological Study of University Students’ Experience with Cyberbullying

Abstract

Bullying is a national public health problem that is affecting millions of youth in Canada. With the proliferation of technology, bullying has permeated private spaces and is no longer limited to just school grounds. Due to the ease of accessibility of technology among youth, bullying is able to circumvent traditional safety barriers provided within the homes of youth which compounds concerns for parents. Since cyberbullying is still at an early stage, there is a need for research that explores the past experiences of students who have directly or indirectly encountered cyberbullying. Therefore, this study explores the experiences with cyberbullying of students at the University of Ottawa, who are between the ages of 18-23. The researcher conducted ten interviews guided by the transcendental approach to phenomenological reduction method. The study also sought to understand why cyberbullying happens and how adolescents who have directly or indirectly encountered cyberbullying respond. The findings revealed that online risk behaviour, perceived predictors of victimisation, response to cyber abuse, and justification for avoiding help-seeking behaviour appear to be linked to the severity of a user’s cyberbullying experience.