IJFANS International Journal of Food and Nutritional Sciences

ISSN PRINT 2319 1775 Online 2320-7876

A Qualitative Enquiry on the Cyberbullying Experiences of Early and Late Adolescents during COVID-19

Main Article Content

Sarabjeet Kaur Chawla, Neena Kohli

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Internet usage has increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic. The marked increase of digital platforms has escalated the issue of cyberbullying, especially among adolescents who are heavily dependent on Internet for their everyday activities. To address this phenomenon, it becomes imperative to understand the experiences of cyberbullying. Therefore, the study aimed to explore cyberbullying victimization experiences of early and late adolescents during COVID-19 Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted through Zoom on 20 participants (10 early adolescents; 13 to 15 years and 10 late adolescents; 16 to 18 years) without prior knowledge of their cyberbullying experiences. Analysis and Results: The interviews were transcribed, and the data was analyzed through thematic analysis. Four main themes emerged: 1) Perceived motivation behind cyberbullying which included revenge, joke, jealousy and name-calling; 2) Role of anonymity which included online disinhibition, fake IDs and usernames and masking of online identity; 3) Intruding privacy which included incessant calling circulating morphed photos, fake social media accounts; 4) Emotional and psychological consequences of cyberbullying. Conlcusion: The findings of this study are imperative, as the study contributes to the less explored area of adolescent cyberbullying experiences in India, thereby helping in designing interventions and programs to reduce and prevent the adverse effects of cyberbullying.

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