RT info:eu-repo/semantics/report
T1 Bystander Behaviour Online
Among Young People in Ireland
A1 Sanmartín Feijóo, Sandra
A1 Sargioti, Aikaterini
A1 Sciacca, Beatrice
A1 McGarrigle, Jane
K1 Ciberacoso
K1 Cyberbullying
K1 Tecnología y jóvenes
K1 Technology and youth
AB Research shows that cyberbullying is a significant issue encountered online bychildren in Ireland. Researchers and educators recognise the importance of the roleof peer bystanders in bullying situations, but more research is needed in this regardwithin an Irish context. Moreover, there appears to be a general lack of literature onthe role of bystanders in cyberbullying situations. Therefore, this research studycommissioned by Webwise was conducted by DCU Anti-Bullying Centre and aims toexplore online bystander behaviour among young people in Ireland. A sampleconsisting of 212 students aged 13 to 17 years completed an online survey includingquestions regarding participants use of the internet and digital devices and bystanderbehaviour.The key quantitative research finding evidenced that victimisation online is prevalentwith 45.3% of participants reporting that they had witnessed cyberbullying over thelast number of months. The most frequent mistreatment identified related to directverbal abuse and occurs most often on social media. Similarly, it is mostly initiatedand perpetuated by strangers or classmates of the target. Another important finding ofnote is that, albeit bystanders are, in general, aware of the protective mechanismsprovided by social media such as the in-app reporting tool(s) or block button(s), theytend not to use them to help targets. However, the responses to the Behaviour duringcyberbullying episodes scale developed by Pozzoli & Gini (2020) showed that cyberdefending targets was more common than any other role.Qualitative findings of participant responses showed that where bystanders take partin the abusive behaviour, they tend to either justify that the target was in some waydeserving of the cyberbullying, that they were acting due to peer pressure, or that theyperceived (cyber)bullying as normal behaviour. When asked about additional supportsto assist bystanders to take responsibility, some participants felt that nothing can bedone to suppress bullying, while others suggested technical improvements to be putin place or source alternative practical solutions outside of the online world such asdigital etiquette training Finally, when asked what advice they would give to those whoexperience bullying, the majority of participants responded that they would report theissue in-app and tell a trusted adult while some participants reported that they wouldnot deliver any advice. The findings of this research study should help informeducational programme and prevention/ intervention methodologies to reducecyberbullying and its adverse effects.
PB Dublin City University. DCU Anti-Bullying Centre
SN 978-1-911669-62-3
YR 2023
FD 2023-05
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10259/10866
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10259/10866
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos
RD 29-abr-2026