Cyber Bullying in UK Children

Introduction

Barnados (2013) defines bullying an act of aggressiveness repeatedly and intentionally performed against an individual who is less powerful than the aggressor. Bullying can take place either physically (e.g. spitting, shoving, or hitting), verbally (e.g. threatening, taunting, name-calling), or socially (e.g. spreading or rumours); also known as traditional forms of bullying that take place face-to-face. However, with the emergence of the internet and the proliferation of technological devices, a new form of bullying called cyber bullying has emerged (Law et al 2012). According to Przybylski & Bowes (2017), cyber bullying can occur through social exclusion, threatening, sexual harassment or embarrassment.

The scale of cyber bullying in the UK is deep and wide. In fact, a recent report released by Ditch the Label indicated that 44% of the 5-15 years of age consider that only things that do not happen in the internet are the things that happen in real life (Ditch the Label 2017). Moreover, 23% of respondents in that study noted that cyber bullying has become part of their normal life. This indicates the worrying prevalence of cyber bullying among children in the UK and the dire need of an urgent solution. As part of this solution, this study aims to evaluate cyber bullying and establish the nature of its impact on children in the UK.

Research Aim

To explore the impact of cyber bullying on UK’s children population of age 8-13 years

Research Objectives

1. To identify the risk factors of cyber bullying among UK’s children population of age 8-13 years

2. To establish the prevalence of cyber bullying against the UK’s children population of age 8-13 years

3. To explore ways of preventing the increase of cyber bullying UK’s children population of age 8-13 years

Research Question

What are the negative impacts of cyber bullying on UK’s children population?

Background and Literature Review

While the internet has made life easier for adults and children alike, little is known about the use of internet among children and just how much children in the UK treasure the Internet. Surprisingly, existing statistics reveals that in the period between 2005 and 2015, there was a double increase in the duration spent by children of age 12 to 15 years online i.e. from 8 hours a week to 19 hours a week (Przybylski & Nash 2017). In fact, during that period, children spent more time online than they spent watching television (Young Minds n.d).

There are varied ways in which young people use the internet. According to (Young Minds n.d) they may use the internet for learning, playing, being creative or just chatting with friends. Similarly, older children may find other uses of the internet such as performing academic homework, networking with their friends or watching video content (Young Minds n.d).

Concerns have been raised over the increasing privacy with which children use the internet. According to Przybylski & Bowes (2017), the previous scenario where children used to access the internet through their parent’s gadgets or through shared gadgets such as family desktops and shared school computers has changed and nowadays children have their own laptops, tablets, and smartphones (Frith, 2017). More specifically, smartphone ownership among children has increased sharply in the past few years, and now according to Ofcom (2017), even 5 to 15-year-olds own smartphones. In fact, recent reports by Esure (2016) indicate that the UK’s average age of children owning smartphones is 10.

Worryingly, the increased privacy with which children use the internet makes it harder for professionals or parents to oversee and supervise the children’s use of online platforms where they are likely to experience cyber bullying (Young Minds 2016). In fact, according to Young Minds (n.d), this issue is so important that an alarm was raised by Emily Frith from the Education policy Institute; that the increasing use of smartphones and instant messaging have emerged to be two of the most significant changes that make it harder for professionals and parents to monitor children’s use of the internet.

Concerns over children’s online safety have led to a series of policy changes that seek address safety issues surrounding UK children’s use of the internet. For instance, according to Byron (2008), a major change was initiated by the 2008 ground-breaking internet safety policy review initiated by Professor Tanya Byron. Ideally, according to Byron (2008), this policy review was based on the premise that while children enjoy technology and stay online, it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure their safety.

Thus, since Tanya’s 2008 policy review scholars have been attracted to discourses of internet safety especially in the context of children’s private use of the internet. Part of this interest was seen in the UK government’s internet safety strategic plan that sought to make UK children and adults the safest in the world when it comes to the use of internet Department of Culture Media and Sports (DCMS, 2017). Ideally, according to DCMS (2017), this strategy was to be facilitated by the strengthening of policies and regulations that promote the increase digital literacy and protects both parent and children internet users.

Theoretical Framework

The Choice Theory

Coined by William Glasser, the choice theory holds that people are always responsible for how they behave and the actions they involve in. Hence, according to Van Geel et al. (2014), proponents of this theory believe that problems faced by individuals in their personal lives are caused by the choices they make in life and the behaviours they have chosen to adopt, and the internal factors that motivate them to perform such behaviours. This study aims to draw on the work of William Glasser to make an argument that children engaging in cyber bullying do so based on their personal choices and that these choices are supported by their chosen behaviours. Glasser’s emphasis on human’s nature of chosen behaviour is especially useful to this study’s analysis as it allows the understanding of why people choose to engage in certain activities even if they harm others. To this end, Glasser’s conceptualization of human as an always behaving organism is generative in grasping how children and adult choose to engage in cyber bullying regardless of its negative effects.

Research Methodology

Methods

The study will take a qualitative research design with questionnaires as the main method of data collection. Besides, children will be invited to group interviews to allow them to share their opinions and experiences about cyber bullying. The study will also rely on secondary data from journal articles retrieved from online databases such as EBSCO. During the literature search, the researcher intends to use search terms such as ‘cyber bullying’ and ‘children’ for easy retrieval of literature. The inclusion criteria will be studies written in English language, studies based in the UK and those that are peer-reviewed.

Data Analysis

Collected data will be subjected to an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to establish the effects of age and gender on cyber bullying. Specifically, ANOVA will be useful in determining whether age and gender factors intervene between the negative effects of cyber bullying on children. Qualitative data collected through interviews will be analysed through thematic analysis.

Study Sample

This study targets a convenient sample of 300 children in the age bracket of 8-13 years old. This sample will include both girls and boys who will be selected from 5 schools in England. The study targets only 5 schools in England, because collecting data from the schools will be manageable within the allocated timeline (see appendix 1) for data collection.

Ethical Considerations

The study will be conducted with strict adherence to the ethical code of conducts. This will be achieved in different ways. First, Children’s consent will be sought before they engage in the interviews. In case they are too young to make such decisions, there will be a special request to the teacher in charge to give consent on their behalf. Similarly, the study will not begin in any of the schools without permission from the schools’ administration. Lastly, all the participants in the study will be treated with anonymity by concealing their names and using pseudo names instead during research reporting.

Conclusion

The increasing availability of technological gadgets has been a major cause of an increase of cyber bullying in the UK. Moreover, existing literature indicates that increased group messaging technologies such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Instagram messengers have been used negatively towards perpetrating cyber bullying. In fact, the studies cited herein show that that cyber bullying has become part of children’s normal life. This implies that can be experienced by a wider population, can affect children in private and public spaces and can be 24/7. Thus, evaluating the negative impacts of cyber bullying on UK’s children population is especially important right now when there is a growing use of the internet and social media is becoming part of everyone’s life.

References

Association of School and College Leaders and National Children’s Bureau (ASCLNCB) 2016. Keeping young people in mind – findings from a survey of schools across

Byron, T. 2008. Safer Children in a Digital World: The Report of the Byron Review. DCSF/DCMS.

Stanbrook, M. B. (2014). Stopping cyberbullying requires a combined societal effort. CMAJ, 186(7), 483-483.

Written evidence submitted by Barnardo’s Northern Ireland (2013) Parent’s Role in Coping with Bullying, Child Issue, 1, p. 22-32.

Van Geel, M., Vedder, P., & Tanilon, J. (2014). Relationship between peer victimization, cyberbullying, and suicide in children and adolescents: a meta-analysis. JAMA pediatrics, 168(5), 435-442.