In the period of rapid development of information-communication technology, cyberbullying became an important part of peer bullying research. The ubiquity of smartphones and online social networks importantly influences the risks that the youth face in digital environments. Among them is harmful online content, while new environments also mean new habits in interpersonal communication, which can result in negative consequences, such as lower self-esteem, and new forms of psychological violence. Cyberbullying, which refers to such violence, can mean specific traits, such as potential anonymity of the perpetrators, or ability to quickly spread unwanted content. It can be both an independent phenomena, or a phenomena, tightly connected to the "traditional" forms of peer bullying. The goal of the thesis was to study the phenomena of cyberbullying among secondary school students in Slovenia, and to determine to what extent and in what manner the two different forms of bullying (traditional and cyber) overlap. For the purpose of the research, three focus groups, and an online survey based on the questionnaire of the “Odklikni!” research (n = 558), were performed. It was determined that cyberbullying is a more independent phenomena to traditional forms of bullying. On the subject of the overlap between forms of bullying, and the different ways that cyberbullying can be perceived, gender proved to be an important factor. This can also be the basis for further, more extensive research. Similarly, more research should be conducted regarding bullying that occurs only in online environments.
|