Cyber-victimization among Children: Prevalence, Characteristics, Gender Differences and Links to Social Difficulties

Objective: The current study presents an updated initial picture of the nature of Cyberbullying (CB) among children in Israel. The study examined CB as it is manifested among primary its prevalence, characteristics and gender differences, against the backdrop of traditional bullying. Methods: The study involved 242 pupils (54.1% girls). Data was gathered through questionnaires which were distributed to the participants, 4th and 5th grade pupils, from ten classes in two municipal primary schools located in the central region of Israel. Results: The research findings show that CB exists in Israel among young children: 15.8% of the children reported being cyber-victims and 31.7% reported knowing cyber-victims. The percentage of girl cyber-victims was higher than that of boys. It was found that children who had been bullied face-to-face were likely to be cyberbullied as well. The findings indicate a significant correlation between the frequency of internet usage and cyber victimization, and between CB and traditional bullying. Children who were cyber-victims reported having lower social support and a greater sense of loneliness than non-victims. Conclusion: The findings indicate the need to design and implement intervention programs focusing on the social aspect, in these early stages, along with treatment programs for young cyber-victims in order The tender age of children involved in cyberbullying suggests the need to involve parents and teachers in the programs' design

The findings of the current study (Shemesh, Heiman & Zuaretz-Hannan, 2017) show great variance in the scope of internet use, the main one being surfing different websites (79%), followed by using the internet for school work (70%), and taking part in social networks (60%). it was found that pupils who were cyberbullied spend more average time online than those who were not. It turned out that about one-fifth of the pupils had been cyberbullied at some point, and about a third of the pupils knew someone who had. The study also found a correlation between being cyberbullied and being bullied face-to-face. Pupils who had been bullied face-to-face had also been cyberbullied in the following rates: 73% of cyber-victims had also been bullied face-to-face and 27% of those who had been bullied face-to-face had also been cyberbullied. The research findings analysis showed that pupils who had been cyberbullied indeed presented low levels of social support and high levels of loneliness, compared to pupils who had never experienced harassment or violence. It was found that victims of face-to-face bullying were less inclined to share and tell someone about having been bullied than cyber-victims. In most cases the victims told someone about having been bullied. Most victims chose to tell their parents or other family members (69%) and over one-third preferred to tell their friends (36%). Almost no one reported having told a teacher, and about one- sixth of the victims told no one at all about having been bullied. This finding raises the need to strengthen 4th and 5th grade teachers' awareness of CB and help them find ways to deal with it. The current study showed significantly that among children, more girls than boys were cyber-victims, and more boys than girls were victims of face-to-face bullying.