Here is the research we’ve found on cyberbullying in South Africa, with the most recent first. Please email us if you have any articles to add with the details ordered in the same format as the others.

 


 

Authors: Fereshteh Naseri, Davoud Taghvaei, Bahram Saleh Sedghpour, Gholam Ali Ahmadi

Year: 2021

Title: A Comparative Study on the Opportunities and Threats of the Internet and Considering the Rights of Kids Online in Australia, Brazil, Iran, and South Africa

Journal: Iranian Journal of Comparative Education

URL: https://journal.cesir.ir/article_140973.html?lang=en

Abstract: The present study aims to compare the opportunities and threats of the Internet and considering the rights of kids online in Australia, Brazil, Iran, and South Africa. The research method was qualitative-comparative using Bereday’s approach. The strategy for selection of countries was “different systems, different outputs”. The population included 210 studies from which 45 samples related to research objectives were selected. Primary documents and self-assessment method were used for increasing the validity and reliability of references, respectively. John Stuart Mill’s agreement and difference method was used for data analysis and George Bereday’s method was used for presenting the results. The findings indicated that most similarities are in Internet threats and most differences are in the opportunities created for kids online and considering their rights in these countries. Cyber-bullying and Internet addiction threaten all kids online in such countries. In terms of considering the rights of kids online, Australia is at the top of the list, followed by Brazil, South Africa, and Iran. No serious measure has been taken in Iran to ensure the rights of kids online due to weak infrastructure, low internet speed, and legal gap. Based on the findings, cyberspace authorities and planners in Iran are suggested to take more legal, executive, and educational measures in the framework of international cooperation to achieve the rights and welfare of kids online.

 


 

Authors: Radebe, F. and Kyobe, M.

Year: 2021

Title: The Response of Social Crime Prevention Police to Cyberbullying Perpetrated by Youth in Rural Areas of South Africa

Journal: Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health

URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/13421

Abstract: Recently, South Africa has seen a surge in violence, cyberbullying by learners against peers, and online malicious acts against teachers. In response, the South African Department of Basic Education invited the social crime prevention police to intervene. This study reports on the developmental issues contributing to cyberbullying and the police response to this violence in rural schools. An extensive literature review was conducted, and a conceptual framework was developed to guide the study and development of a mobile application. This framework was tested using data collected from focus groups, 8 police officers, 9 teachers, 52 grade-10 learners, and 27 grade-12 learners. The data were analyzed using thematic and quantitative techniques. The findings reveal some developmental issues. For instance, teachers are often targeted by learners online because they fail to take prompt action when learners report cyberbullying incidents. This finding is consistent with the developmental theory which predicts that lack of support would create a permissive context for cyberbullying. In addition, the popularity of cyberbullying has a stronger influence on older, rather than younger, adolescents. Older adolescents are more concerned about gaining popularity than being socially accepted. Recommendations are made which can be useful to schools, learners, and the police force in their fight against cyberbullying.

 


 

Author: Mong, E.

Year: 2020

Title: Cyberbullying and its effects on the mental well-being of adolescents

Journal: Cannot find

URL: http://repository.nwu.ac.za/handle/10394/35562

Abstract: Studies investigating the effects of cyberbullying on the mental well-being of adolescents are needed to guide the development of preventive and protective measures for cyberbullying. Although a substantial number of studies have been undertaken on the prevalence of cyberbullying, research describing the effect of cyberbullying on the mental well-being and level of major depression among adolescents (for both the victim and the bully) are inconclusive for the South African context. This study was subsequently conceptualised based on a bio-ecological perspective that focuses on the hypothetical interrelationship between cyberbullying, adolescence, mental well-being and major depressive disorder. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and nature of cyberbullying and its effect on and relationship to mental well-being among adolescents in the Matlosana municipal area (Dr Kenneth Kaunda district, North West province, South Africa). This quantitative research study was situated in a post-positivistic research paradigm. A survey design (which included the adapted Daphne Cyberbullying Questionnaire, the Mental Health Continuum Short Form and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9) was used to reach the aims of this study. A stratified random sampling procedure was initially used to identify participating schools, where after an availability sample was used. The sample group consisted of 187 (n) Grade 8 to 11 learners in the Matlosana municipal district in the North West province. The resulting data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Since the sample was an availability sample and not representative of the Matlosana district, generalisations to the rest of South Africa could not be made. The data analysis and interpretation included statistics pertaining to findings on adolescents’ experience of the school environment, the nature of electronics use among adolescents, the prevalence of cyberbullying and traditional bullying and the relationship between cyberbullying and traditional bullying; findings related to demographic differences with regard to cyberbullying and the nature of cyberbullying among adolescents, and lastly, findings on the effect of cyberbullying on the level of major depression and the mental well-being of the group involved in cyberbullying (both victims and bullies). The most prominent conclusions were that cyberbullying was definitely prevalent among this sample group and among South African adolescents, but cyberbullying is not a loose standing problem as it seems to be tied with traditional bullying. Yet, the anonymity and unbounded audience factors that make cyberbullying unique, contribute to the problem. Both cyberbullies and -victims in this sample suffered from major depressive disorder and they did not experience optimal mental well-being. Major risk factors of cyberbullying involvement included extensive, unrestricted and unsupervised use of electronics. It seems that adolescents need help with socialisation and relationship forming, as well as with developing useful protective strategies when they do come across cyberbullying. The study contributed to the body of scholarship on the prevalence and nature of cyberbullying and its effects on the mental well-being of adolescents (victims and bullies). The research extends the knowledge about the relationships between cyberbullying and mental well-being and cyberbullying and major depressive disorder. Various role players, such as adolescents (victims and bullies), schools, teachers, the Department of Education and parents will benefit from this study since a health promoting school approach towards online protection is recommended.

 


 

Authors: Pillay, R. and Sacks, G.

Year: 2020

Title: Cyberbullying—A Shrouded Crime: Experiences of South African Undergraduate Students

Journal: The Oriental Anthropologist: A Bi-annual International Journal of the Science of Man

URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0972558X20952986

Abstract: Crimes in the 21st century using technology as a medium are complex and evolving rapidly. One such crime that is difficult to define is cyberbullying, which extorts an emotional impact on the victim. This qualitative, descriptive case study considers the experiences of 10 undergraduate students regarding what they self-disclosed as cyberbullying. Snowball sampling was used, and the data collected using face-to-face interviews were analyzed using content analysis. The research instrument used was a semi-structured interview schedule. Findings revealed that nine of the participants knew the identity of the bully. Some of the social media platforms used for the cyberbullying included Facebook, Mxit, and WhatsApp, whereby the types of bullying included harassment, flaming, and denigration. Some gender differences were evident in the verbalized emotions of the sample and the support systems the female participants used. This study can serve as a catalyst for further research and interventions for the development of strategies and educational programs to manage this type of bullying.

 


 

Authors: Cilliers, L. and Chinyamurindi, W.

Year: 2020

Title: Perceptions of cyber bullying in primary and secondary schools among student teachers in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

Journal: THE ELECTRONIC JOURNAL OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/isd2.12131

Abstract: Cyber bullying has become a topical issue among school learners in South Africa. However, there is very little guidance for schools on how to deal with cyber bullying from the South African Department of Basic Education. This study investigated the perceptions of cyber bullying in primary and secondary schools among student teachers in the Eastern Cape. The study made use of a quantitative survey approach to collect data from 150 student teachers at a university in the Eastern Cape. The student teachers were representative of all four of the school phases. The results indicated that cyber bullying is a serious issue at the schools but that the topic has not been incorporated into policy or the school curriculum yet. The recommendation of the study is that the South African Department of Basic Education must provide a standardized policy that schools can use to implement and enforce cyber safety behavior in the schools.

 


 

Author(s): Smit, D. M.

Year: 2015

Title: Cyberbullying in South African and American schools: A legal comparative study

Journal: South African Journal of Education

URL: http://www.scielo.org.za/pdf/saje/v35n2/01.pdf

Abstract: Bullying conjures up visions of the traditional schoolyard bully and the subordinate victim. However, bullying is no longer limited to in-person encounter, having come to include cyberbullying, which takes place indirectly over electronic media. In this electronic age, cyber platforms proliferate at an astonishing rate, all attracting the youth in large number, and posing the risk that they may become subject to cyberbullying. Far from being limited to those individual learners being cyberbullied, the effects of this phenomenon extend to the learner collective, the school climate, and also the entire school system, management and education, thus requiring an urgent response. This article first provides a general overview of cyberbullying and its impact on learners, schools and education. This is done through a comparative lens, studying the extent of the phenomenon in both the United States and South Africa. The focus then shifts to the existing legislative frameworks within which the phenomenon is tackled in these respective jurisdictions, particularly the tricky balancing act required between learners’ constitutional right to free speech and expression, and the protection of vulnerable learners’ right to equality, dignity and privacy. The article concludes by proposing certain possible solutions to the problem.

 


 

Author(s): Rachoene, M., & Oyedemi, T.

Year: 2015

Title: From self-expression to social aggression: Cyberbullying culture among South African youth on Facebook.

Journal: Communicatio

URL: www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/02500167.2015.1093325

Abstract: Social media platforms propagate a culture of self-expression by empowering individuals to create, control and broadcast own content. Social networking sites are particularly popular tools for the youth’s self-expressive practices; hence, the concerns about how these tools are used, and their implications for culture and sociability. One of these concerns is the culture of cyberbullying. This study examines online bullying among South African youth on Facebook. A pattern of cyberbullying among the youth was identified through a non-participatory digital ethnography that involved daily observations and a study of postings and comments on six Facebook pages that university students and township youth subscribed to. The study revealed that attacks on intelligence and physical appearance, sexting and outing, insults and threats are common bullying types. However, sexting and outing with the use of sexually explicit pictures is very common among this population. In a digital culture where privacy is becoming more lax and visibility embedded in a self-expressive culture is celebrated, there is a concern about the consequences of this culture, particularly for the victims of cyberbullying.