Cyberbullying among youths in Hong Kong, Macao and Guangzhou

• Main Author: Wan, Lap Man
• Other Authors: Manchester, Helen ; McKeown Jones, Shelley
• Published: University of Bristol 2018
• Online Access: https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.767953

Nowadays, online activities are a significant part of teenagers' daily lives worldwide. Increasing local news reports on cyberbullying have raised public concern. Previous studies of cyberbullying in Chinese contexts are limited in scope and number. This thesis seeks to understand, cyberbullying among young people in Chinese society. It is hoped that the findings can lead to more service initiatives enabling young people to live better in a world where cyberbullying exists. A mixed method research design from an ecological systems perspective was applied to collect both qualitative and quantitative data for analysis. In this study, cyberbullying case interviews were conducted. Three stages and ten common types of cyberbullying were identified. The escalation of cyberbullying was illustrated to show the development of conflict. Characteristics of cyberbullying, such as privacy, digital tracking, identity, playfulness, and role diffusion were discussed. The findings showed that cyberbullying had actual impact on the life and behaviour of young people. A cyberbullying behaviour checklist was developed informed by the case study and literature to measure the cyberbullying prevalence rate. A survey of 2,185 young people form Hong Kong, Macao and Guangzhou was completed in 2016. Considerable cyberbullying was observed, with a prevalence of 71% for victims and 63.7% for perpetrators. No significant relationship was found between young people's cyberbullying behaviour and their personal skills, resources, and societal and ecological factors. The multi-level modelling analysis of the three cities' data showed no significant different among factors predicting cyberbullying. This supports that the idea that cyberbullying is a universal threat to young people.