Cyberbullying in times of coronavirus: Comparison of incidence with pre-epidemic time and analysis of observer response

Širjenje bolezni COVID-19 je v veliki meri spremenilo vsakdanjik mladostnikov, ki so morali prvič v zgodovini samostojne Slovenije pouk spremljati na daljavo, kar je prineslo mnogo sprememb in izzivov. V magistrskem delu nas je zanimalo, kolikšen delež dijakov je med marcem in junijem 2020 doživel in/ali opazil najmanj eno obliko spletnega medvrstniškega nasilja. Pri tem smo predvidevali, da bo o lastni izkušnji spletnega nasilja poročalo več deklet kot fantov. Preverili smo tudi povezavo med spletnim nasiljem in pogostostjo uporabe spleta. Podatke smo primerjali z rezultati podobnih študij iz časa pred šolanjem na daljavo. Posebej smo se osredotočili še na vlogo opazovalcev spletnega nasilja ter jo analizirali z vidika intervencijskega modela in moralne nezavzetosti. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 1006 dijakov, starih med 16 in 19 let, podatke pa smo zbirali preko spleta. Za namen raziskave smo priredili in uporabili Vprašalnik spletnega nasilja, Vprašalnik moralne nezavzetosti pri spletnem nasilju in Vprašalnik intervencijskega modela pri spletnem nasilju. Rezultati so pokazali, da je tretjina dijakov v času šolanja na daljavo doživela najmanj eno od oblik spletnega nasilja, manj pa jih poroča o tem, da so tovrstno nasilje opazili pri drugih. Izhajajoč iz preteklih študij smo pričakovali višje deleže. Več spletnega nasilja so doživela in opazila dekleta, kar je skladno s predhodnimi študijami. Izkazalo se je, da je doživljanje spletnega nasilja povezano s številom aplikacij, ki jih mladostniki uporabljajo, ne pa tudi s samo pogostostjo uporabe digitalnih naprav, s čimer nadgrajujemo ugotovitve nekaterih predhodnih študij. Pri opazovalcih spletnega nasilja pa smo ugotovili, da je moralna (ne)zavzetost povezana s pomočjo tistemu, ki doživlja spletno nasilje, kar v največji meri izhaja iz ocene resnosti opaženega dogodka in občutka odgovornosti za ukrepanje. V našem vzorcu izkazujejo dijaki višjo stopnjo moralne nezavzetosti kot dijakinje. Razlike med spoloma in ostale ugotovitve naše raziskave bi bilo smiselno uporabiti pri oblikovanju preventivnih programov za preprečevanje spletnega nasilja med mladostniki.The spread of COVID-19 disease has greatly changed the daily lives of young people, who, for the first time in the history of independent Slovenia, had to attend classes at a distance, which brought many changes and challenges. In our master\u27s thesis, we were interested in the proportion of students who experienced and/or noticed at least one form of cyberbullying during distance learning between March and June 2020. We anticipated that more girls than boys would report cybervictimization. We also examined the link between cyberbullying and the time spent online. Our data was compared with the results of similar studies before distance learning. Furthermore, we focused on the role of observers of cyberbullying and analyzed it in terms of the intervention model and moral disengagement. The study involved 1006 students aged between 16 and 19. Data was collected online. For the purpose of the research, we adapted and used the Cyberbullying Questionnaire, The Cyberbullying-specific Moral Disengagement questionnaire and the Bystander Cyberbullying Intervention questionnaire. Our results showed that a third of students experienced at least one form of cyberbullying during distance learning, and fewer reported having observed it in others. Based on past studies, we expected higher proportions. More cyberbullying has been experienced and noticed by girls, which is consistent with previous studies. The experience of cyberbullying has been shown to be related to the number of online applications used by adolescents, but not to the frequency of digital device use alone, thus building on the findings of some previous studies. For observers of cyberbullying, we found that moral disengagement is related to helping those who experience cyberbullying, which largely stems from the assessment of the severity of the observed event and the sense of responsibility for action. In our sample group, male students show higher levels of moral disengagement than female students. Gender differences and other findings of our research can be beneficial in the design of programs for the prevention of cyberbullying among adolescents