Cyberbullying among Saudi’s Higher-Education Students: Implications for Educators and Policymakers

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to investigate cyberbullying among Saudi’s higher-education students. It also aimedto identify possible factors that may impact cyberbullying. A quantitative approach was implemented using an onlinesurvey questionnaire distributed to 287 students. The descriptive results indicated that students mainly avoidcyberbullying. However, about 27% of the students reported that they have committed cyberbullying at least once ortwice. Furthermore, 57% of the students observed at least one student being cyberbullied. Students encountercyberbullying usually by people whom they do not know and who contacted them over the Internet. In addition,students perceive cyberbullying as a serious issue. Thus, students seem to prefer asking cyberbullies to stop, butavoiding fighting back. Gender was found to impact on how often did students commit cyberbullying. Male studentswere involved in cyberbullying more than female students. In addition, single students more than married studentsencounter cyberbullying by people they know. Finally, students who access the Internet via personal devices observecyberbullying more than those using shared devices. Based on this, implications were analyzed and suggested wereproposed in relation to policy and practice.