Cyberbullying Victimization among Turkish Online Social Utility Members

Abstract

There is growing evidence to suggest that bullying results in deep emotional damage. Borderless cyberspace transforms the nature of bullying and serves as a risky territory where more and more bullies are at large, which in turn, increases the extent of victimization in cyber-space. The current study investigated the cyberbullying victimization among Turkish members of an online social utility. The analysis sample consisted of 1470 participants who were recruited with a 28-item web-based survey. The survey had a high internal consistency coefficient and explained more than half of the total variance with a single-factor structure. Findings revealed that several background variables influenced cyberbullying victimization, including: gender; marital and socioeconomic status; purpose; frequency; location; time and nature of Internet use and language proficiency. Observed gender differences varied according to Internet connection locations. In. addition, socioeconomic differences varied according to surfing patterns. Forum and blog use predicted victimization significantly. On the other hand, some critical variables did not have an influence on the extent of victimization such as age, education level and Internet proficiency. The source of victimization was predominantly international websites rather than Turkish websites. Findings were discussed followed by implications and suggestions for further research.