Examining the Perception of Youths on Cyberbullying Detection and Prevention in Nigeria

Abstract

Cyberbullying is the act of an online user harassing and intimidating another person in the cyberspace. Cyberbullying is sending or posting negative, mean, hurtful or false messages about another person on the internet and on social media sites. Cyberbullying is a problem that arises as a by-product Cyberbullying of modern technology. Cyberbullying is a form of attack occurs when one or more individuals use abusive, false or harsh words on social media to intimidate or harm others. Despite the high-tech equipment that is currently popular among young people in Nigeria, there remains a significant gap in the literature on cyberbullying and its potential impact on social media users due to inadequate research in this area of study. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the possible ways of detecting and preventing cyberbullying on the social networking sites. This study adopts Conflict theory by Karl Max. While for primary data collection, the study uses a qualitative research method as a total of 30 participants categorized into groups based on demography in Nigeria were used for a focused group discussion. Results of this research show that cyberbullying occurs mostly among youths and teenagers as it hurts the victims and could lead to suicidal thoughts. Possible ways of detecting and preventing cyberbullying have been underlined in the study. Therefore, the study recommends among others, that regulatory bodies should look further into it and ensure there are adequate penalties for those involved in the act and compensations for the victims.