Abstract

     The sudden emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new norms largely revolving around the use of social media, disrupting the mentality of Internet users, especially the youth, resulting in an increase in cyberbullying. The rise in the popularity of many apps that facilitate online interactions has increased the risk of cyberbullying incidents. Not only did the COVID-19 pandemic transform social life, work, and education towards online modes of interaction, but it has also contributed to the ongoing digitization of bullying. As work moved to the home, so did bullying. This study aims to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic, which affects social media usage, increases the incidence of cyberbullying. We tested our hypotheses using a sample of 200 Malaysian participants. The results showed that the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic’s influence and cyberbullying was significant. However, we failed to find any statistical evidence that gender moderates this relationship. This study found an increase in cyberbullying incidents resulting from the increased use of social media due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s influence. Our findings contribute to the body of knowledge on the prevalence of cyberbullying in Malaysia, which may benefit future research.

Introduction

     It has been considerable amount of time since the COVID-19 pandemic began impacting the world in numerous ways and imparting upon people new perspectives. Technology has taken over many aspects of the world, and the COVID-19 virus has accelerated the transformation of many manual jobs and tasks to that of electronic-assisted and enabled ones. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced millions of students to stay indoors, adapt to the “new normal,” and engage in distance learning at home, thus placing online learning in the spotlight (Munir et al., 2021). Many businesses have ceased operations due to various obstacles presented by the pandemic (Hu & Kee, 2021), while some businesses have converted the COVID-19 experience to that of entrepreneurial opportunity identification (Tunde et al., 2021). Arguably, the COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the adoption of technology via its use across many remote activities, such as in online classrooms, shopping, delivery, and work applications, as well as in the form of video conferencing applications (Lim, 2021). The phenomenon of working and studying online by default has become widespread, which has led to the spread of many virtual applications and programs aimed at electronically facilitating many operations. In the case of social distancing, it is the Internet connection that makes us aware of local and global developments, and through which we are able to run our businesses and maintain a measure of mental and physical well-being.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS

     This study has several important implications regarding cyberbullying among Malaysian youths. First, the literature on cyberbullying and mental health has been expanded through a study conducted among Malaysians. This study is the first to empirically investigate cyberbullying on social media under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic among Malaysian youths. This study found that the proportion of cyberbullies who used online social networking applications is much higher than that of their victims. Based on the survey conducted, it was found that Malaysians perceived Facebook as the most used application of cyberbullying, and that physical appearance was the most attacked aspect that cyberbullies target in their victims. This study also found a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cyberbullying, which acts as a determinant of Malaysians’ behavior in using social media more often. In other words, this study has found that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a sharp increase in cyberbullying among the youth surveyed in Malaysia.

     The findings of this study highlight the urgency of combating cyberbullying, as it is a growing problem among Malaysians—and especially young people—with cyberbullying seriously affecting their mental health. The rising popularity of social media—which facilitates online interactions—has increased the risk of cyberbullying. Policymakers and educators in schools, colleges, and universities should consider the following: education and psychology professionals should provide interventions concerning technology, its uses, and abuse as part of the curriculum, along with ethics, so as to possibly reduce the potential threat of cyberbullying. These interventions could potentially positively impact an individual’s critical thinking skills, self-awareness, and independence online, possibly enabling Malaysian youths to respond to cyberbullying incidents in a self-organized manner. The findings of this study indicate that the general approach to cyberbullying should be preventive and proactive, rather than reactive, and should be based on apprehending and engaging the perpetrators, as well as by creating safe and respectful environments for young people.