Cyberbullying in Social Media and Online Games among Chinese College Students and Its Associated Factors

Abstract

Cyberbullying can have a terrible impact on the physical and mental health of those involved. In severe cases, some of those involved develop anxiety, depression, and suicidal tendencies. However, few studies focus on cyberbullying among Chinese college students. We aimed to understand the incidence of cyberbullying in social media and online games and its associated factors among college students in China. A cross-sectional STAR questionnaire survey was conducted for college students from the end of June to the beginning of July 2019. Selected via the method of cluster random sampling, students graded 1–5 (college) from two colleges in Shantou were invited to participate in the survey. Information was collected regarding respondents’ socio-demographic information, cyberbullying in social media and online games, self-esteem, anxiety symptoms, Internet addiction, etc. A binary logistic regression model was employed to use all significant variables tested using χ² test or t-test for estimating the effect of potential factors on cyberbullying among college students. Participants were 20.43 ± 1.513 (X ± SD) years old, and the age range was 15 to 25 years old. 64.32% college students reported that they had suffered from cyberbullying, and 25.98% reported bullying others online during the semester. Gender, anxiety symptoms, Internet addiction, game time, and violent elements in games were associated with cyberbullying in social media and online games among college students in China. In conclusion, cyberbullying in social media and online games is prevalent among college students in China. The above data provided insights that targeted and effective measures should be taken to prevent college students from cyberbullying.