BACKGROUND
Due to COVID-19 and stay-at-home measures, adolescents experienced isolation and deterioration of mental health. As adolescents spend more time online during the pandemic, the issues of exposure to violent content and cyber victimization were raised. However, we do not have a clear sense of how the pandemic may have affected cyber violence experiences among adolescents. Therefore, it is valid to examine whether the pandemic has changed the dynamic of cyber violence victimization.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study is to examine how COVID-19 and exposure to violent media content impacted cyber violence victimization among adolescents in South Korea.
METHODS
We use 2019 (n = 4779) and 2020 (n = 4958) national survey data to examine whether or not COVID-19 has caused any significant changes in the experience of cyber violence among young adolescents. The data is collected from elementary 4th grade to senior high school students, asking about exposure to violent media, average internet usage, and experience of victimization and perpetration.
RESULTS
The findings show that there has been a significant decrease in cyber victimization during 2020 compared to 2019, B = -0.12, t = -3.45, P < .001. Experience as a perpetrator was a significant factor that contributed to cyber victimization, B = 0.57, t = 48.36, P < .001. As adolescents were younger (β = -.06, t = -6.09, P < .001), were spending more time online (β = .18, t = 13.83, P < .001), and were exposed to violent media (β = .14, t = 13.89, P < .001), they were likely to be victimized.
CONCLUSIONS
Due to the increased time spent online during COVID-19, people imagined the pandemic deteriorating cyber violence among adolescents. However, the study reveals that COVID-19 did not worsen cyber victimization, but rather reduced it. As there is a close relationship between cyber victimization and offline victimization, we need to focus on real-life interventions that prevent cyber violence that is rooted in in-person violence at school.