An Exploration of the Cyber Bullying Phenomenon among Teenagers in Southern Ghana

Abstract

This paper explores the nature of cyber bullying among teenagers and adolescents in southern Ghana. The objectives are to identify the forms of cyberbullying among young people in southern Ghana; to find the effects of cyberbullying on young people; to determine the causes of cyberbullying on young people; and to identify ways of controlling cyberbullying. The focus of this research was the adolescent group between the ages of 10 and 18 years in the Primary, Junior and Senior High Schools in the Western, Central, Eastern and Greater Accra regions of Ghana. A total of 233 respondents were conveniently selected from schools in the four southern regions of Ghana. Descriptive statistics were used to organize, summarize, and describe measures of the population. The results from the study indicated that majority of the adolescents access the internet at home using mobile phones therefore schools cannot do a lot in terms of monitoring cyber bullying. Again, fraping and harassment were the major forms of cyber bullying that adolescents had experienced. About a sixth of respondents had experienced cyber bullying and some of these adolescents had stopped using computers and the internet. Even though this number does not represent a majority, it is significant enough to affect the use of cyberspace for education. The paper therefore recommends that parents could be the key and should monitor the online activities of their children and set clear limits and boundaries for them. The effective way schools can curb cyber bullying is by constantly creating the awareness of the rules and regulation guiding the use of the internet through awareness creation programs, providing emotional support through counselling and internet safety training sessions.