Digital negligence when tertiary students surf the Internet and social media: Resulting in cyberbullying

Abstract

Background: Many tertiary students experience harsh bullying online, which leaves victims with long-lasting side effects. With the rapid growth of digital tools around the globe, cyberbullying has become widespread. This study investigated the influence of students’ online privacy or digital footprint on cyberbullying vulnerability on the commonly used social media applications.
Objectives: The research aims to uncover the risks imposed by a lack of online privacy and how digital footprints influence students’ vulnerability to cyberbullying. The results will enable and raise awareness and educate tertiary students on how to better manage their digital footprints to avoid falling victim to cyberbullying.
Method: This study employed a pragmatic philosophy using a quantitative method, and the data collection involved a Likert-scale questionnaire, which resulted in 289 responses from South African tertiary students.
Results: The results highlight that because of a lack of digital awareness, many students suffer consequences of cyber risk. This is because many students engage in open-source chat groups, which indicates cyber negligence and increased probabilities of being bullied.
Conclusion: This study advocates a need for tertiary institutions to provide mandatory online safety courses for all students. This can be a short, fun self-study course that students complete in preparation for digital citizenship, safety and privacy.
Contribution: This study will help educate students on how to safely surf the Internet and mitigate cyberbullying.