post-pandemic-cyberbullying
Post pandemic physical bullying, cyber bullying in secondary schools and adolescents' behavioral and emotional problems in Hong Kong
Dr. Andrew Low
Adolescents experience bullying and suffer from a range of short term and long-term negative consequences. Victims of bullying may suffer from post-traumatic disorder, school refusal, social isolation as well as academic performance in short term. If bullying were not seriously treated, adolescents may develop into long term psychological problems like depression, anxiety disorder, self-harming, or suicidal behaviors. They may also suffer from lower educational levels and difficulty engaging in employment in future. Some of the victims of bullying became bullies when they grew up and some engage in illegal and violence crime in future. Nowadays, the proliferation of cyberbullying complicated the issue of school bullying. The social media platforms and increase freedom with digital devices have made cyberbullying more common. The perpetrators of cyberbullying can hide behind their computers making it easier to bully the victims as they do not need to face the victims directly. In view of such an increase in bullying and cyberbullying in Hong Kong, it is important to understand the current trends of school bullying in Hong Kong. This proposal attempts to fill the research gap on current trends and prevalence of school bullying and cyberbullying in Hong Kong. It also investigates the correlation of adolescents' experience bullying and their social and emotional outcomes. It also attempts to collect adolescents' views on their preference to join anti-bullying programmes. Since adolescents were not fully asked about their preference of joining anti-school bullying programmes. Most of the programs were not geared towards the needs of adolescents.