DOI: 10.47743/jss-2022-68-4-14

Abstract: The article presents the data of a study conducted in 2022, in Iasi, in order to identify the dimensions and forms of manifestation of the phenomenon of cyber‑bullying among young people. The data collection strategy aimed at a mixed design (quantitative and qualitative) and addressed high school students from three schools in Iasi, who educate young people for each field of pre‑university education: theoretical, vocational and technological. Approximately 2,500 students study in these schools, distributed in each of the four years of studies specific to the high school cycle. A questionnaire was applied in order to identify the representations of the students from the three high schools regarding the violence manifested through digital technologies. The quantitative data were corroborated with the qualitative data obtained from interviews with specialized personnel who carry out prevention activities in the educational units. The findings of the research illustrate that the phenomenon of cyber‑bullying is common among high school students, especially in the form of discrediting messages, rumors and compromising photos sent in order to humiliate. Thus, the high school students who answered the questionnaire admit that they or their friends were frequently in a position to receive harassment messages and to be victims of rumors. At the same time, compromising by sending photos, as a form of violence in the online environment, is a common practice among young people. Serious acts that can lead to crimes such as violations of privacy, harassment, threats, blackmail are much less common among young people.

Keywords: cyberbullying, violence, digital technologies

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