Differences in Friendship Networks and Experiences of Cyberbullying Among Korean and Australian Adolescents.
Cyberbullying is one of the negative consequences of online social interaction. The digital environment enables adolescents to engage in online social interaction beyond the traditional physical boundaries of families, neighborhoods, and schools. The authors examined connections to friendship networks in both online and offline settings are related to their experiences as victims, perpetrators, and bystanders of cyberbullying. A comparative face-to-face survey of adolescents (12-15-year-olds) was conducted in Korea (n = 520) and Australia (n = 401). The results reveal that online networks are partially related to cyberbullying in both countries, showing the size of social network sites was significantly correlated with experience cyberbullying among adolescents in both countries. However there were cultural differences in the impact of friendship networks on cyberbullying. The size of the online and offline networks has a stronger impact on the cyberbullying experiences in Korea than it does in Australia. In particular, the number of friends in cliques was positively related to both bullying and victimization in Korea.
a Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra , Bruce , Australia.
Jee Young
JY
Lee
b Institute for Media and Culture, Sogang University , Seoul , Korea.
Yeji
Y
Kwon
c Department of Communication , Seoul National University , Seoul , Korea.
Soeun
S
Yang
a Faculty of Arts and Design, University of Canberra , Bruce , Australia.
Sora
S
Park
d Department of Communication , Seoul National University , Seoul , Korea.
Eun-Mee
EM
Kim
e School of Communication, Sogang University , Seoul , Korea.
Eun-Yeong
EY
Na
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D001315:Australia; D058445:Bullying; D002648:Child; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology*; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012944:Social Support; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Australia; Korea; comparative study; cyberbullying; friendship; social networks