Exploratory Research to Identify the Characteristics of Cyber Victims on Social Media in New Zealand

Abstract

Cyberbullying is omnipresent among all sections of society who have access to the internet. Vast research has been carried out on this topic around the world however there has not been enough research that is New Zealand based. The objective of this research is to identify the characteristics of cyber victims on social media in New Zealand. We scrutinize the prevalence of cyberbullying in New Zealand among university students based on age, gender and personality. The survey was designed stating the hypotheses developed as a result of the literature review. We gathered the data of sample size n = 158. We conclude that students with openness to experience are more likely to be cyberbullied compared to the other personalities. Whereas, we found no correlation of age and gender with the cyber bullying on a university level. The results from this study can have a positive application in counter cyberbullying programs in New Zealand. This study will a give an impetus for further analytical research in the field of cyber bullying in New Zealand.