The impact of propagating cyberbullying in social media. Contents Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3 Research background ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Research problem……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 6 Theoretical framework ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 7 Methodology …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 7 Literature Reviews …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 8 Social dominance theory (SDT)……………………………………………………………………………………………. 9 Routine activities theory ……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 10 General Strain Theory (GST) ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 10 Deindividuation theory ……………………………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Barlett Gentile cyberbullying model (BGCM) ……………………………………………………………………… 13 Case Study One: Social media firms ‘failing’ to tackle cyber-bullying…………………………………………. 14 Case Study Two: Government acts on cyber-bullies …………………………………………………………………. 18 Comparison and Contrast of Case Study One and Two ……………………………………………………………… 24 Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25 References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 28 Page 2 of 32 Introduction The increase in the use of social media platforms in the general population, especially among children, has resulted in children’s exposure to many social ills committed through online platforms. Cyberbullying is one such vice that continues to challenge children, teachers, and parents alike. In light of this, this study investigates the impact of social media in propagating cyberbullying and the benefit of regulating its use as a strategy for reducing cyberbullying. The study is necessary as cyberbullying can have detrimental effects on the victims. The detrimental effects include depression, other mental health issues, and suicide (Nixon, 2014). Some states in the United States (U.S.) have criminalised cyberbullying due to the detrimental effects on victims (Dasgupta, 2018). The study will focus on the role of social media use restriction as a strategy for reducing cyberbullying, especially among minors. Chapter 1 of the research report will cover the research background, research problem, and theoretical framework. Research background This study aims to enlighten readers on social media’s role in propagating cyberbullying and relating the ways strategic control in social media use could reduce cyberbullying prevalence among children and adults. None of the countries wants its public to be affected by cyberbullying. As such, it is a major topic that needs critical investigation to get concrete solutions. It is worth noting that sometimes online bullying is unknown since it happens to individuals, making fighting it more elusive. Moreover, it argued that cyberbullying had affected governments on a massive scale. This is because personal lives have been affected as hackers have threatened personal freedom and spaces and organisational or government assets. The advent of the digital century has brought a revolution in people’s lives, and the whole world is converted to a global village. When the term “global village” use, it means the world is connected across the seas and plains. The increased media usage to many folds during the last decade and media types have risen. According to the statistics, in January 2020, there are 3.80 billion social media users, and it got increased by 9 percent at the end of 2020. The number of new users is 321 billion. Among the various types of media, social has taken the lead and has always played an essential role in people’s lives. The popularity of social media emanates from its ease of handling and accessibility. Almost 7.75 billion are involved in urbanisation, and internet users include 4.54 billion users. Nearly 60 percent of Page 3 of 32 the population is engaged online, and it is expected that the rest of the people will expect to use social media in the next decade. It means that the whole world will soon be involved in globalisation and urbanisation. It is worth noting that an internet user’s average time is almost 6 hours and 43 minutes (Chaffey, 2020). People’s time on the internet varies from country to country, and in the pandemic, the amount of social media use has enhanced to hundreds of folds. It observed that the Philippines’ people spend 9 hours 43 minutes per day, and it varies to 4 hours in Japan. The variation is because of the mode of working and the business sector. More than 1 billion users in South Asia did not use the internet, and they remain unconnected to the whole world. However, more than 40 percent of the population has remained connected to the world as a whole (Kemp, 2020). The media has brought the revolution to the whole world, and it has caused both benefits and disadvantages for people’s lives. Mass communication, including electronic and social media, has transformed lives and let people connect and attach. The excessive use of mass media or social media has introduced “cyberbullying” to the world. It seems like a new concept where many people are not aware of it yet. Others have already experienced the worse consequences of it. The literature is available on cyberbullying, and the experts have discussed cyberbullying with theories and models. The theories and models for cyberbullying indicate that it has negatively impacted people’s lives (Cyberbullying on Social Media, 2021). Cyberbullying can be done through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. Cyberbullying is a hot topic of debate now, and efforts made to uproot it from society. The global reports have determined that one in three parents know about cyberbullying. The parents’ combined opinions about cyberbullying are that there are preliminary steps to prevent it worldwide. The countries are trying their best, but cyberbullying has not stopped yet (Craig et al., 2020). Cyberbullying is also known as online bullying to disturb the lives of people. It causes emotional and psychological distress in people’s lives. People suffering from cyberbullying have faced mental and emotional trauma, as this type of bullying affects people’s lives more than ever. The digital videos, unknown messages, vague images, and the bugs in official websites have created issues in people’s lives (Abaido, 2019). Page 4 of 32 The statistics of cyberbullying for 2020 are astonishing and are unbelievable. Almost 73 percent of students in the USA have felt that they have bullied in one way or another. Nearly 40 percent of students showed that the last month of 2020 was worse for them as they have poorly bullied them. According to the research results of 2019, 95 percent of students are attached to the internet, and 85 percent are social media users. Almost 16 percent of females in the USA have reported being stalked once in a lifetime. Austria has reported that nearly 10 percent of adults have experienced cyberbullying once in a lifetime. In the same study, 69 percent of people have reported abusive content and language in social media. The incredible thing is to know that almost 16 percent of people have admitted that they bullied someone else in their life. The situation is getting awkward, and it is the moment to be worried. Cyberbullying has caused tension in the whole world (Critical Cyberbullying Statistics in 2020, 2021). A global study conducted in 28 countries showed that awareness about cyberbullying had increased by 11 percent from 2011 onwards. However, the statistics showed that the worldwide attention of cyberbullying has reached up to 75 percent, but 25 percent of adults have never heard of cyberbullying. The awareness of cyberbullying among people should increase. The highest awareness level found was in Sweden and Italy (91 percent) and lowest in Saudi Arabia (37 percent). The United States of America also has the highest level of cyberbullying awareness (85 percent), but it has remained constant since 2011. Efforts made should increase awareness about cyberbullying’s harms and the ensuing victims’ issues (Parris et al., 2020). From the study report, at least 33 percent of parents reported they know a child in the community who suffers from cyberbullying. The highest prevalence of cyberbullying found was in South Africa at 54 percent. There is a massive community of parents who have seen children in the community that have been victims of cyberbullying. Japan and Russia seem to report minor instances of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has direct impacts on emotional and personal behaviour, creating a disturbance in everyday activities. In earlier years of its emergence, harassment, either direct or indirect, was a prohibited topic among families and friends. Individuals did not want to discuss it with their children. Everyone wanted to stay away from the topic. Still, today, there is a need to discuss it with children. They should inform what happens to them when using online platforms, reporting all the possibilities and risks related to cyberbullying (Oksanen et al., 2020). Page 5 of 32 The effects of cyberbullying are adverse. Its negative impacts have seen on the emotional, physical, and mental health of the child. Everyone must play a significant role in reducing social media’s effects on cyberbullying and increasing the awareness of its positive use among adults. It is essential to discuss this topic as a research problem because cyberbullying is multiplying on online platforms. Many girls and even boys have become victims of cyberbullying and live to tell of this menace’s negative impacts on society. Cyberbullying can be done by any individual and could occur from minors to seniors. Social media platforms are currently playing the role of limiting cyberbullying in society. This is through artificial intelligence to detect bullying and abuse elements by users and, consequently, terminating such users’ accounts and deleting the bullying content. This study will address cyberbullying problems by implementing specific theories, and in the end, it will discuss the preventive measures against cyberbullying, especially using social media restriction as a strategy. Research problem This study’s main research problem is cyberbullying’s impact on children and individuals and social media’s influence on propagating cyberbullying. The increase in cyberbullying instances in society has brought about many other challenges to children and individuals, including mental health issues, lack of self-confidence, and self-esteem. Emerging trends show that a change in social media platforms can prevent cyberbullying’, learning, and functional structure. This report focusses on social media attempts and policies that have been put in place to regulate cyberbullying. This report also highlights the theories and models associated with online use and cyberbullying, which will help elaborate on the impact of social media structure and cyberbullying policies. This report discusses the various theories and learning models to be implemented in social media to reduce cyberbullying prevalence. The topic chosen was because of its global impact and its effects on children and adults worldwide. Although cyberbullying is an issue that is prevalent in the younger ages, it can or can suffer by anyone. Studies reveal that the most vulnerable age group is 11-25 years. Cyberbullying exposes children society’s dark sides and issues, making it necessary to know how to control it to prevent its negative impacts in society. Page 6 of 32 Theoretical framework The main theory that will use in this study is Barlett Gentile cyberbullying model (BGCM). The model explains the psychology behind the concept of cyberbullying. According to the model, a cyberbully usually pretends that they are strangers, and their gender is unknown. The cyberbully makes the victim believe that there is no harm in cyberbullying and should take it positively. Apart from the BGCM other theories and models will also be used, including General Strain Theory (GST), Routine Activities Theory, Theory of Social Dominance (SDT), and deindividuation theory. According to these theories, the cyberbully challenges the victims to believe that their cyberbullying concepts were wrong and nothing wrong with cyberbullying engagement. Over time, these concepts are strengthened and adversely affect the victim (Barlett and Kowalewski, 2019). Methodology The study involved secondary engagement with scholarly texts and the primary analysis of specific objects. Qualitative data are necessary for understanding the problem and answering the proposed research question. Secondary data is acquired by studying relevant scholarly articles on the subject and covering the use of social media platforms by cyberbullies and cyberbullying regulation using social media. The relevant research articles sourced from peer-reviewed journals. The researchers collected and analysed the secondary data to give insight into the best strategies to limit online bullying prevalence. Data and information gained from secondary engagement with the scholarship presented in the “Literature Reviews.” The secondary engagement with the scholarly texts will help identify gaps in social media use in society, leading to cyberbullying exposure. The primary analysis of objects is critical in answering the research question. The selected research design for the proposed study is a case study design. The case study design is a research approach aimed at gaining an in-depth analysis of a complicated issue in its real-life context by analysing specific cases (Thomas, 2015). The objects explore to help answer the research questions gathered from two case studies. The two case studies are two news articles covering the topic of policies adopted to regulate social media use to prevent cyberbullying. The data from each case study and the analysis from the same have discussed in separate chapters. A qualitative method of data analysis has used to analyse data from the two cases. Qualitative data analysis will employ Page 7 of 32 since the data presented in the two cases has been shown in qualitative form. The qualitative analysis method that has used to analyse data from the two cases is content analysis. Content analysis involves the systematic observation or reading of a text or other data sources to identify meaningful pieces of content (Bengtsson, 2016).

Mastering the Art of Online Learning: Your Guide to Acing Online Courses

Introduction

In recent years, the popularity of online courses has skyrocketed, offering learners the flexibility to acquire new skills and knowledge from the comfort of their homes. However, succeeding in online courses requires a different approach compared to traditional classroom settings. To help you make the most of your online learning experience, this article presents essential strategies and tips to ace your online courses.

1. Set Clear Goals and Plan Ahead

Before embarking on an online course, establish clear goals and objectives. Determine what you hope to achieve by the end of the course and break down your goals into manageable milestones. Create a study schedule that aligns with your other commitments, ensuring you allocate dedicated time for coursework, assignments, and revision.

2. Create a Productive Study Environment

Establishing a conducive study environment is crucial for online learning success. Find a quiet, well-lit space where you can concentrate without distractions. Remove any potential interruptions, such as notifications from social media or email. Organize your study materials and have a reliable internet connection to ensure seamless access to course materials.

3. Actively Engage in the Course

Active participation is key to mastering online courses. Engage with course materials, including videos, readings, and interactive components. Take comprehensive notes, highlighting key concepts and ideas. Participate in discussion boards, forums, and virtual meetings to interact with instructors and peers, fostering a sense of community and enhancing your understanding of the subject matter.

4. Manage Your Time Effectively

Online courses offer flexibility, but it’s essential to manage your time wisely to avoid falling behind. Create a detailed schedule, allocating specific time slots for coursework, assignments, and studying. Break down larger tasks into smaller, manageable segments to prevent procrastination. Prioritize tasks based on deadlines and dedicate focused time to each one, ensuring consistent progress throughout the course.

5. Develop Effective Communication Skills

Online courses often rely on written communication, making it crucial to hone your skills in this area. Be concise and clear in your written responses, paying attention to grammar and spelling. Actively participate in discussions, asking thoughtful questions and providing constructive feedback to your peers. Regularly check your course emails and notifications, ensuring you stay updated with any important announcements or changes.

6. Utilize Available Resources

Take full advantage of the resources provided by your online course platform and instructors. Familiarize yourself with the learning management system (LMS) and explore its features. Access supplementary materials, such as textbooks, lecture slides, and external resources recommended by instructors. Utilize online libraries, research databases, and tutorial services to deepen your understanding of the subject matter.

7. Stay Motivated and Engaged

Maintaining motivation throughout an online course can be challenging, particularly when faced with competing priorities or a lack of face-to-face interaction. Set short-term goals and reward yourself upon their completion. Connect with fellow learners through virtual study groups or online forums to foster a sense of camaraderie. Regularly remind yourself of the benefits and personal growth associated with completing the course successfully.

8. Seek Support and Clarification

Don’t hesitate to seek support or clarification when needed. Reach out to your instructors for guidance or clarification on course material. Utilize online discussion forums to ask questions or engage in collaborative problem-solving. Leverage the support services provided by your course platform or institution, such as technical support or academic advising.

Conclusion

Online courses present unique opportunities for self-paced learning and personal growth. By setting clear goals, creating a productive study environment, actively engaging with course materials, and managing your time effectively, you can maximize your chances of acing online courses. Remember to stay motivated, seek support when needed, and make the most of the available resources. Embrace the flexibility and adaptability of online learning to achieve your educational goals.