The Youth Research Unit (YRU) of the Bureau of Market Research in the College of Economic and Management Sciences at Unisa University has released a report indicating that there is an increase in cyber bullying among secondary school students in Gauteng, South Africa. The YRU recently conducted the study–focusing on the nature, extent and the impact of cyber bullying–as part of a Schools Community Engagement research project, which included 3,371 Gauteng students in Grades 8 to 12.
The YRU research study highlighted that almost three in every 10 students (34.4%) who participated in the study were victims of bullying. Whereas four in 10 students (38.1%) were aware of a friend being bullied, approximately a quarter (23.3%) admitted to have bullied other students. The study also revealed high prevalence rates of traditional forms of bullying and more importantly the emergence of cyber bullying as a new phenomenon. The study was motivated by concerns regarding the increase in incidents of cyber bullying and the need to substantiate the seriousness of this phenomenon.
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