Cyberbullying among secondary school students: An exploratory analysis of types and patterns

Abstract

Cyberbullying among adolescents has become an increasing concern due to the widespread use of social media and digital communication platforms. This exploratory study aimed to identify the types of cyberbullying experienced by secondary school students in Johor Bahru, Johor. A quantitative approach using a descriptive survey design was employed. A total of 299 students participated in the study, comprising 185 female students and 114 male students. Of the respondents, 141 were Form Four students, while 158 were Form Five students. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics, focusing on the frequency and percentage of each type of cyberbullying. The findings showed that dissing was the most commonly reported type of cyberbullying, involving 65.2% of students, followed by trickery at 31.5% and online harassment at 30.4%. These findings provide initial insight into cyberbullying patterns among secondary school students and highlight the need for school-based prevention and intervention programmes. This study also serves as a foundation for future research on cyberbullying experiences among adolescents in Malaysian school contexts.