International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

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Differences in Cultural Perspectives on Cyberbullying-Related Words

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Cyberbullying is on the rise worldwide. In Malaysia, several adolescents committed suicide due to victimisation of cyberbullying. Research is thus necessary to gain an in-depth understanding of the reasons for cyberbullying and then provide a solution to the problem. This study addresses cyberbullying using a survey questionnaire that determines the words that the public considers to be demeaning. The survey questionnaire is conducted through Google Form and is completed by 44 respondents. Three categories of cyberbullying are identified, namely, appearance, intelligence, and worthiness. Once the demeaning words per category are identified, the highest-rated words are gathered and presented to participants from different cultural backgrounds. An interview is conducted to investigate the understanding of those words. Although respondents from different cultural backgrounds have mixed interpretations of the presented words, results found that avoiding using the identified demeaning words is an effective solution to cure cyberbullying. Pedagogical implications are also suggested on the basis of findings. Eliminating cyberbullying is the responsibility of all members of the nation.
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In-Text Citation: (Beng, Hua, 2019)
To Cite this Article: Beng, K. Y., Hua, T. K. (2019) Differences in Cultural Perspectives on Cyberbullying-Related Words. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 9(10). 22-36