Do Boys and Girls Behave Differently Online?

A Review of Gender Differences in Cyberbullying

DOI

10.2991/assehr.k.210519.163How to use a DOI?

Keywords

cyberbullying, gender, adolescence

Abstract

As more and more adolescents gain access to electronic devices and the Internet, cyberbullying has become a widespread issue. One disputable aspect of cyberbullying is whether there are gender differences among cyberbullies and cybervictims. The current review analyzed previous studies on gender patterns in cyberbullying among teenagers and compare the results with that of traditional bullying. The review shows that research on the gender differences of cyberbullying has yielded mixed results. Although some studies find gender differences similar to that found in traditional bullying, with boys more likely to be cyberbullies while girls are more often victimized, many studies show no significant differences while others find alternative patterns. Several factors may play a role in varying the results, for instance, the inconsistent definition and measurement implemented in the studies, the interaction between age and gender, and differential gender norms resulted from distinct cultural backgrounds. Investigating the gender differences in cyberbullying may give insights into the differential socialization of either gender and help improve cyberbullying prevention programs. Therefore, to continue such investigation, future studies are advised to develop a more consistent measure of cyberbullying behaviors, to analyze further the effect of culture and age, and to take into consideration non-binary gender identities.

Copyright

© 2021, the Authors. Published by Atlantis Press.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Yuanyuan Chang
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/05/20
TI  - Do Boys and Girls Behave Differently Online?
BT  - Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research (ICHSSR 2021)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 819
EP  - 824
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.210519.163
DO  - 10.2991/assehr.k.210519.163
ID  - Chang2021
ER  -