‘[Cyber]bullying is too strong a word…’: Parental accounts of their children's experiences of online conflict and relational aggression

Abstract

The problem of cyberbullying has been the subject of considerable media attention in Australia and has been framed as a crisis threatening the wellbeing of Australian youth, provoking a comprehensive policy and legislative response to the problem. Definitions of cyberbullying, however, remain contested and there is a lack of nuance in public debates about cyberbullying. This article draws on interviews and focus groups with forty Australian parents to determine parents’ anxieties, perspectives, and experiences in relation to cyberbullying, a perspective that has remained relatively under explored. This study found that while online conflict, exclusion and relational aggression appear common amongst young people, parents in this study eschewed the term cyberbullying, instead characterising negative online peer interactions as part of ‘normal’ child development. This paper demonstrates that a more nuanced understanding of negative online behaviours is needed. The findings have particular relevance to policy makers and organisations tasked with addressing cyberbullying.

Parental Perception of Children’s Online Behaviour: A Study on Ethnic Communities in Australia

“…The mixed methods study compared the survey results with qualitative findings and complemented the statistical findings through more in-depth explanations and analyses of the qualitative data. The study established the role of ethnicity and culture in parental perceptions of online behaviour issues, where there was a clear gap in research [ 14 ]. Similar studies conducted on this issue [ 2 , 19 , 20 , 26 ] did not consider or highlight ethnicity as a factor in online usage by children or how their parents perceive their children’s usage, including potential threats.…”

“…Australian parents are concerned about use of the Internet with respect to several issues, such as digital media disrupting learning and development as children are compromising their inherent intellectual capacity and critical thinking skills are being altered by using the Internet, including a lack of self-discipline resulting in ‘intellectual laziness’ and ‘stunted’ mental abilities [ 14 ]. The three most common concerns cited in the eSafety research [ 11 ] for Australian parents were: exposure to inappropriate content other than pornography (38%), contact with strangers (37%), and being bullied online (34%) [ 21 ].…”

“…Parents’ roles in mediating the online activities of their children and minimising risks while maximising opportunities have been widely addressed by researchers in the field [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. However, parents’ experiences and perspectives on this issue remain relatively underexplored [ 14 ], particularly the ethical views of parents in Australia.…”

“…Parents’ roles in mediating the online activities of their children and minimising risks while maximising opportunities have been widely addressed by researchers in the field [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. However, parents’ experiences and perspectives on this issue remain relatively underexplored [ 14 ], particularly the ethical views of parents in Australia. Furthermore, few studies have focused on ethnic communities in Australia and parental perception of internet use, e.g., the use of digital and mobile technologies in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) young people [ 12 ].…”