| Abstract: |
Cyberbullying is increasing daily on the Internet, especially through the social media. It has been described by experts as not only a social, but a mental health problem due to its devastating psychological outcomes which sometimes lead to the death of victims. One way of solving the problem is for a victim to report the perpetrator to law enforcement agencies for appropriate sanctions; among other coping and preventive strategies. The study investigated the issue by adopting the qualitative survey method to identify the persons and institutions that university undergraduates report cyberbullying attacks to, in Lagos State, the hub of Nigeria’s Information and Communication Technology. Focus Group discussions were held at three selected universities. Findings show that 51.7 percent of discussants would report incidents of cyberbullying against them to a third person or relevant authorities. Also, 55.1 percent of discussants agreed that male undergraduates were guiltier than their female counterparts in perpetrating cyberbullying. It was recommended that, since few undergraduates seem to be reporting cyberbullying attacks to the campus authorities, the authorities should encourage more of them to come out and report. Reporting should be seen as the first step towards the right direction aimed at solving the problem. Authorities should also be carrying out constant enlightenment campaigns against cyberbullying on campus and directing such anti – bullying messages more, at male undergraduates since they are guiltier of the offence. |
