Cyber victimization: Dark side of virtual world

Pages: 1067-1070
Mandeep Kaur and Inderpreet Kaur (Department of Psychology, Punjabi University, Patiala, Punjab)

Technology has brought many advancements which make lives easier and provides numerous benefits but it also has a ‘dark side’ as it has led to many negative outcomes i.e., cyber crime, cyber bullying and e-bullying, etc. Research evidence suggests that cyber victimization is associated with trivial levels of distress and frustration, psychosocial, affective and academic problems ranging from low self esteem, depression, anger, school drop-out, poor grades, and youth suicide. Thus the present piece of work revealed significant positive correlation between Cyber Victimization and Suicide ideation (r=0.49, p<0.01) and psychological distress (r=0.85, p<0.01), suicidal ideation and psychological distress (r= 0.48, p<0.05) and negative correlation between academic achievement and suicidal ideation (r = -0.21, p<0.01) and self esteem and suicidal ideation (r= -0.36, p< 0.05). Both males and females were found to be equally susceptible to cyber victimization (Mean=5.31 females, Mean=5.49 males). Implications of the study are discussed and future suggestions are recommended.