The impact of media culture and bullying

Pages: 562-567
Richa Malhotra (Department of Psychology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi)

Bullying, a form of social behaviour which is aggressive in nature, is known to impact one and all, in different contexts and varying intensities. These behaviours, if unchecked, have the potential to cause damage for an individual in terms of socio-emotional implications. In today’s age of omnipresent media, we need to understand the role of media culture as a factor perpetuating cyberbullying as well as how it can be used in conjunction with positive psychology to effectively reduce bullying. The present study is an effort to foster the latter, by studying the influence of media culture on bullying behaviours. For this purpose, fifty participants, divided across 5 focus groups were selected (N=50) using convenience sampling. A brief introduction of the study was given to each group of participants, who gave their consent to be a part of the study. An experiential approach was entailed. For every group, a video based on bullying and its effects was screened. This was followed by focus group discussions, held in the light of a semi-structured interview schedule. Thematic Analysis was employed to interpret the data. Based on the findings, results were put forth in the form of themes. Prominent themes that emerged included nature, relational bullying, causes and impact, sources, role of the family, role of bystanders and prevention.