"De hade skrivit bög i bläck. Jag hade skrivit: Exakt vad han är, LOL" : En kvalitativ studie om ungdomars erfarenheter av e-mobbning på sociala nätverket Facebook

Sammanfattning:

Cyber bullying is a form of bullying that did not receive enough recognition in our society until the year of 2004. That same year, the social network Facebook was launched and is now the most popular social network site for youths in Sweden and around the world. Cyber bullying is a new phenomenon where the normal form of bullying is taken into the world of technology by using various technical artefacts such as mobile phones, computers and tablets to access the Internet. In this study the youths will be sharing their views and experiences on this subject.

Aim: The aim was to ascertain the experiences of cyber bullying according to Swedish youth between the ages of 11- 16 years old in a Swedish class in Stockholm.

Method: This will be presented by empirical interviews with a qualitative approach, as a method to illustrate the youths perception of this phenomenon.

Results: The study results show that Facebook serves as a tool keeping youths connected through computer-mediated communication. Youths can edit and optimize their presentations of themselves online and choose how much of their private information they want to share with others. Based on the study, it has also been shown that anonymity is not essential among bullies. According to the participants they know who has insulted them or their friends because they are using their real Facebook accounts, which differs from previous study. The reason behind this may be that youths have become more comfortable social networking and they find it easier when they cannot see the person's reaction when they receive the negative comment written, in comparison to if the comment would have been said in the classroom. The study has also shown that those who have been bullied online either go to the same school with the bully or have acquaintances. The more online-exposure for example; having many social network friends and publishing private information, an individual chooses to have with their Facebook account, the greater the risk of being cyber bullied.

Conclusion: Even though this is a narrow study, it brings insights on youths experience and exposure to cyber bullying.