Parents’ perception of cyberbullying of their children in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: The effect of cyberbullying varies from the small levels of discomfort to serious psychological and social issues. Studies on parents' perception of cyberbullying in Saudi Arabia are scarce. The aim of this study was to determine parents' awareness and perception of cyberbullying of their children in Saudi Arabia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was done on 1249 parents in Saudi Arabia using a standardized validated questionnaire. The questions were on cyberbullying and its association with the school, the difference between cyberbullying and traditional bullying, the importance of parents' attention and their knowledge of cyberbullying, and the platform on which they think cyberbullying occurs. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 24. Qualitative data were presented as frequencies and percentages while mean and standard deviation were computed for quantitative data. Student's t-test or Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests, as appropriate, were applied to test for statistical significance. RESULTS: About 43% parents strongly agreed that cyberbullying was more harmful than bullying in the schoolyard. Parents reported that video games were the most common social platform for cyberbullying. About 64% parents strongly believed that cyberbullying caused psychological harm, and 78% parents responded that it was important to monitor the child's use of the Internet. Seventy-eight percent of parents strongly believed that schools should be proactive in addressing cyberbullying. As for the parents' role, 72.8% strongly believed that parents should be more proactive in addressing cyberbullying, whereas 27.9% thought that parents' involvement would reduce it. Most participants (75.1%) said that more laws should be passed to prevent or punish cyberbullying. CONCLUSION: There is a need to raise the awareness of the Saudi community about the effects and consequences of cyberbullying.