Ask.fm : a cyberbullying tool? : a Maltese perspective

Abstract

Cyberbullying is a relatively recent subject that represents the migration of conventional bullying into a virtual environment. People are constantly making use of the Internet thus increasing the risk of bullying and harassment in cyberspace. In addition thousands of people, especially young adults, are being attracted to social networking sites. By the end of 2013, Ask.fm, a social networking site, has become popular. Due to an anonymity feature Ask.fm was criticised that it facilitates criminal and inappropriate use. This study aims to investigate whether this online service is being used to bully Maltese young users and the impact it causes on victims. The study will seek to identify, if applicable, the nature and the extent of this form of bullying, victim and offender characteristics and the response to such incidents. Given that Ask.fm is mostly related to young persons the aim was to interview professionals who are exposed to reports on cyberbullying amongst minors. This included educators, support services and law enforcement officers. Information was obtained through qualitative interviews focused on obtaining the professionals perspective. In addition, several of attempts were made to obtain information directly from Ask.fm. Unfortunately Ask.fm did not reply to invitations to participate in this study. This is a drawback since their input would have been important in terms of understanding the extent of the reports they have received from Maltese users. Findings suggest that Ask.fm has been used to target Maltese users, although we cannot say that it is the main bullying tool. Findings also indicate that young persons are more prevalent than other age groups, regardless of their gender, to being exposed to cyberbullying. This by no means indicates that older generations are not likely to be subjected to cyberbullying incidents. This study demonstrates that there is a collective agreement amongst participants with regards to increasing awareness and safety among the general public, parents and students. In addition, educators showed enthusiasm and willingness to be more trained and informative about the subject.