Cyberbullying and Social Media Addiction among In-School Adolescents in Imo State

Abstract

The study investigated cyberbullying and social media addiction among in-school adolescents in Imo State and guided by three research questions and a null hypothesis testing the relationship between the two variables. Adopting a correlational survey research design, the study sampled 600 students from public secondary schools using a multi-stage sampling technique to ensure representative coverage across the three educational zones. Data were collected through a validated and reliable researcher-developed instrument, the Cyberbullying and Social Media Addiction Questionnaire (CSMAQ), and analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation at 0.05 significance level. The findings revealed that adolescents exhibited high levels of social media addiction, characterized by frequent engagement, restlessness when disconnected, difficulty reducing usage, and habitual checking of platforms, reflecting compulsive online behaviour. Additionally, cyberbullying was found to be a significant issue, with students frequently experiencing insulting messages, mockery, exclusion from online groups, and witnessing bullying of peers, indicating that online interactions expose adolescents to social and emotional risks. The study also revealed a strong positive relationship between social media addiction and cyberbullying, demonstrating that higher levels of online engagement correspond with greater likelihood of experiencing or perpetrating online harassment. These results suggest that unmoderated social media use not only affects academic focus but also increases vulnerability to negative social experiences. Consequently, the study underscores the need for schools, parents, and educational authorities to implement digital literacy programmes monitor and guide online behaviour, and establish supportive policies and counselling services to mitigate social media addiction and cyberbullying, promoting safer and more responsible digital engagement among adolescents.