Parental awareness of the problem of cyberbullying: A sociological analysis

Abstract

This article argues that the digital transformation of childhood and adolescence opens up a wide range of new opportunities, but also creates risks, particularly the risk of cyberbullying. The online environment facilitates learning, communication, and selfactualization, but often turns into a space of threats, humiliation, pressure, and other forms of violence, which often remain unnoticed by adults, including parents as the primary agents of socialization and protection of children. This article aims to study parents’ awareness level of their children’s involvement in cyberbullying (as victims, aggressors, or witnesses) in light of the need to develop comprehensive preventative measures and instill a culture of digital parenting. The study’s methodological framework employed generational theory, the concept of social construction, and the theory of social control, which enabled to reveal the peculiarities of perception of cyberbullying phenomenon across generations and demonstrate the role of the family in preventing deviant behavior in an online environment. Empirical data confirmed that parental awareness significantly reduces the probability of children and adolescents becoming involved in cyberbullying as victims or aggressors.