COMMUNICATION STYLES OF SOCIAL NETWORKS AND CYBERBULLYING

Abstract

The research was conducted to examine communication styles on social networks and the prevalence of cyberbullying among the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The survey included 250 respondents, of both sexes, from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Respondents answered individually via an online questionnaire. The results showed that social networks are widely used in Bosnia and Herzegovina; as many as 94.8% of respondents use Facebook, 82.3% use Instagram, and 32.9% use Tik Tok. All three communication styles (aggressive, passive, and assertive) are also present when communicating online on social networks. Assertive and passive ways of communicating are more common than aggressive ones. At least a third of the respondents included in this research were exposed to cyberbullying. Along with the numerous advantages of communication via social networks, it has its disadvantages. The existence of victims of violent communication on social networks is a non-negligible fact. There is an obvious necessity to detect and remediate this relatively new social problem, and also the need to provide adequate social and counseling services for the protection of the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina against violent online communication.