From Participation to Withdrawal: Cyberbullying and Social Media Engagement among Undergraduates in a Nigerian Private University

Abstract

Background: Social media has become an indispensable platform for undergraduate communication, self-expression, and socialisation; however, it has simultaneously facilitated the emergence of cyberbullying as a significant threat to students’ digital well-being and social media engagement. Objectives: This study investigated the perceived influence of cyberbullying on the social media engagement of undergraduates of Lead City University, Ibadan. Specifically, the study determined the current patterns of social media engagement, identified the common forms of cyberbullying experienced, examined the prevalence of cyberbullying, and examined self-reported behavioural responses to cyberbullying among the students. Methods: This study employed a quantitative survey research design, with a questionnaire administered to 265 respondents selected across all nine faculties of Lead City University through stratified, purposive, and convenience sampling techniques. Results: Findings revealed that WhatsApp (96.2%) and Instagram (78.5%) were the most frequently used platforms, with 45.7% of respondents spending three to four hours daily on social media. Cyberbullying victimisation had a prevalence of 70.2%, with harassment (70.6%) and trolling (63.4%) being the most common forms, predominantly occurring on WhatsApp. Respondents broadly reported that cyberbullying negatively influenced their social media engagement behaviours (grand mean = 3.80), with many indicating that they had withdrawn from online activity, restricted their accounts, or adopted more cautious posting practices following cyberbullying experiences. Conclusion: Cyberbullying is perceived by undergraduates as a substantial inhibitor of healthy social media engagement in the Nigerian university context. Comprehensive anti-cyberbullying policies and digital literacy programmes should be implemented at the University and similar institutions.