Affiliations: [1] NTU Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| [2] School of Psychology, University of Derby, Derby, UK
Correspondence:
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Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lucy R. Betts, Nottingham Trent University, 50 Shakespeare Street, Nottingham, NG1 4FQ, UK. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Individuals hold optimistic beliefs about the likelihood of experiencing cyberbullying relative to others. However, how cyberbullying experiences and technology use influence these perceptions remains unclear. Data was collected from 444 (371 female, 71 male, 2 non-disclosed) students (Mage = 20.38, SDage = 3.51) recruited from two Universities in the UK. Participants completed questionnaires assessing problematic internet use, fear of missing out (FoMO), previous experiences of cyberbullying, and the likelihood with which they and eight comparator groups would experience cyberbullying. Problematic internet use and being a victim (negatively) and witness (positively) mediated the relationship between FoMO and comparative optimistic beliefs for experiencing cyberbullying. Elevated FoMO predicted greater problematic internet use which predicted being a victim and witness. Being a: (a) victim predicted reduced comparative optimism and (b) witness predicted increased comparative optimism. Therefore, adults who have previously experienced cyberbullying hold less optimistic beliefs whereas those who witness cyberbullying hold optimistic beliefs.
Keywords: Comparative optimism, cyberbullying, fear of missing out, problematic
internet use, risk perceptions
