Cyberbullying and Digital Communication Ethics among Iraqi Adolescents: Attitudes, Moral Judgments, and Platform Use
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.12301Keywords:
Geopolitical Competition, Digital Transformation, Digital Hegemony, U.S. Digital Strategy, Middle East, IraqAbstract
Objectives: To examine adolescents’ attitudes in Iraq toward cyberbullying and digital communication ethics across major social media platforms; to estimate the prevalence of exposure/witnessing/perpetration; to test the relationship between platform engagement and ethical awareness; and to explore gender and age differences.
Methods: A cross-sectional correlational quantitative study was conducted with a sample of n = 400 adolescents (ages 13–18) in Iraq. Instruments included scales measuring cyberbullying exposure (victimization/witnessing/perpetration), ethical awareness (moral sensitivity/judgment) via short Likert-type scenarios, and platform engagement (hours per day, preferred platforms, cross-platform usage index). Instruments were culturally adapted using forward/backward translation, expert review, and pilot testing, achieving acceptable internal consistency.
Results: A total of 46.5% reported exposure to or witnessing cyberbullying in the past six months. Intensive daily use was associated with lower ethical awareness, particularly on fast-paced visual platforms (e.g., TikTok and Instagram, averaging ~2.8–3.2 hours/day), whereas conversational platforms (e.g., WhatsApp) were associated with higher ethical scores. Females demonstrated higher ethical awareness than males. An inverted U-shaped pattern across ages was observed, with the 15–16 age group showing the highest averages.
Conclusions: The findings highlight the prevalence and platform-specific patterns of cyberbullying among Iraqi adolescents, indicating the need to integrate an ethical perspective (harm prevention, dignity, privacy, accountability) into Iraq-adapted digital citizenship curricula, school protocols, effective family mediation, and protective platform design.
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