More than 4 out of 10 teenagers have experienced cyber violence, including insults and sexual harassment online. By gender, it was revealed that Namsung faces more cyber violence than females, and by age group, middle school students and those in their 20s experienced cyber violence more frequently.
The Korea Communications Commission and the Korea Information Society Agency announced on the 28th the results of the '2024 Cyber Violence Survey.' The survey was conducted from September to November of last year, targeting a total of 17,007 individuals, including elementary school students from 4th grade to 3rd year of high school and adults aged 19 to 69, through group interviews, online surveys, and household visits.
According to the survey results, 42.7% of teenagers and 13.5% of adults in South Korea reported experiencing cyber violence. The experience of cyber violence includes both perpetration and victimization. This shows an increase of 1.9 percentage points for teenagers and 5.5 percentage points for adults compared to 2023.
The experience rate of teenage perpetrators increased to 5.7%, up from 4% two years ago, while the victimization rate decreased to 20.3% from 21.6%. The percentage of individuals who experienced both perpetration and victimization is now 16.7%, an increase from 15.3% two years ago. For adults, the perpetration rate is 3.3%, the victimization rate is 8.6%, and the rate of experiencing both is 1.6%.
The rates of perpetration and victimization increased by 2.5 percentage points and 2.8 percentage points, respectively, compared to two years ago. The most common type of cyber violence is cyber verbal violence, recording the highest rates among both teenagers (18.4%) and adults (3.4%). Among teenagers, insults (44.8%) and harassment and ridicule (19.6% each) were the most common forms of victimization, while for adults, it was harassment (35.1%), ridicule (28.5%), and insults (21.5%).
The Korea Communications Commission noted that the increase in figures was due to an increase in exposure to negative content, such as 'digital hate,' which expresses bias and discrimination against specific individuals or groups due to differences in gender, disability, or religion, and 'digital sex crimes' involving illegal videos or hidden cameras.
By gender and age, both teenagers and adults experienced more perpetration and victimization among Namsung, with teenagers primarily in middle school and adults in their 20s. Middle school students reported a victimization rate of 42.1% and a perpetration rate of 27.2%, while those in their 20s had a victimization rate of 13.4% and a perpetration rate of 7.7%.
The experience of perpetration among teenagers showed the most significant increase among middle and high school students. The main channels through which cyber violence occurs for both teenagers and adults were text messages and instant messaging, while teenagers particularly saw a dramatic increase in experiences in the virtual convergence world (metaverse) — from 1.9% two years ago to 16.2% for perpetration and from 2.4% to 18.5% for victimization.
The reasons for perpetration of cyber violence were indicated as 'retaliation' by 38.5% of teenagers and 40.3% of adults, demonstrating a phenomenon where victims become perpetrators and vice versa. This was followed by responses indicating that it was because 'the other person is disliked or irritating' (24.2% for teenagers, 30.7% for adults).
In particular, teenagers were found to engage in cyber violence without a specific reason or for fun and games, indicating a lack of awareness regarding the seriousness of cyber violence.
The Korea Communications Commission plans to jointly address cyber violence through the 'Comprehensive Inter-Ministry Working Council for Preventing and Responding to Cyber Violence,' in which the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Justice, among seven departments, participate.