The Level of Social Anxiety among Viewers and Non-Viewers of Cyberbullying among Diploma Students at the University of Nizwa

This study examined the relationship between witnessing cyberbullying incidents and social anxiety levels among diploma students at the University of Nizwa. consisted of 149 students (59 males and 90 females). The short version of the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A-SF) was used to measure participants' anxiety levels after verifying its psychometric properties and suitability for the study's purposes. A descriptive approach was used in the study. The results showed that students who had previously witnessed cyberbullying exhibited higher levels of social anxiety (43.03) compared to their peers who had not witnessed this phenomenon (30.84). The difference between the means of the two groups (witnesses and non-witnesses of cyberbullying) on the scale was statistically significant. The study results also did not reveal statistically significant differences in the level of social anxiety between males and females, whether in terms of witnessing or not witnessing cyberbullying. These findings indicate the potential impact of witnessing cyberbullying on students' mental health, highlighting the need to develop preventative programs and effective interventions to mitigate its negative effects.