Journals / Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 22 Sayı: 2

Psychological Fatigue, Cyberbullying, and Cybervictimization Among University Students: The Mediating Role of Counter-Empathy

Üniversite Öğrencilerinde Psikolojik Yorgunluk, Siber Zorbalık ve Siber Mağduriyet: Karşıt Empatinin Aracı Rolü

Ferhat Bayram(T.C. MİLLİ EĞİTİM BAKANLIĞI)0000-0002-1711-7884
Pages
478–499
Publication Date
2026-08-26
🏛️Bibliographic metadata and full text access for this article are provided via DergiPark.
DergiPark Record ↗
✨

AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The results indicate that the subdimensions of counter-empathy are important socio-emotional mechanisms in explaining the relationship between psychological fatigue related to social media use and cyberbullying and cybervictimization.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:The aim of this study was to examine the mediating role of the two subdimensions of counter-empathy—pleasure in others’ pain and discomfort with others’ happiness—in the relationship between psychological fatigue related to social media use and cyberbullying and cybervictimization among university students.
📊
Key Findings & Data:The study group consisted of 515 university students.
💡
Conclusion & Impact:The results indicate that the subdimensions of counter-empathy are important socio-emotional mechanisms in explaining the relationship between psychological fatigue related to social media use and cyberbullying and cybervictimization.
🔬Design:Survey & Empirical Study
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Sosyal medya kullanım yorgunluğu · karşıt empati · siber zorbalık

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the mediating role of the two subdimensions of counter-empathy—pleasure in others’ pain and discomfort with others’ happiness—in the relationship between psychological fatigue related to social media use and cyberbullying and cybervictimization among university students. The study was conducted using a quantitative research approach and a correlational survey design. The study group consisted of 515 university students. The Social Media Use Fatigue Scale, the Counter-Empathy Scale, and the Cyberbullying/Cybervictimization Scale for University Students were used as data collection instruments. The data were analyzed using SPSS and AMOS. Within the scope of structural equation modeling, two separate models were tested. In the first model, cyberbullying was treated as the dependent variable, whereas in the second model, cybervictimization was treated as the dependent variable. The findings showed that psychological fatigue positively and significantly predicted both pleasure in others’ pain and discomfort with others’ happiness. In the cyberbullying model, the direct effect of psychological fatigue was not significant; however, the indirect effects through both subdimensions of counter-empathy were significant. In the cybervictimization model, both the direct effect of psychological fatigue and the indirect effects through the two mediator variables were significant. The results indicate that the subdimensions of counter-empathy are important socio-emotional mechanisms in explaining the relationship between psychological fatigue related to social media use and cyberbullying and cybervictimization.

Özet

Bu araştırmanın amacı, üniversite öğrencilerinde sosyal medya kullanımına ilişkin psikolojik yorgunluğun siber zorbalık ve siber mağduriyet ile ilişkisinde karşıt empatinin iki alt boyutu olan başkalarının acısından zevk alma ve başkalarının mutluluğundan rahatsız olmanın aracı rolünü incelemektir. Araştırma nicel araştırma yaklaşımlarından ilişkisel tarama modeli ile yürütülmüştür. Çalışma grubunu 515 üniversite öğrencisi oluşturmuştur. Araştırmada Sosyal Medya Kullanım Yorgunluğu, Karşıt-Empati ve Üniversite Öğrencileri İçin Siber Zorbalık/Siber Mağduriyet Ölçekleri kullanılmıştır. Veriler SPSS ve AMOS programlarıyla analiz edilmiştir. Yapısal eşitlik modellemesi kapsamında iki ayrı model test edilmiştir. Birinci modelde bağımlı değişken siber zorbalık, ikinci modelde ise siber mağduriyet olarak ele alınmıştır. Bulgular, psikolojik yorgunluğun başkalarının acısından zevk alma ve başkalarının mutluluğundan rahatsız olma alt boyutlarını pozitif yönde ve anlamlı biçimde yordadığını göstermiştir. Siber zorbalık modelinde psikolojik yorgunluğun doğrudan etkisi anlamlı bulunmazken, her iki karşıt empati alt boyutu üzerinden gerçekleşen dolaylı etkiler anlamlıdır. Siber mağduriyet modelinde ise psikolojik yorgunluğun hem doğrudan etkisi hem de iki aracı değişken üzerinden dolaylı etkileri anlamlı bulunmuştur. Sonuçlar, sosyal medya kullanımına bağlı psikolojik yorgunluğun siber zorbalık ve siber mağduriyetle ilişkisini açıklamada karşıt empati alt boyutlarının önemli sosyal-duygusal mekanizmalar olduğunu göstermektedir.

🔖

Cite This Article

Bayram, F. (2026). Psychological Fatigue, Cyberbullying, and Cybervictimization Among University Students: The Mediating Role of Counter-Empathy. Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 22 Sayı: 2, 478–499. https://doi.org/10.17860/mersinefd.1972573

📄 Full Text PDF Viewer

📄

PDF görüntüleyici hazırlanıyor...

References (81)

  1. American Educational Research Association (2011). Code of ethics. https://www.aera.net/About-AERA/AERA-Rules-Policies/Professional-Ethics
  2. American Psychological Association (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). American Psychological Association.
  3. Ang, R. P., & Goh, D. H. (2010). Cyberbullying among adolescents: The role of affective and cognitive empathy, and gender. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 41(4), 387–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0176-3
  4. Ayyagari, R., Grover, V., & Purvis, R. (2011). Technostress: Technological antecedents and implications. MIS Quarterly, 35(4), 831–858. https://doi.org/10.2307/41409963
  5. Barnett, R. C., Brennan, R. T., Gareis, K. C., Ertel, K. A., Berkman, L. F., & Almeida, D. M. (2012). Conservation of Resources theory in the context of multiple roles: an analysis of within- and cross-role mediational pathways. Community, Work & Family, 15(2), 131–148. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2010.539066
  6. Batmaz, H., Türk, N., Kaya, A., & Yıldırım, M. (2022). Cyberbullying and cyber victimization: Examining mediating roles of empathy and resilience. Current Psychology, 42(35), 30959–30969. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04134-3
  7. Bayar, A., Kurt, B. S., Mutlu, M., Öven, Ç., & Bayar, Y. (2023). The validity and the reliability study of a Cyber Victimization/Bullying Scale for university students. Research on Education and Psychology, 7(1), 149-163. https://doi.org/10.54535/rep.1297063
  8. Belsey, B. (2008). Cyberbullying. Cyberbullying.org. http://www.cyberbullying.org
  9. Bilge, Y., & Bilge, Y. (2024). Turkish Adaptation of Counter-Empathy Scale and its Psychometric Properties. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar, 16(1), 249-261. https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.1539181
  10. Bright, L. F., Kleiser, S. B., & Grau, S. L. (2015). Too much Facebook? An exploratory examination of social media fatigue. Computers in Human Behavior, 44, 148–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.048
  11. Browne, M. W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K. A. Bollen & J. S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136–162). Sage.
  12. Byrne, B. M. (2010). Structural equation modeling with AMOS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming (2nd ed.). Routledge.
  13. Cao, B., & Lin, W. Y. (2015). How do victims react to cyberbullying on social networking sites? The influence of previous cyberbullying victimization experiences. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 458-465. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.009
  14. Cao, X., Khan, A. N., Zaigham, G. H. K., & Khan, N. A. (2018). The stimulators of social media fatigue among students: Role of moral disengagement. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 57(5), 1183–1207. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735633118781907
  15. Cecconi, C., Poggi, I., & D’Errico, F. (2020). Schadenfreude: Malicious joy in social media interactions. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 558282. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.558282
  16. Chan, T. K. H., Cheung, C. M. K., & Lee, Z. W. Y. (2021). Cyberbullying on social networking sites: A literature review and future research directions. Information & Management, 58(2), Article 103411. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2020.103411
  17. Chan, T. K. H., Cheung, C. M. K., & Wong, R. Y. M. (2019). Cyberbullying on social networking sites: The crime opportunity and affordance perspectives. Journal of Management Information Systems, 36(2), 574–609. https://doi.org/10.1080/07421222.2019.1599500
  18. Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage publications.
  19. Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555
  20. Curran, P. G. (2016). Methods for the detection of carelessly invalid responses in survey data. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 66, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.07.006
  21. Decety, J., & Cowell, J. M. (2014). The complex relation between morality and empathy. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 18(7), 337–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2014.04.008
  22. Dhir, A., Yossatorn, Y., Kaur, P., & Chen, S. (2018). Online social media fatigue and psychological wellbeing—A study of compulsive use, fear of missing out, fatigue, anxiety and depression. International Journal of Information Management, 40, 141–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2018.01.012
  23. Fang, J., Wang, X., Yuan, K. H., Wen, Z., Yu, X., & Zhang, G. (2020). Callous-unemotional traits and cyberbullying perpetration: The mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of empathy. Personality and Individual Differences, 157, Article 109829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.109829
  24. Gahagan, K., Vaterlaus, J. M., & Frost, L. R. (2016). College student cyberbullying on social networking sites: Conceptualization, prevalence, and perceived bystander responsibility. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 1097–1105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.11.019
  25. Giumetti, G. W., & Kowalski, R. M. (2015). Cyberbullying matters: Examining the incremental impact of cyberbullying on outcomes over and above traditional bullying in North America. In Cyberbullying across the globe: Gender, family, and mental health (pp. 117-130). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-25552-1_6
  26. Giumetti, G. W., & Kowalski, R. M. (2022). Cyberbullying via social media and well-being. Current Opinion in Psychology, 45, Article 101314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101314
  27. Goldberg, X. (2023). Social comparison links social media use and well-being. Nature Reviews Psychology, 2(11), 658. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-023-00244-2
  28. Han, B. (2016). Social media burnout: Definition, measurement instrument, and why we care. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 58(2), 122–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/08874417.2016.1208064
  29. Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. Guilford.
  30. Hinduja, S., & Patchin, J. W. (2009). Bullying beyond the schoolyard: Preventing and responding to cyberbullying. Corwin Press.
  31. Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44(3), 513–524. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.3.513
  32. Hobfoll, S. E., Halbesleben, J., Neveu, J. P., & Westman, M. (2018). Conservation of resources in the organizational context: The reality of resources and their consequences. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 5, 103–128. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032117-104640
  33. Hornik, J., Rachamim, M., Shaanan Satchi, R., & Grossman, O. (2021). A dark side of human behavior: Development of a malicious sentiments scale to others’ success or failure. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 4, Article 100112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2021.100112
  34. Hoşgör, H. K. (2025). Dijital yerliler için sosyal medya kullanım yorgunluğu ölçeği’nin geliştirilmesi. İstanbul Arel Üniversitesi İletişim Çalışmaları Dergisi, 27, 1-25. https://izlik.org/JA49MX72SF
  35. Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118
  36. Jie, J., & Wang, Y. (2023). Development and validation of the counter-empathy scale. Psychological reports, 126(4), 2078-2095. https://doi.org/10.1177/00332941221076775
  37. Jose, P. E., Kljakovic, M., Scheib, E., & Notter, O. (2012). The joint development of traditional bullying and victimization with cyber bullying and victimization in adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(2), 301–309. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-7795.2011.00764.x
  38. Kim, H. Y. (2013). Statistical notes for clinical researchers: Assessing normal distribution (2) using skewness and kurtosis. Restorative Dentistry & Endodontics, 38(1), 52–54. https://doi.org/10.5395/rde.2013.38.1.52
  39. Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). Guilford Publications.
  40. Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (5th ed.). The Guilford Press.
  41. Kowalski, R. M., Giumetti, G. W., Schroeder, A. N., & Lattanner, M. R. (2014). Bullying in the digital age: A critical review and meta-analysis of cyberbullying research among youth. Psychological Bulletin, 140(4), 1073–1137. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035618
  42. Krasnova, H., Widjaja, T., Buxmann, P., Wenninger, H., & Benbasat, I. (2015). Why following friends can hurt you: An exploratory investigation of the effects of envy on social networking sites among college-age users. Information Systems Research, 26(3), 585–601. https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2015.0588
  43. Lee, A. R., Son, S. M., & Kim, K. K. (2016). Information and communication technology overload and social networking service fatigue: A stress perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 55, 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.011
  44. Livingstone, S., & Smith, P. K. (2014). Annual research review: Harms experienced by child users of online and mobile technologies: The nature, prevalence and management of sexual and aggressive risks in the digital age. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 55(6), 635–654. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12197
  45. Martínez-Monteagudo, M. C., Delgado, B., García-Fernández, J. M., & Ruíz-Esteban, C. (2020). Cyberbullying in the university setting: Relationship with emotional problems and adaptation to the university. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, Article 3074. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03074
  46. Maxwell, S. E., & Cole, D. A. (2007). Bias in cross-sectional analyses of longitudinal mediation. Psychological Methods, 12(1), 23–44. https://doi.org/10.1037/1082-989X.12.1.23
  47. Meade, A. W., & Craig, S. B. (2012). Identifying careless responses in survey data. Psychological Methods, 17(3), 437–455. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028085
  48. Melchers, M., Li, M., Chen, Y., Zhang, W., & Montag, C. (2015). Low empathy is associated with problematic use of the Internet: Empirical evidence from China and Germany. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 17, 56–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2015.06.019
  49. Millî Eğitim Bakanlığı [MEB]. (2020, Ağustos). Rehberlik ve psikolojik danışma hizmetleri etik yönergesi. https://orgm.meb.gov.tr/meb_iys_dosyalar/2020_08/31230349_RPDH_Etik_Yonergesi_.pdf O’brien, R. M. (2007). A caution regarding rules of thumb for variance inflation factors. Quality & Quantity, 41(5), 673-690. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-006-9018-6
  50. Park, S. Y., & Baek, Y. M. (2018). Two faces of social comparison on Facebook: The interplay between social comparison orientation, emotions, and psychological well-being. Computers in Human Behavior, 79, 83–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2017.10.028
  51. Peluchette, J. V., Karl, K. A., Wood, C., & Williams, J. (2015). Cyberbullying victimization: Do victims’ personality and risky social network behaviors contribute to the problem? Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 424–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.06.028
  52. Ravindran, T., Yeow Kuan, A. C., & Hoe Lian, D. G. (2014). Antecedents and effects of social network fatigue. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 65(11), 2306–2320. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23122
  53. Razali, N. M., & Wah, Y. B. (2011). Power comparisons of shapiro-wilk, kolmogorov-smirnov, lilliefors and anderson-darling tests. Journal of Statistical Modeling and Analytics, 2(1), 21-33. https://www.nrc.gov/docs/ML1714/ML17143A100.pdf
  54. Renati, R., Berrone, C., & Zanetti, M. A. (2012). Morally disengaged and unempathic: Do cyberbullies fit these definitions? An exploratory study. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 15(8), 391–398. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2012.0046
  55. Runions, K. C., & Bak, M. (2015). Online moral disengagement, cyberbullying, and cyber-aggression. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 18(7), 400–405. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2014.0670
  56. Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H., & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: Tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 8(2), 23–74.
  57. Sheng, N., Yang, C., Han, L., & Jou, M. (2023). Too much overload and concerns: Antecedents of social media fatigue and the mediating role of emotional exhaustion. Computers in Human Behavior, 139, Article 107500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107500
  58. Smith, R. H., & Kim, S. H. (2007). Comprehending envy. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 46–64. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.46
  59. Smith, R. H., & van Dijk, W. W. (2018). Schadenfreude and gluckschmerz. Emotion Review, 10(4), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073918765657
  60. Steffgen, G., König, A., Pfetsch, J., & Melzer, A. (2011). Are cyberbullies less empathic? Adolescents’ cyberbullying behavior and empathic responsiveness. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 14(11), 643–648. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2010.0445
  61. Suler, J. (2004). The online disinhibition effect. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 7(3), 321–326. https://doi.org/10.1089/1094931041291295
  62. Sümer, N. (2000). Yapısal eşitlik modelleri: Temel kavramlar ve örnek uygulamalar. Türk Psikoloji Yazıları, 3(6), 49–74.
  63. Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (6th ed.). Pearson.
  64. Tabachnick, B. G., Fidell, L. S., & Ullman, J. B. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th ed., pp. 481–498). Pearson.
  65. Takahashi, H., Kato, M., Matsuura, M., Mobbs, D., Suhara, T., & Okubo, Y. (2009). When your gain is my pain and your pain is my gain: Neural correlates of envy and schadenfreude. Science, 323(5916), 937–939. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1165604
  66. Tampke, E. C., Fite, P. J., & Cooley, J. L. (2020). Bidirectional associations between affective empathy and proactive and reactive aggression. Aggressive Behavior, 46(5), 394–404. https://doi.org/10.1002/ab.21891
  67. Tokunaga, R. S. (2010). Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization. Computers in Human Behavior, 26(3), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2009.11.014
  68. Topcu, Ç., & Erdur-Baker, Ö. (2012). Affective and cognitive empathy as mediators of gender differences in cyber and traditional bullying. School Psychology International, 33(5), 550–561. https://doi.org/10.1177/0143034312446882
  69. van de Ven, N. (2018). Schadenfreude and gluckschmerz are emotional signals of (im)balance. Emotion Review, 10(4), 305–306. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754073918768883 van Dijk, W. W., & Ouwerkerk, J. W. (Eds.). (2014). Schadenfreude: Understanding pleasure at the misfortunes of others. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9781139084246
  70. Verduyn, P., Gugushvili, N., Massar, K., Täht, K., & Kross, E. (2020). Social comparison on social networking sites. Current Opinion in Psychology, 36, 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.04.002
  71. Vismara, M., Girone, N., Conti, D., Nicolini, G., & Dell’Osso, B. (2022). The current status of cyberbullying research: A short review of the literature. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, 46, Article 101152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2022.101152
  72. Vogel, E. A., Rose, J. P., Roberts, L. R., & Eckles, K. (2014). Social comparison, social media, and self-esteem. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 3(4), 206–222. https://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000047
  73. Wang, L., & Ge, T. (2021). Does victimization predict cyberbullying perpetration? Examining depression as a mediator and self-control as a moderator. Personality and Individual Differences, 183, Article 111135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.111135
  74. Wang, S., Lilienfeld, S. O., & Rochat, P. (2019). Schadenfreude deconstructed and reconstructed: A tripartite motivational model. New Ideas in Psychology, 52, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2018.09.002
  75. Wang, X., Wang, S., & Zeng, X. (2023). Does sensation seeking lead to adolescents’ cyberbullying perpetration? The mediating role of moral disengagement and the moderating role of perceived social support. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 55(6), 1724–1735. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-023-01527-8
  76. Wei, L., & Liu, B. (2020). Reactions to others’ misfortune on social media: Effects of homophily and publicness on schadenfreude, empathy, and perceived deservingness. Computers in Human Behavior, 102, 159–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.08.002
  77. Xiao, L., & Mou, J. (2019). Social media fatigue: Technological antecedents and the moderating roles of personality traits: The case of WeChat. Computers in Human Behavior, 101, 297–310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.08.001
  78. Zalaquett, C. P., & Chatters, S. J. (2014). Cyberbullying in college: Frequency, characteristics, and practical implications. Sage Open, 4(1), https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244014526721
  79. Zheng, H., & Ling, R. (2021). Drivers of social media fatigue: A systematic review. Telematics and Informatics, 64, Article 101696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2021.101696
  80. Zych, I., Baldry, A. C., Farrington, D. P., & Llorent, V. J. (2019a). Are children involved in cyberbullying low on empathy? A systematic review and meta-analysis of research on empathy versus different cyberbullying roles. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 45, 83–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.03.004
  81. Zych, I., Farrington, D. P., & Ttofi, M. M. (2019b). Protective factors against bullying and cyberbullying: A systematic review of meta-analyses. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 45, 4–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2018.06.008