Cyberbullying has yet to be thoroughly investigated from the perspective of Gen-Z women, and it is vital to determine how this law influences these young women to avoid cyberbullying. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to fill a knowledge vacuum by confirming the technology threat avoidance theory utilizing both adaptive (avoidance motivation) and maladaptive (wishful thinking) approaches.

Design/methodology/approach

To gather data from Gen-Z women in Dhaka, we employed a purposive sampling strategy, which yielded 252 valid replies. After that, there were three steps to the evaluation: a measuring model, a structural model, and a mediation analysis.

Findings

Seven out of ten hypotheses were found to be significant, with variances of 73.4% and 10.5% for avoidance motivation and wishful thinking, respectively. Furthermore, rather than having a direct influence on coping approaches, the perceived threat had an indirect effect through the mediation effect of perceived avoidability.

Practical implications

This study takes into account Gen-Z women's motivation to be protected from cyberbullying, paving the way for the passage of the digital security act 2018. The data also reveal how to teach these young ladies about the threats of cyberbullying and how to defend themselves.

Originality/value

This is one of the first studies to look at the factors that influence Gen-Z women's motivation to use the digital security act 2018 to address cyberbullying. In addition, wishful thinking has been newly included as an emotional coping strategy in this context, along with the present avoidance motivation of TTAT.