CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Cyberbullying or cyberharassment is a type of bullying or harassment that takes

place over the internet. As the digital sphere has expanded and technology has

advanced, it has become more common, particularly among teenagers. Just as the use of

technology itself has evolved, so has the ability to bully. Bullying, which was once

limited to the school or neighbourhood, has now spread to the internet. Cyberbullying

can happen anywhere online, including over email, through texting, on social media,

while gaming, on instant messaging, and through photo sharing.

It can happen anywhere online, including over email, through texting, on social

media, while gaming, on instant messaging, and through photo sharing. Looking back, it

was only a generation ago that kids and teens asked their parents for a phone in their

room — possibly with a separate line or three-way calling — so they could easily and

somewhat privately connect with more friends. The desire of a child or adolescent to

connect with friends has not changed, but the options for doing so have expanded

dramatically. Children are requesting tablets, gaming devices, and mobile phones at a

younger age, as well as access to popular social media sites and the ability to play online

games and share information. Just as young people are now engaging with each other in

the cyber world, "talking" to each other, and often without adult or parental monitoring,

just as they used to spend unmonitored time playing with friends in the neighbourhood

outside the periphery of adults. While technology allows young people to connect in

meaningful ways, such as sharing ideas, photos, videos, and other media, the
unsupervised nature of the cyber world necessitates the need for guidance, guidelines,

and social responsibility.

In a real-world bullying situation, most incidents of bullying occur between the

victim and a bully (or group of bullies) in school. These incidents can range from simple

name-calling to more significant acts of bullying, such as rumor-spreading, harassment,

threats, and incidents of physical harm. However, whereas victims of real-world bullying

can be granted a reprieve when they go home, there simply is no escape from

cyberbullying. It doesn't end when the school bell rings. It can continue at any time,

throughout all hours of the night. It can come in the form of text messages, social media

posts, chatroom messages, images and videos that have been altered, and many other

digital forms. Cyberbullying leaves little opportunity for victims to defend themselves.

There are no teachers or parents to see what is happening and intervene to put a stop to

it. Cyberbullying can also be anonymous, leaving the victim little recourse to even report

the bully to an authority figure.

"People will do and say hurtful or demeaning things online that they would never say in

person," says Eric Alcera, M.D., medical director for Hackensack Meridian Behavioral

Health. Eric also says, "If a cyberbully decides to spread rumors or share embarrassing

photos on social media, the words or images can go viral, hitting the radar of many more

kids within minutes." In essence, cyberbullying is more relentless, crueler, and more

damaging than real-world bullying. It is also one of the most significant stressors in a

young individual's life. And while children who are bullied often attempt to hide such

events from their parents, there can be very noticeable changes in your child's behavior if

they are a continuous victim of cyberbullying.

 Review of Related Literature

How Cyberbullying Affects the Students in School Setting

When they have access to their devices, students can easily use a quarter of their

time in class checking their phones (Kim et al., 2019). If students were receiving

upsetting text messages during class time, they would be unable to escape from the

cyberbullying because students feel the need to check their phone every three to four

minutes (Kim et al., 2019). With this kind of negative bombardment, students would not

have a proper mindset to learn within class. Cyberbullying distracts students and has

negative effects on student learning and grades (Kates et al., 2018). Now that most

students have devices, cyberbullying has become problematic within schools.

Cyberbullying often has negative impacts on a child’s self-esteem. Cyberbullying often

occurs during a developmental time when adolescents are experimenting with who they

want to be as people, and “when social status and popularity are increasingly important”

(Holfeld & Mishna, 2019, p. 567). Adolescents who struggle to keep friends and positive

peers are often the targets for cyberbullying (Holfeld & Mishna, 2019), which then

lowers personal self-esteem. Students who come to school with low self-esteem due to

cyberbullying will be distracted, and not mentally prepared to learn within class. Being

involved with cyberbullying affects the selfesteem of not only the victim, but bystanders

and the perpetrator also demonstrate lower amounts of self-esteem than those who are

not involved with cyberbullying in any way (Aliyev & Gengec, 2019).

Being the victim of bullying is already a stressful experience, but when the

internet is added to the equation, it can be especially painful because of the reach that the

bully has on the victim, according to Arsenault.

 The Cyberbullying Research Center also found that teenagers who experience

cyberbullying are more likely to experience other forms of bullying, such as face-to-face

bullying and online harassment. They are also more likely to have mental health

problems, including depression and anxiety.

Cyberbullying & Self-Harm

If left unchecked, the effects of cyberbullying can lead to extreme stress and

depression, and students who are victims may feel drawn to self-harm as a result of their

experiences. In fact, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet

Research, students who have been cyberbullied are twice as likely to engage in self-

harming behaviors and to have suicidal thoughts than those who have not. However, the

victims of bullying are not the only ones who are vulnerable to self-harm and suicidal

behaviors: The study also reports that young people who cyberbully others are at a

significantly higher risk of experiencing these feelings than those who don't.

Under great emotional stress, victims of cyberbullying are unable to concentrate on

their studies, and thus their academic progress is adversely affected (Akcil, 2018). Since

the victims are often hurt psychologically, the depressive effect of cyberbullying

prevents students from excelling in their studies. The overall presence of cyberbullying

victimization among undergraduate college students was found to be significantly

related to the experience of anxiety, depression, substance abuse, low self-esteem,

interpersonal problems, family tensions and academic underperformance.

Local Literature

The study conducted by Quero(2022) reveal that cyberbullying indeed exist in the

Philippines and can  victimize  anyone  regardless  of  gender  and  family structure. 

Bullying  on Facebook  can be even  worse than traditional  bullying  because  of  the 

speed, wider  audience reach of the social network,  and anonymity.  As the use of

communication technologies continues to grow, more forms of cyberbullying are also

expected to proliferate making the impact more alarming and dangerous. Quero believes 

that  cyberbullying  can  be minimized  if  cannot  be  stopped  immediately.    However,

addressing  cyberbullying  requires  interventions  and combined efforts from parents,

educators, and peers.  It is observed  that  those  who  were  cyberbullied  are  often

reluctant  to  open  up  what  they  have  experienced.  Regardless of the severity of

cyberbullying, it is not enough for the victims to just ignore it and face the cyberbully all

by themselves.    Cyberbullying  could  not  be  solved  if  it  is continued to be  kept in

silence. The more victims hide the experience, the more traumatic it can become. That is

why more research studies should  be done about cyberbullying. By probing into the

effects of cyberbullying and its impact, it  is  easier  to  understand  cyberbullying  as 

an  disturbing phenomenon in the country. With that, more interventions can  be 

introduced  to  eliminate  cyberbullying  which increasingly  becomes  a  major  social 

problem  Filipino college students face today.

Filipinos have been observed to value camaraderie and find it natural to be friendly

to others, for which reason they place considerable importance on interpersonal

relationships. The importance placed on friendship may be interpreted as reflecting a

high level of empathy among Filipino adolescents. The existence of cyberbullying and
cybervictimization was evident according to the findings of the study. Even with the

increase in cyberbullying in the Philippines, some undocumented cases may exist due to

victims’ fear of their situation being publicized. Some schools also tend to under-report

cyberbullying due to fears of tarnishing the school’s reputation.

The parents of Filipino adolescents set the expectation that they are to be aware of

their actions and the consequences corresponding to those actions. Camaraderie is a

factor valued by Filipino adolescents, which is why it is natural for them to be friendly,

resulting in the expectation that they know how to empathize with someone.

Nonetheless, little research has discussed Filipino adolescents’ characteristics, and

although favorable characteristics have been mentioned, there has been an increase in

cases of cyberbullying in the Philippines. It has been reported that inhabitants of the

Philippines spend an average of 4 hours a day using social media, exceeding the values

reported for other countries. Since prolonged exposure to social media can increase

victimization, Filipinos may be exposed to the harmful effects of social for a longer time

than others. Although there has been an increase in the number of cases of cyberbullying

in the Philippines, little research has tackled this issue. Because of the detrimental effects

of cyberbullying, it is important for adolescents to be aware of its seriousness and the

importance of putting an end to this violent behavior. Since adolescence is a vital stage

of life, it is important to properly guide adolescents throughout this period. To the

researchers’ knowledge, no published study has yet investigated empathy among

Filipino adolescents and its possible influence on cyberbullying and cybervictimization.

 To include the term "avoidance coping," refers to a type of maladaptive coping in

which a person alters their behavior to avoid thinking about, feeling about, or doing

uncomfortable things. It entails avoiding stressors rather than dealing with them (Scott,

2021). In connection, a course of action that victims can take in response to

cyberbullying is to do nothing or ignore it. It includes avoiding looking at websites

where the events occurred, staying offline, or simply ignoring them (Price & Dalgleish,

2010). Spending less time on social media and more time interacting with real people

can assist cyber victims in detaching themselves from cyberbullying. A cyber victim

then blocks any communication with the cyberbully and deletes them from their social

media contacts (Robinson & Segal, 2020)

Despite this, cyberbullying affects students in a way that impacts their learning as

it causes them to feel self-conscious or distracted. Therefore, when a student uploads

humiliating information about another student, the message is exposed to common

school acquaintances and the victim's wider social circle, including family and groups of

friends. These would result in the victim's emotions of shame, thereby depriving safe

social spaces for the victim, resulting in lower self-esteem. A student with low self-

esteem is less likely to participate in class, pursue new academic interests, and prosper in

an academic setting. Thus, students may develop negative attitudes toward school

feelings and perceptions, exposing potential victims to increased social exclusion and a

poor school environment (Beghin, 2020; Nuccitelli, 2013).

Synthesis

This consist of review related literature which elaborates the effects of

cyberbullying in students' academic performance. Since the victims are often hurt

psychologically, the depressive effects of cyberbullying prevents the students from

excelling in their class. According to Arsenault, being the victim of bullying is already

stressful, but when the internet is added to the equation, it can be especially painful

because of the reach that the bully has on the victim. Cyberbullying, or bullying that

takes place online, is a growing concern among teens and adolescents. Despite this,

cyberbullying affects students in a way that impacts their learning as it causes them to

feel self-conscious or distracted. This shows that cyberbullying should be treated

seriously because it can have a negative influence on young people's academic

performance. Schools and parents must be aware of the possibility of cyberbullying and

take action to stop it before it starts and to deal with it when it does.
Statement of the Problem
This study entitled "Cyberbullying: A Study to Find Out How Online Bullying

Affects the Academic Performance of Grade 12 Students " aims to determine the

effects of Cyberbullying to the academic performance of Grade 12 students of San

Francisco Javier College (SFJC) - AR Narra Palawan. This will allow them to discover

more fact whether cyberbullying really affect the performance of students.

Specifically, it focuses to answer the following questions;

1. Demographic data of students in terms of Age, Strand and GWA.

2. What are the common factors that contribute to cyberbullying?

3. How did cyberbullying affects the academic performance of Grade 12 students in San

Francisco Javier College?

4. Ways to avoid being cyberbullied.

Conceptual Framework

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Cyberbullying Academic Performance

Figure 1. Conceptual Framework "Cyberbullying: A Study to Find Out How Online

Bullying Affects the Academic Performance of Grade 12 Students"

Figure 1 shows the conceptual framework of the effects of cyberbullying in the academic

performance of Grade 12 students which explains the relationship between independent

and dependent variable. The independent variable (input) portrays cyberbullying and the

dependent variable (output) is the possible effects of cyberbullying to their mental

health.

Hypothesis
H0: Cyberbullying has no significant effect to the academic performance of students.

H1: Cyberbullying has significant effect to the academic performance of students.

Scope and Delimitation

This study aims to include the effects of cyberbullying in terms of academic

performance of Grade 12 students of San Francisco Javier College- AR of Narra

Palawan. The grade 12 students of the said school will be the respondents of the research

study. This study inquires the student's individual experiences regarding how

cyberbullying affects their academic performance.

Significance of the Study

The study entitled " Cyberbullying: A Study to Find Out How Online

Bullying Affects the Academic Performance of Grade 12 Students of San Francisco

Javier College " will be beneficial to the following:

To the Students
 This study is beneficial to the students for it provides new information and

insights that will educate their mind how cyberbullying might affect their performance.

To the Parents
This study is beneficial to the parents for they will be able to get new

information about cyberbullying and they will give more attention on their child's time

on any social media platforms.

To the Researcher
This research study is beneficial to the researcher for it will serve as a

foundation of knowledge, as to learn and understand the effects of cyberbullying in

psychological health.

Definition of Terms

Academic Performance - the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has

attained their short of long term educational goals.

Bully - A person who is intentionally physically or emotionally cruel to others.

Cyberbullying - A form of bullying or harassment using electronic means.

Students - a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution.