Unseen Bullies, Unvoiced Victims: Exploring the Psycho-social Effects of Cyberbullying Among High School Students in Manila

Abstract

This study sought to explore cyberbullying, its prevalence, and effects, among high school students in Manila. Three hundred ninety (390) high school students from six public high schools in Manila were randomly selected to participate in a survey and seven (7) of them who reported having been victims were purposively selected for an in-depth interview. The results indicated that 61.0% of the participants had experienced cyberbullying at least once in their lives and that majority of them are females, first year students, eldest children, and came from low-income and middle-size families. Using the Kruskal Wallis H Test, significant differences in cyberbullying victimization were found between the year levels but none between the four genders namely, male, female, gay and lesbian. Name calling, spreading humiliating pictures/videos in e-mail, chat and/or social networking sites, sending upsetting and hurtful comments or messages, and sending sexual messages are the most frequent forms of internet bullying while sending threatening text messages and spreading rumors through text messaging are most common in cell phone bullying. Victims’ most usual responses to their cyberbullying experience are ignoring, telling someone, crying, avoiding or retaliating. Among those who told someone about their cyberbullying experience, majority told their parents and friends. Some did not tell anyone about their cyberbullying experience because they were either shy, scared, or did not care. Lastly, more than half of the cyberbullying victims experienced anger, depression, and anxiety/ fear and 32% had suicidal ideations. Aside from these emotions, there were also detrimental effects on the victims’ selfesteem, academic performance and social relationships. The high prevalence of cyberbullying in Manila and its extensive negative effects on its victims suggest that this new phenomenon is becoming a serious threat to Filipino adolescents’ health today and that it requires continuous attention and immediate action.