16

Chapter 2

Review of Related Literature

In this section, the researcher will present relevant

background of information based upon recent researches, and

journals, containing relevant aspects of the present

phenomenon.

Chapter 2 is divided into six part, namely; (1) cyber

bullying, and (2) occurrence of cyber bullying,(3) effects

of cyber bullying to social behavior, (5) effects of cyber

bullying to academic performance, (6) Synthesis.

The First Part, Cyber bullying which covers the

theories, beliefs, readings and previous researches with the

cyber bullying.

The Second Part, Occurrence of cyber bullying,

explicitly discusses the frequency of cyberbullying in

school and the experienced by every student and the

corresponding effect of it in their lives.

The Third Part, Effects of cyber bullying to academic

performance, explicitly discusses the related literature on

cyberbullying and school performance.

The Fourth Part, Effects of Cyber bullying to social

behavior, explicitly discusses the impact of cyber bullying

on social behavior.
 17

The Fifth Part, Synthesis, presents and recapitulates

the literature reviewed in the study.

Cyberbullying

The Internet has been the most useful technology of

modern times, which has enabled entirely new forms of social

interaction, activities, and organizing. This has been

possible thanks to its basic features such as widespread

usability and access. However, it also causes undesirable

behaviors that are offensive or threatening to others, such

as cyberbullying. This is a relatively new phenomenon.

According to Belsey, (2006), “Cyberbullying involves

the use of information and communication technologies such

as e-mail, cell-phone and pager text messages, instant

messaging, defamatory personal web sites, blogs, online

games and defamatory online personal polling web sites, to

support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an

individual or group that is intended to harm others.”

Characteristics like anonymity, accessibility to electronic

communication, and rapid audience spread, result in a

limitless number of individuals that can be affected by

cyberbullying.
 18

World Health Organization defines bullying as a threat

or physical use of force, aiming at the individual, another

person, a specific community or group which can result in

injury, death, physical damage, some development disorders

or deficiency (Turkmen et al., 2013).

As adolescents started to use the Internet and text

messaging for social media communication, cyberbullying has

been increasingly prevalent (Witkus, 2012). There are many

forms of cyberbullying that Willard (2007) describes as

harassment, flaming, denigration, impersonation, trickery,

outing, exclusion and cyber stalking.

Cyberbullying has several unique characteristics that

distinguish it from school bullying. Electronic

communications allow cyberbullying perpetrators to maintain

anonymity and give them the capacity to post messages to a

wide audience. Perpetrators may feel reduced responsibility

and accountability when online compared with face-to-face

situations suggesting that youths who may not be vulnerable

to school bullying could, in fact, be targeted online

through covert methods. The limited number of studies that

address the overlap between school and cyberbullying

victimization has wide variation in findings, indicating

that anywhere from about one third to more than three

 19

quarters of youths bullied online are also bullied at school

(Schneider, 2012).

Occurrence of Cyberbullying

Some studies have shown that between 15 and 25 percent

of U.S. students are frequently bullied; 15 to 20 percent

report that they bully others frequently (Nansel et al.,

2001).

Over the course of a year, nearly one-fourth of

students across grades reported that they had been harassed

or bullied on school property because of their race,

ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, or

disability (Austin, Huh-Kim, Skage, & Furlong, 2002).

Almost 30 percent of youth in the United States (or

over 5.7 million) are estimated to be involved in bullying

as either a bully, a target of bullying, or both. In a

national survey of students in grades 6 to 10, 13 percent

reported bullying others, 11 percent reported being the

target of bullies, and another 6 percent said that they

bullied others and were bullied themselves (Nansel et al.,

2001). Seventy-four percent of eight- to eleven-year-old

students said teasing and bullying occur at their schools

(Kaiser, 2003).
 20

Further, as cited from Beane, (2013), bullying occurs

at early ages and in all grades, with an onset between three

and four years of age. In the United States, it increases

for boys and girls during late elementary years, peaks

during the middle school years, and decreases in high

school. Physical severity may decrease with age.

At the start of the school year, bullies begin looking

for easy targets. It occurs two to three times more often at

school than on the trip to and from school. It is most

likely occurs when there is no adult supervision, inadequate

adult supervision, poor supervision, a lack of structure,

and few or no anti-bullying rules; it is also more likely to

occur where teachers and students accept bullying or are

indifferent to it (Beane, 2013).

It occurs virtually everywhere in homes, nursery

schools, preschools, elementary schools, middle schools,

high schools, neighborhoods, churches, city parks, on the

trip to and from school, on the streets, and in the

workplace. It occurs in large cities and small towns, large

schools and small schools-and even one-room schools in other

countries (Olweus, as cited by Beane, 2013). It occurs

mainly in hidden areas and areas lacking adult supervision:

halls, stairwells, the playground, areas where students take

brief breaks, between buildings, restrooms, locker rooms,

 21

the cafeteria, on buses, and parking lots; it occurs when

students are walking to and from school, but also in

classrooms.

Bullying may be categorized in several forms, namely:

physical bullying, verbal bullying, psychological bullying

and exclusion (Cohn and Canter, 2003).

Physical bullying is no difference from other types of

physical assault. Some bullies kick, punch and hit their

victims to physical dominance. Other bullies are more subtle

when it comes to physical violence;

Verbal bullying exists in a variety of forms. A bully

may yell hurtful things at the target about his/her weight,

physical appearance, intelligence or gender. They might

point their victim and laugh for no reason. These bullies

might also start rumors and spread them around the school.

Unfortunately for the victim, hateful words are hard to

ignore.

Psychological bullying includes spreading rumors,

manipulating social relationships, exclusion from a peer

group, extortion, and intimidation.

Exclusion is a tactic that bullies use to make their

victims feel unwanted or isolated. If a student is having a

party, the bully will make sure that uninvited students are

well aware that they aren’t on the guest list. Not only is
 22

exclusion emotionally damaging to the victims, but it can be

hard for school administrators to prove it can be done

passive aggressively.

The key warning signs of bullying are the following:

Not wanting to go or skipping school, suddenly becoming ill

when it’s time for school, being frightened to walk to and

from school losing interest in school work, running away,

changes in behavior-becoming anxious or aggressive, loss of

appetite, having nightmares, self-harm, asking for money or

starting to steal, losing possessions at school, bullying

younger brothers or sisters, more bruises or scratches than

usual or injuries with no feasible explanation for them,

aggressive and unreasonable, start to get into fight.

They refuse to talk about what is wrong, appear

insecure or frightened, have falling school grade, be a

frequent target for teasing, mimicking or ridicule, feel

disconnected from school and not like school, have lower

academic outcomes, including lower attendance and completion

rates, lack quality friendship at school, display high

levels of emotions that indicate vulnerability and low

levels of resilience (speedy recovery from problems), be

less accepted by peers, avoid conflict and be socially

withdrawn, have low self-esteem, have depression, anxiety,

feelings of loneliness and isolation, have nightmares, feel

 23

wary of suspicious of others, have an increased risk of

depression and substance abuse, and in extreme cases, have

high risk of suicide.

Effect of Cyberbullying to Social Behavior

The adaptation to a new environment is an important

factor in academic performance and future achievement.

Undergraduate students are not only developing academically

and intellectually, they are also establishing and

maintaining personal relationships, developing an identity,

deciding about a career and lifestyle, and maintaining

personal health and wellness. Many students are interacting

with people from diverse backgrounds who hold different

values and making new friends. Some are also adapting to

living away from home for the very first time (Inkelas

et al., 2007).

A second dimension, the social field, may be as

important as academic factors. Writers have emphasized

integration into the social environment as a crucial element

in commitment to a particular academic institution (Tinto,

1975). Becoming integrated into the social life of college,

forming a support network, and managing new social freedoms

are some important elements of social development. Crises in

 24

the social field include conflict in a living situation,

starting or maintaining relationships, interpersonal

conflicts, family issues, and financial issues (McGrath,

2005), which are manifested as feelings of loneliness (Clark

et al., 2015).

It is possible the bully’s behavior may lead to crime,

criminal violence, and other types of aggressive antisocial

behavior. In research conducted by Cullingford & Marisson

(2001), young offenders who were incarcerated, were

interviewed and used in this study to have them identify

situation in their childhood that contributed to their

violent behaviors. Some of the most interesting responses

were about teachers who failed to see the sign of a child

who was susceptible to being bullied. Some of these young

offenders said like, “they embarrass you.” Some teachers

used to make me… spell words on the bored… they know I

couldn’t spell… I didn’t like that”.

Due to lack of knowing how to deal with these

aggressors, or victims of aggressors, teachers ignored the

fact that many of those children needed help in socializing

and interacting properly with peers (Cullingford & Marisson

2001).

If children and adults are not made aware of different

methods of prevention or interventions of bullying, chances

 25

are that many of these children will grow up to commit

crimes and become violent criminals who have aggressive

backgrounds (Cullingford & Marisson 2001).

Effect of Cyberbullying to Academic Performance

Research on traditional bullying has documented those

children who are bullied may experience problems associated

with their health, emotional well-being, and academic work.

Bullied children usually report feeling of anxiety (Craig,

2008).

Kochenderfer& Ladd (2007) reported that bullying may

affect the academic work of bullied children, they want to

avoid attending school, have higher absenteeism rates,

dislike school, and say that they receive poorer grades and

lower standardized test scores.

According to some researchers, cyberbullies may be

inclined toward negativity and perform poorly academically.

A typical cyberbully has trouble resolving problems with

others and also has trouble academically. Cyberbullying is a

serious problem in schools across the country today.

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry, approximately 50 percent of all children

experience some forms of bullying at some time in school.

 26

For children who are cyberbullied, school becomes a

frightening place. Often, they spend the day worrying about

being victimized. In attempts to avoid cyberbullies

altogether, the victim may regularly complain of illness in

order to get out of going to school (Purcell, 2003).

In a 2005 study published in the “Archives of Pediatric

Adolescent Medicine,” researchers found that both

cyberbullies and victims did not perform well in school as

did bystanders. The victims often feel anxiety throughout

the school day, worrying about when the cyberbully will

strike again. This anxiety affects performance and

attendance. For the cyberbully, his or her behavior can lead

to disciplinary action as suspension or expulsion, resulting

to disruption of learning. Experts warn that these kinds of

behaviors can lead to domestic violence, child abuse and

criminal behavior later in life.

Cyberbullying impacts schools in a number of ways –

discipline problems, increased suspensions, truancy,

dropping out, violence, all resulting in increased costs and

missed goals. The bully is capable of disrupting the entire

classroom, wasting the time of the entire class as well,

until the teacher gets things under control again. If this

goes on, educational goals for that class may be missed. In

addition to the time lost reining the class back under

 27

control, it is difficult to learn or concentrate when you

are scared.

The bully and the victim may continue outside of the

classroom, requiring disciplinary action, which adds to the

staff time required. Often, the victim, as well as the

bully, is disciplined, leaving the victim feeling unfairly

treated as unsafe in school. If suspensions, whether in

school or out of school, are a part of the disciplinary

actions, students are now missing classes – educational

opportunities- and falling behind the rest of the class. The

results are negative all the way around – the student

faltering or failing and the school missing academic ratings

because of students’ not meeting minimum requirements.

The victims of cyberbullying, under great emotional

stress, are unable to concentrate on their studies, and thus

their academic progress is adversely affected (Faryadi,

2011). Since the victims are often hurt psychologically, the

depressive effect of cyberbullying prevents students from

excelling in their studies (Faryadi, 2011).

In a Malaysian university study with 365 first year

students, the majority of the participants (85%) interviewed

indicated that cyberbullying affected their academic

performance, specifically their grades (Faryadi, 2011).

Also, 85% of the respondents agreed that bullying caused a

 28

devastating impact on students' emotions and equally caused

unimaginable psychological problems among the

victims. Heiman and Olenik-Shemesh (2018) report that for

students with learning disabilities, predictors of

cybervictimization were low social support, low self-

perception, and being female, whereas for students without

learning disabilities, the predictors were low social

support, low well-being, and low body perception.

Truancy increases for a number of reasons – victims

feel unsafe, so simply don’t show up; suspensions have

caused student (bully or victim) to be behind, so they skip,

and students who are not the bully or the victim feel unsafe

or uncomfortable and skip classes as well. For some

students, the poor attendance leads to poor academic

performance, which eventually leads to dropping out of

school completely (Shellard, 2002).

School district costs are increased on several levels:

it is more expensive to educate truant students;

disciplinary costs are increased; but most of all, funding

(which is based on attendance) is lost. The contributing

factors to being bullied may include: Depression, family

problems, history of trauma, and belonging to group where

isolation or lack of community support is an issue.

 29

The students who frequently bully others are more

likely to: feel disconnected from school and dislike school,

get into fights and vandalized property and leave school

early. The students who witness bullying may: be reluctant

to attend school, feel fearful or powerless to act and

guilty for not acting, have increased mental health

problems, including depression and anxiety, and have

increased use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.

Moreover, Omoore (2010) averred that when bullying

continues and a school does not take any action, the entire

school climate and culture can be negatively affected. This

impact on students learning and engagement, staff retention

and satisfaction and parental confidence in the school,

which can lead to the school developing an environment of

fear and disrespect, students experiencing difficulty in

learning, students feeling insecure, students dislikes

school, and students perceiving the teacher and staff have

little control and don’t care about them.

Synthesis

Cyberbullying is a pervasive type of aggression, which

often occurs in schools. A research on cyberbullying has

shown that it has lasting effects on the victims causing

serious implications on their social behavior and academic

 30

development. Likewise, it was averred that some may regard

it as natural and even typical to growing children or

adolescents but these researchers believed that the effects

are damaging to both the aggressor and the victim leading to

a never-ending chain of cyberbullying. It can cause serious

health problems in the developmental stages.

Cyberbullying occurs virtually everywhere in homes,

nursery schools, preschools, elementary schools, middle

schools, high schools, neighborhoods, churches, city parks,

on the trip to and from school, on the streets, and in the

workplace. Cyberbullying can occur in nearly any part in or

around the school building, though it may occur more

frequently in physical education classes and activities,

recess, hallways, and in classes that require group work

and/or after school activities.

The occurrence of cyberbullying is becoming more

intense when there is no enough adult supervision or no

proper interventions done by the school authorities. In the

same manner, the effect of cyberbullying to social behavior

and academic performance is more fatal to both the bullies

and the bully-victims. It creates societal problems that may

affect their image and being as whole a person.

 31

It was found out that cyberbully’s behavior may lead to

crime, criminal violence, and other types of aggressive

antisocial behavior.