Taken out of Carib IA

 According to schoolbullying.gov; Bullying is a repeated aggressive behavior where one

person (or group of people) in a position of power deliberately intimidates, abuses, or
coerces an individual intending to hurt that person physically or emotionally. Acts of
bullying can be physical, social, cyber, sexual, prejudicial, or verbal. While these
interactions are unpleasant, there is a clear line between conflict and bullying. Incidents
of bullying must include these three (3) characteristics: it must be intentional, there must
be a power imbalance and it must also be repeated. However, this study focuses primarily
on “Investigating the impact, causes, and effects of bullying Saint Stanislaus students
between ages 12 – 18 and possible solutions to this issue.
 Due to the lack of extensive research on the effectiveness of the suggested prevention and
intervention techniques and programs, cyberbullying is still a relatively new phenomeno
and needs to be researched as technology advances because many sources on this subject
are old and outdated
 , while other forms of bullying have been studies for years and has hundreds of years of
information
 and they didn’t want to do school work or answer questionnaires in the last week of
school as they were also busy with events such as Christmas concert and Class social.
 The results of this internal assessment make it abundantly clear that a variety of factors
can lead to someone bullying someone else online, and the victims can suffer a variety of
negative effects as a result. Additionally, it was demonstrated that cyberbullying can
happen in a variety of ways and for a range of causes.
 Cyberbullying generally refers to harming another person while using information and
communication technologies. This might entail sending harassing messages (via text or
the Internet), making derogatory posts on social networking sites, publishing
embarrassing images, or electronically intimidating or threatening someone.
Unfortunately, among teenagers, cyberbullying behavior has come to be accepted and
expected. Cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it is unrestrained,
reaches an unlimited audience, is more visible across time and space, and preserves
words and images in a more permanent state. Additionally, those who engage in
cyberbullying cannot see the faces of their victims and this goes vice versa. The victim
 cannot see the face of their bully. Multiple studies have shown that cyber-bullying is
directly linked with the expansion of digital devices and the Internet. This causes modern
technology to have a more double-edged sword nature as it can be both useful for
gathering information while also being harmful and can be used against you. Children
now have smart phones which allow them to communicate with each other and their
parents may have a hard time supervising or monitoring their children because most
parents find it difficult to navigate these devices allowing bullies to take full advantage of
the opportunity.
 The data collected has also proven that cyber-bullying can harm victims and cause them
to suffer from anxiety, depression. It was unexpected that victims or respondents would
refuse to tell their parents they were being bullied but it was also understandable. As said
earlier “parents tend to have a hard time navigating the new advanced technology the
same way children do, this can cause parents to resort to their older ways of dealing with
bullying which may not work for modern day bullying. Thus making the victim think that
it will only make it worse.

 The results of this internal assessment make it abundantly clear that a variety of factors
can lead to someone bullying someone else online, and the victims can suffer a variety of
negative effects as a result. Additionally, it was demonstrated that cyberbullying can
happen in a variety of ways and for a range of causes.
 Cyberbullying generally refers to harming another person while using information and
communication technologies. This might entail sending harassing messages (via text or
the Internet), making derogatory posts on social networking sites, publishing
embarrassing images, or electronically intimidating or threatening someone.
Unfortunately, among teenagers, cyberbullying behavior has come to be accepted and
expected. Cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it is unrestrained,
reaches an unlimited audience, is more visible across time and space, and preserves
words and images in a more permanent state. Additionally, those who engage in
cyberbullying cannot see the faces of their victims and this goes vice versa. The victim
cannot see the face of their bully. Multiple studies have shown that cyber-bullying is
directly linked with the expansion of digital devices and the Internet. This causes modern
 technology to have a more double-edged sword nature as it can be both useful for
gathering information while also being harmful and can be used against you. Children
now have smart phones which allow them to communicate with each other and their
parents may have a hard time supervising or monitoring their children because most
parents find it difficult to navigate these devices allowing bullies to take full advantage of
the opportunity.
 The data collected has also proven that cyber-bullying can harm victims and cause them
to suffer from anxiety, depression. It was unexpected that victims or respondents would
refuse to tell their parents they were being bullied but it was also understandable. As said
earlier “parents tend to have a hard time navigating the new advanced technology the
same way children do, this can cause parents to resort to their older ways of dealing with
bullying which may not work for modern day bullying. Thus making the victim think that
it will only make it worse.


AnAlysis of Graphs

According to Figure 16, which is a pie chart: 66.7% of respondents which accounts 22
respondents within the target population agree with the statement “the main reason cyber-
bullying is different from other form of bullying is due to anonymity” while 9.1% which
accounts for 3 individuals disagree with the statement. 8 individuals within the target population
represents 24.2% responded maybe to the given statement. Due to the majority of respondents
agreeing to the statement we can concur this form of bullying is indeed different due to its
anonymity.

Figure 12, Table chart was used to represent how respondents will reduce the possibility of them
being cyber-bullied. Seventeen percent (17%) say that they will ignore bullying attempts, thirty-
one percent (31%) will talk to adults or any form of authority, nine (9%) percent chose to
retaliate and take matter into their own hands, nine percent (9%) will attempt to keep their stuff
more private and thirty-four percent (34%) will become more educated on cyber-bullying.

Figure 10, a histogram representing why respondents think victims do not report their bullies and
prefer to suffer in silence. It is evident that forty-four percent (44%) of respondents agree that it
will only make it worse, twenty-nine (29%) accounts for respondents who say they fear
retaliation from reporting the bullies, twenty-four percent (24%) say they desire acceptance
while three percent (3%) response stated that it may be linked to their personality, upbringing
and puberty. Many studies have shown that bullying tends to get worse after the victim has told
someone especially when they are younger than 18 and may not have to face any harsh legal
punishments.

Figure 5, a pie chart showing the results from the question, “Would/ If they tell/told their parents
that they are being cyber-bullied?” 54% of students of students responded with “no” while 46%
responded with the answer “yes”. The main reason for this was later to be discovered that
students think it only makes it worse and can cause the bully to become even more aggressive.

In Figure 3, a pie chart displays what method the bully used to cyber-bully the victim. It can
clearly be seen that forty-right percent (48%) of respondents were cyber-bullied through text,
thirty-three percent (33%) accounts for respondents cyber-bullied through phone calls, four
percent (4%) through hacking, four percent (4%) of respondents were pranked, two percent (2%)
were cat fished, five percent (5%) were blackmailed and the remaining four percent (4%) were
through chatrooms. The researcher was surprised that blackmailing was only at 5% but it was
suspected that the main cause was due to the fact that WhatsApp was the most used social media
through which people mainly text.
In order to gather information to complete and carry out the research on the effects, causes and
impacts of cyber-bullying on students in Saint Stanislaus High school, two sources of
information had been used, primary and secondary sources. A questionnaire was used as the
primary source for data collection while texts books, articles, and websites were used as
secondary sources for gathering information.

Primary Sources: A questionnaire is a list of questions or items used to gather data from
respondents that are part of a study on their attitudes, experiences, and opinions. A questionnaire
was used to collect data from the respondents in this study. A total of twenty-seven (27) close-
ended questions were asked. The researcher chose questionnaires as a data collection method
because it allows for the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. It also is inexpensive to
make and distribute, and reaches more people quickly, especially if done online, giving
respondents more confidence as their information will remain confidential, has no time
constraints, and provides easy analysis and visualization. The questionnaires were distributed
using simple random sampling, and each respondent in their age group had an equal opportunity
to express their opinions manually. This allows the researchers to make generalizations about the
population, it also lacks bias and contains simplicity.
A total of thirty-five (70) students were chosen to be in the sample (ten students from each level).
The study was conducted in December 2022. This study's data was gathered over the course of
two weeks in December (November 5th – December 19th). The questionnaires were distributed to
Saint Stanislaus students, and respondents were given seven (7) days to complete (ample time to
finish the questionnaire if they are very busy) and return the questionnaires to the researcher. The
researcher distributed seventy (70) questionnaires, sixty-five (65) of which were returned. The
researcher's data was valuable and critical for the issue under investigation. However, while
distributing the questionnaire, several challenges were encountered. These included the
absenteeism of some students of the targeted population, person neglecting or ignoring questions
on the questionnaire, survey fatigue due to multiple questionnaires being given multiple
questionnaires at the time which can cause unconscientious responses, question skipping, and
researchers having to ask the respondents multiple times to complete the questionnaire.
 As schools integrate technology into their curriculum, The Ministry of Education as well as
the School Board of Governs must take more precautions to maintain the safety of their
students and institutions. The purpose of this study is to help students develop respectful
interpersonal skills with each other. Parents will also be able to use the findings of this study
to better understand the likelihood that their child will experience bullying or will bully
others so that they can teach their children the value of showing compassion and respect for
others. Additionally, this study will help teachers to recognize the signs that a student is
being bullied or is bullying others, which will enable them to identify bullying situations and
help stop bullying at school.

Secondary sources: The researchers used secondary sources to gain a greater comprehension
and background information on cyberbullying and to complete the literature review. The
secondary sources used were newspaper articles, websites, text-book, and eBooks written by
well-respected and creditable authors. Because there was a scarcity of information in Guyana and
the wider Caribbean, information from these secondary sources aided in understanding the issue
and provided examples and details. All of the sources mentioned aided the researcher in
gathering information and gaining a basic understanding of the issue of cyberbullying.

Figure 2, which is a pie chart displaying whether respondents had ever experienced cyber-
bullying or not. A majority of the sample (56% or 15 students) had experienced cyber-bullying
while 44% (12 students) had no experience with cyber-bullying. 100% of the sample did not
experience cyber-bullying due to the fact that random students from each level were selected
Figure 4, represents the results on a pie chart for the question, “How often were you cyber-
bullied?” The pie chart shows that fifty-nine percent (59%) of students were bullied once a week,
thirty-three (33%) of the sample respondents were bullied multiple times a week while only eight
(8%) were cyber-bullied every day. The majority of the sample responded that they were cyber
bullied more than once a week; this is because the cyber-bully remains anonymous therefore it is
very easy for cyber bullying to occur multiple times.
Figure 7, is a pie chart illustrating if respondents believe they were harmed by cyber bullying.
Fifty-five percent (55%) of students responded with yes it did harm them, thirty-two percent
(32%) aren’t sure because they said maybe while thirteen (13%) of respondents did not feel that
cyber bullying harmed them.

illustrates the areas where the students were the targets of cyberbullying, it is clearly visible by
the data collected that sixty-four percent (64%) of students were cyber-bullied for appearance,
fourteen percent (14%) were bullied for height, nine percent (9%) for being intelligent, creative
or determined, nine percent (9%) for being weak/vulnerable, seventeen percent (17%) for their
religion and cultural beliefs and eighteen percent (18%) for their Race. From the results obtained,
appearance is judged the most over any other factor, this is common because young generations
usual judge on physical appearance and because of the popularity of technology and social
media, people constantly post and share pictures of themselves giving bullies an opportunity to
strike.

According to Figure 15: The majority of respondents (74.3%) which accounts for 26 individuals
spent 2-3 hours on social media platforms while the minority (0%) which accounts for 0
individuals spent one hour on social media platforms. Subsequently,7 individuals within the
target population representing 20% spent 1-2 hours on social media platforms, and 5.7% which
represents 2 individuals spend less than one hour on social media platforms. This indicates most
users spend an average of 3 hours online each day

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of respondents answered yes while the remaining twenty percent
(23%) answered maybe. Many researched have shown that due to the easier access to
smartphones which has allowed children and teenagers to connect with each other via social
media, instant messaging and several other platforms on the internet has made it easier to bully
and harass another person because the bully doesn’t have to confront their target in person.

It is evident in the data collected that forty-two percent (42%) of the respondent sample say it’s
because they think it’s funny and entertaining, seventeen percent (17%) thinks it’s because
hurting other people feel the bully feel powerful, eleven (11%) choose the answer stating, “they
see it as a way to become/stay popular,” nine percent (9%) says they aren’t sure, twenty-two
percent think it’s because they think their behaviour is normal and socially acceptable while the
last one percent (1%) say it may have been caused due to some life issues such as parenting and
emotional abuse.

According to Figure 14, which is a bar-chart indicated: 22.9% of respondents which accounts for
8 individuals felt they protected while using social media while majority 62.9% of respondents
which corresponds to 22 individuals responded maybe they felt protected while using social
media. Subsequently, 14.3% which represented 5 respondents felt unprotected while engaging in
social media platforms.

A journal entitled “Investigating Cyberbullying: Emerging research and e-safety strategies

within families and communities” written by Jill Burgess and Catherine McLoughlin states:
Numerous studies show that, despite the fact that a significant percentage of teenagers are now
experiencing the negative effects of cyberbullying, many will continue to interact online despite
being victims of cyberbullying (Shariff, 2008). It further explains that participating on social
platforms is a gateway for teenagers to socialize and meet new people. According to Boyd and
Ellison (2007), social networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook play an important role in
the lives of young people.

Secondly, according to an article entitled “An Improved Framework for Cyberbullying:

Investigation Process on WhatsApp Application” written by Raghad Khweiled and Mahmoud
Jazzar published in September 2021 states there is mounting evidence that the effects of
cyberbullying on victims are more severe than the effects of traditional face-to-face bullying,
agreeing with majority of respondents (66.7%) within this experiment. Further evidence to
confirm and compare the results of this experiment includes the following statement from the
same article; According to Ybarra and Mitchell (2004), having more depressive symptoms
increases the likelihood of becoming a victim of cyberbullying. Subsequently, according to
Kowalski and Limber (2007), victims of cyberbullying may assume everyone they come into
contact with is the perpetrator due to the anonymity of the internet. So, there's still a chance that
psychological health could be harmed permanently. Tokunaga (2010) published a recent review
of the literature in the US and found that victims of cyberbullying frequently experience serious
psychosocial, affective, and academic issues.

Retrieved from an article entitled “Cyberbullying: role of the school counselor in mitigating the
silent killer epidemic” written by Allison Paolini; the concluding statement “Counselors at
schools are crucial in preventing cyberbullying. In order to address issues like control,
empowerment, goal setting, identifying strengths, assertiveness, confidence, social skill building,
as well as the significance of monitoring social media and involvement, school counselors can
collaborate with victims and the parents of victims. Counselors can also work with bullies and
their families to identify the root causes of bullying, such as anger, aggression, and lack of
control. They can also encourage parents to keep an eye on their children's technology and social
media use in order to prevent future cyberbullying.”:

In Figure 11, a pie chart shows results for if cyber-bullying will become more prominent with
technological advancements. 77% of respondents answered yes while 23% answered maybe
when asked if they thought technology has contributed to the increase in cyberbullying. The
easier access to smartphones and various internet platforms has made it easier for bullies to
harass their targets without having to confront them in person.

The online world has changed dramatically in the last ten years. We live in a society that relies
on information and communication to stay on track and carry out our daily activities such as
work, entertainment, health care, education and personal relationship. Because of the invention
of social media, young men and women are now exchanging ideas, feelings, personal
information, pictures, and videos at an incredible rate. As children transition to teenagers, their
attitudes and behaviors become quite challenging to control. As a result, their psychosocial
development is greatly impacted by the use of social media.

But everything has two sides, just like a coin. As technology advances, so do the ways in which
people use technology to exploit others. With so many technological advancements, social
networking sites are a huge step forward. The negative effects of social media on students
include irregular sleep, eye strain, negative body image, anxiety and depression symptoms,
isolation, FOMO (fear of missing out), JOMO (joy of missing out), and cyberbullying

Some measures parents and teachers can take to negate or apprehend the culprits of
cyberbullying are: Reporting (the majority of social media platforms have clear policies and
reporting procedures in place), Document (bullying is a repeated behavior, according to most
laws and policies, so records help to document it) and most importantly provide support.
We are ultimately in control of how social media affects our behavior. It is crucial to
comprehend what can intimidate us into acting improperly or inspire us to act morally.

Some warning signs that a child is involved in cyberbullying include: noticeable increases or
decreases in device use, including texting; a child hides their screen or device when others are
nearby and avoids discussion about what they are doing on their device; and a child begins to
avoid social situations, even those that they previously enjoyed. and the child withdraws or
becomes depressed, or loses interest in people and activities.
Graph

Figure 2. Pie Chart showing whether respondents experienced cyber-bullying or not

12; 44%

Yes
15; 56% No

12; 44%

Yes
15; 56% No

Figure 2. Pie Chart showing whether respondents experienced cyber-bullying or not

Bullying can be physical, social, cyber, sexual, derogatory, or verbal.. Possible solutions to
bullying are also investigated
 With the rise of the technological era, physical human connection is becoming more scarce.
Therefore, mass media has influenced young respondents to speak freely in a meta-verse
space without real life despite laws and sanctions. The purpose of this study was conducted
to highlight and enlighten the impact of cyberbullying on the student population of St.
Stanislaus College. The researchers aim to recommend several possible solutions to mitigate
this issue and aid those affected.
 Bully- a haughty, cruel, or predatory person who intimidates, abuses, or harasses a victim
 Self-esteem - a subjective perception of your overall value or worth is known as self-esteem.
 Cyberbullying - the act of bullying someone through the use of electronic communication,
 Victim - A victim is someone who has been harmed physically or emotionally
 Depression - Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and
loss of interest
 Social media - refers to methods of communication whereby individuals build, share, and/or
exchange knowledge and concepts in online communities and networks.
 The study investigates the impact, causes, and effects of bullying among Saint Stanislaus
students aged 12 to 18. Bullying is described as a pattern of aggressive behavior in which a
person or group in a position of authority intentionally intimidates, abuses, or coerces an
individual with the aim to physically or emotionally harm them.
 School Board of Governs to ensure student safety in the digital age.

Primary and secondary sources were employed to acquire information for the Saint Stanislaus
High School cyberbullying research.

The primary source of information was a questionnaire with 27 closed-ended questions to

capture both quantitative and qualitative data. To ensure no bias and equal opportunity for
respondents to offer their ideas, the questionnaire was disseminated using simple random
sampling. The questionnaire method was chosen because to its low cost, quick reach, and ease of
analysis.

The study was conducted in December 2022 with a sample of 35 students from Saint Stanislaus
College, with 10 students from each level. The questionnaires were distributed over two weeks,
with respondents given 7 days to complete and return them. A total of 65 questionnaires were
returned out of 70 distributed. However, the researcher encountered challenges such as
absenteeism, question skipping, and survey fatigue.

Secondary materials such as newspaper articles, websites, textbooks, and eBooks were used by
the researchers to gather background information and a better understanding of cyberbullying.
The sources were published by reputable and credible authors and were useful in understanding
the subject and offering instances and specifics, especially considering the scarcity of
information in Guyana and the Caribbean as a whole.

 The amount of research that has been done and, consequently, the amount of literature
available for this review is limited because cyberbullying is a relatively new form of
bullying that came with technology and technological advancements.
 Due to the fact that the target population did not include cyber-bully victims only, some
respondents did not answer the answers that would mainly target cyber-bullied victims
and that they would only be able to answer if they were a victim

Based on the internal assessment, cyberbullying can occur in a variety of forms and for a variety
of causes, generating detrimental consequences on victims such as anxiety and sadness.
Cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it is unrestrained and can reach an infinite
number of people, making it more apparent and lasting. Cyberbullying has increased as a result
of the development of digital gadgets and the internet, and parents may find it difficult to control
their children's online activity. Victims may be afraid to report cyberbullying to their parents
because they do not understand the technology or are unable to address the issue appropriately.
The findings underscore the need for improved cyberbullying prevention and response strategies.