File Type

Project Document

Publication Date

2021

Description

This study examined how Filipino youth identify, experience, assess, and respond to bullying and harassment on social media. It approached these phenomena as communicative and socially constructed, shaped by young people’s relationships, cultural contexts, and use of multiple interconnected digital platforms. The study drew on online in-depth interviews with 152 Filipino youth aged 15 to 24 from Metro Manila, Batangas, Negros Occidental, and Misamis Occidental, including both school-going and out-of-school youth. The findings show that social media bullying and harassment are shaped by the youth’s use of polymedia and by the interaction of three key dimensions: targets, acts, and spaces. Targets may include individuals, groups, or ideas, while acts may be direct or veiled and may occur in bounded or open online spaces. These experiences can move across platforms and between online and offline environments. The effects on young people are influenced by individual personality, social norms, relationships with others, and their engagement with technology. Bullying and harassment may affect self-image, psychological well-being, mental health, interpersonal relationships, and perceptions of safety. The study concludes that prevention and mitigation require coordinated action from social media platforms, schools, parents and guardians, local communities, and the youth. It offers data-driven recommendations for strengthening reporting mechanisms, support systems, digital literacy, and safer online environments.

About the Project

How Filipino Youth Identify and Act on Social Media Bullying and Harassment was implemented from January 10, 2020 to January 9, 2021, with an approved extension. The project was led by Dr. Cheryll Ruth R. Soriano, with Dr. Maria Caridad H. Tarroja, Dr. Jason Vincent A. Cabañes, and Dr. Jan Michael Alexandre C. Bernadas as co-investigators, and Kimberly Kaye Mata as part of the project team. The study explored how Filipino youth understand, experience, and respond to bullying and harassment on social media. It drew on online in-depth interviews with 152 young people aged 15 to 24 from Metro Manila, Batangas, Negros Occidental, and Misamis Occidental. It examined how bullying and harassment are shaped by relationships, communicative practices, social norms, and the technological features of social media. The project produced data-driven recommendations for platforms, schools, parents and guardians, and young people on preventing social media bullying and harassment and mitigating its effects on victims. It also developed multimedia materials in Tagalog, Bisaya, and Hiligaynon for youth, guardians, and schools. The project was administratively supported by the De La Salle University Social Development Research Center and funded under Facebook, Inc.’s Content Policy Research Grant.

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