CYBERBULLYING, DIGITAL

DIVIDE AND INTERNET

ADDICTION
By: John Rimzart R. Nietes
 What is CYBERBULLYING?
• What?-When a child, preteen or teen is tormented by
another child, preteen or teen using the Internet,
interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.
It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have
been instigated by a minor against another minor.
• How?-When a child, preteen or teen is tormented by
another child, preteen or teen using the Internet,
interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones.
It has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have
been instigated by a minor against another minor.
 What is the status of Cyber Bullying in the
Philippines?
• FACT: Philippines surprisingly has higher technology
use than other more developed ones in Asia.
Seventy three percent of teens have online social
profiles as of 2010. A Cartoon Network study
showed 2/3 of Filipino children owns a mobile
phone, more than the children in Australia and
Taiwan. New Generations 2012 poll further
revealed that eight out of ten (82 percent) Filipino
children access the Internet at least weekly and
over a third (37 percent) are daily Internet users.
• CYBERBULLYING here in the Philippines doesn’t
get much attention as there are no official
reported cases about it. But just because it
remains unreported doesn’t mean that it is not
happening. Interviews with the local high
school students here show that the youth are
aware that CYBERBULLYING is a serious issue.
However, most of them do not know how to
react when faced with those kinds of situations.
Examples of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying incidents in the Philippines on
2019
 Laws preventing cyberbullying
• The Anti-Bullying Act of 2013 (RA 10627) -This law finds applicability in
school-related bullying, student-student bullying in particular, which covers
those uttered in social media. “Bullying”, as defined, refers to any severe or
repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic
expression, or a physical act or gesture, or any combination thereof, directed
at another student that has the effect of actually causing or placing the latter
in reasonable fear of physical or emotional harm or damage to his property;
creating a hostile environment at school; infringing on the rights of another;
or materially or substantially disrupting the education process. (Sec. 2, RA
10627) These acts are collectively called “cyber bullying” when committed
online. (Sec. 2-D, RA 10627) This covers social bullying aiming to belittle
another individual or group or gender-based bullying that humiliates
another on the basis of perceived or actual sexual orientation and gender
identity. (Sec. 3, B-1, RA 10627, Implementing Rules).
• The Revised Penal Code and the Cybercrime Prevention Act - One who
publicly or maliciously imputes to another a crime, vice, defect, real or
imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status or circumstance tending
to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of a natural or juridical
person, or blacken the memory of one who is dead may be liable for libel
under this Code. (Art. 353, RPC) These acts are more severely punished
when done online in addition to the civil action for damages which may be
brought by the offended party. (Sec. 4(c-4), RA 10175) Cyberlibel holds
liable only the original author of the post (Sec. 5(3), Implementing Rules of
RA 10175). Likers or sharers of a post cannot be held liable under this law.
Slander may also be applicable to one who, in heat of anger, utters
statements that are highly defamatory in character. (Art. 358, RPC)
Intriguing Against Honour may also find applicability when the principal
purpose is to blemish the honour or reputation of a person. (Art. 364, RPC)
However, the requirement is that the post be directed to a specific person.
Hence, a blind item is not as actionable as a named-post in social media.
 Signs of Cyberbullying
• He suddenly stops using the computer, even though he’s always
enjoyed it before.
• He doesn’t want to use the computer in a place where you can see
it.
• He turns off the computer monitor or changes screens every time
you walk by.
• He seems nervous or jumpy when he gets an instant message, text
or email.
• He alludes to bullying indirectly by saying something like “there’s a
lot of drama at school” or “I have no friends.”
• He doesn’t want to go to school or appears uneasy about going.
• He becomes withdrawn.
 How You Can Help
• Start by talking to your friend or child. You can open the conversation by
describing a bullying incident that happened to you as a child, or an
example of cyberbullying that you heard about on the news.
• Talk to the parents of the kids who are bullying your friend or child. Let
them know what’s going on and how it’s affecting him.

• Reach out to your friend or child’s guidance counselor or principal. Every

school should have anti-cyberbullying policies and protocols to help.

• If neither of those strategies works, you may need to get law

enforcement involved. Print out or save evidence of the bullying in case
you need it to show the police.
 What is Digital Divide?
• Digital Divide- is the gap between individuals,
households, businesses and geographic areas at
different socio-economic levels with regard both to
their opportunities to access ICTs and to their use of
the Internet for a wide variety of activities
• • Socio-demographic barriers – Income, education
levels, gender, age, disabilities
 The Digital Divide
• Concern is growing that society may
eventually become divided into 2 distinct
groups:
• – One having access to technology and able to
obtain information from the Internet
• – Others unable to gain access to technology
and information
 The Broadband Divide
• Concern that the current divide between those with
Internet access and those without will be
exacerbated with the rollout of high-speed access
and broadband services
• • This divide will become increasingly important as
the availability of advanced telecommunications
becomes essential
 Urban/rural divide
• Those without enhanced data capability will
be unable to access the benefits expected
particularly in relation to education, health
and government services.
• The Digital Divide • Does not merely mirror
the divide between developed and developing
countries – It reshapes the social map because
it occurs between individuals rather than
countries or whole societies – It abolishes
space and time constraints but creates new
technological barriers between insiders and
outsiders
• Technologies are not only tools but are also
vehicles of
– Affordances
– Values
– Interpretations of the surrounding reality Any
significant technology is ethically charged
 What is Internet Addiction?
• Studies on Internet addiction originated in the
US by Dr. Kimberly Young, who presented the
first research on Internet addiction in 1996 at
the American Psychological Association’s
annual conference held in Toronto in her
paper “Internet Addiction: The Emergence of a
New Disorder
• Internet addiction is defined as the compulsive
urge to continually use the Net, whether it be
to spend hours surfing the Web, hang around
in IRC chatrooms, or play on-line games.
- In Book Reviews , Chris Mitchell Kimberly S. Young:
Caught In The Net
Types of Internet Addiction
Examples of internet addiction
 What makes internet use so
addictive?
• It gives you feeling and gratifying sensations of pain,
uncertainty, or discomfort. It may create powerfully
distracting sensations that focus and absorb
attention. It may enable a person to forget or feel
“OK” about some insurmountable problems. It may
provide an artificial, temporary feeling of security or
calm, of self-worth or accomplishment, of power and
control, or intimacy or belonging
 Symptoms
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Dry Eyes
• Headaches
• Back Aches
• Eating Irregularities(skipping meals)
• Inability to stop the activity
• Neglect of family and friends
• Feeling empty or depressed, irritable when not on a computer
• Problems with school or job
• Having a sense of euphoria or well-being while using a computer
Consequences
 How to control your internet
addiction?
1. Self-Control: Block out distracting websites for a set amount of time.
If you find yourself slipping into a Twitter sinkhole when you should be updating your business
plan, Self-Control may be the app you need. Set it for four hours, for instance, and your browser
will behave as if its offline for that period of time. No amount of browser restarts or computer
reboots will stop it. Before you have heart palpitations, know that you can whitelist or blacklist
certain sites. So, rather than completely disabling the entire Internet, you can selectively decide
which sites are OK, or not OK, to visit during your focus period.

2. Concentrate: Maximize focus while shifting between different tasks.

Concentrate is great for shifting between tasks that require different mindsets. I have
a variety of recurring tasks that require different tools: 1) Writing, 2) Social Media
Management, 3) Event Planning. Concentrate lets me configure a different set of tools
for each task. When I activate “Writing,” the app automatically closes my email client
and Internet Browser; blocks me from Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube; launches
Microsoft Word; and sets my instant messaging status to “away”. Then, when I want to
concentrate on “Social Media Management,” I can customize a completely different set of actions
to happen relevant to that activity. There’s also a handy “concentration” timer.
3. FocusBooster: Focus on single tasks for 25 minutes apiece.
This app is based on the principles of the Pomodoro Technique, a time
management system that challenges you to focus on a single task for 25
minutes and then give yourself a 5-minute break. Combining the features
of a to-do list and a time-management coach, FocusBooster allows you to
list out your daily tasks, and then it tracks your time as you work through
them. When 25 minutes are up, an alarm sounds and you get a break. It’s
an easy way to practice expanding your attention span without going
overboard.

4. Think: Limit your attention to a single application at a time.

This is an extremely simple app that’s akin to “Spaces” on a Mac. When
activated, Think allows you to bring just one application into the
foreground on your computer, while everything else is hidden underneath
a nearly opaque backdrop. While you can easily shift between other
applications when you need to, it creates a clean space for focusing on the
task at hand. (It also works well in tandem with FocusBooster.)
5. FocusWriter: Create a distraction-free environment for writing.
If writing is something that you do on a regular basis, it’s incredibly useful to
have an easy way to create a distraction-free setting. FocusWriter re-
creates a word processor-like environment, blocking out absolutely
everything on your screen except for the words you type on a simple grey
background -- all menus (date, timer, dock, etc) are tucked away until
rollover. Despite its pristine appearance, FocusWriter does have the usual
rich text editor features, such as spellcheck and word count. Plus a few
bonuses like a daily writing goal (word count or writing time) and very
gratifying typewriter sounds for each keystroke.
6. Anti-Social: Instantly block the social websites that are killing your focus.
Anti-Social is like a light version of full-scale Internet-blocker Freedom. Rather
than blocking the Internet in its entirety, Anti-Social automatically blocks
all of the known timesinks for a set period of time. Sites that are off-limits
include Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Digg, Reddit, YouTube, Hulu, Vimeo, and
all standard web email programs. It’s not that different from Self-Control
(see above), except that it comes pre-equipped with a blacklist (which you
can add to, of course). If you can’t handle your Internet abstinence, you
can turn Anti-Social off by rebooting your computer.
Thank you for taking the time to read my
campaign ad about CYBERBULLYING,
DIGITAL DIVIDE AND INTERNET
ADDICTION