Students’ Views on Cyberbullying in Indonesian Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.60153/gxn5mm53Keywords:
Cyberbullying, Students’ Perspectives, Qualitative Study, Indonesian Schools, Digital literacyAbstract
Cyberbullying has become a growing concern in Indonesian schools due to the rapid increase in adolescents’ use of digital technologies and social media platforms. This study addresses the limited understanding of how Indonesian students perceive, experience, and interpret cyberbullying in school contexts. A qualitative descriptive design was employed involving 210 students from junior and senior high schools across 10 provinces in Indonesia. Data collection involved open-ended online questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed thematically. The findings indicate that students generally recognize cyberbullying as harmful online behavior, although their understanding varies across different forms of online interaction. However, many participants still perceive some forms of cyberbullying as normal jokes among peers. Participants reported that experiences of cyberbullying were associated with anxiety, stress, low self-esteem, and social withdrawal. In addition, cyberbullying may affect academic performance by reducing students’ concentration, motivation, and school engagement. Participants identified peer pressure, emotional factors, limited digital literacy, and inadequate parental supervision as factors associated with cyberbullying. Students emphasized the need for stronger school-based prevention programs, counseling support, and digital literacy education. The findings contribute to a better understanding of students’ perspectives on cyberbullying and highlight the need for coordinated preventive strategies involving schools, families, and policymakers.
Downloads
References
Alamäki, A., Nyberg, C., & Kimberley, A. (2024). Artificial intelligence literacy in sustainable development: A learning experiment in higher education. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1343406. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1343406
Černý, M. (2024). University students’ conceptualisation of AI literacy: Theory and empirical evidence. Social Sciences, 13(3), 129. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13030129
Deveci Topal, A., Toker Gökçe, A., Eren, C. D., & Kolburan Geçer, A. (2025). Artificial intelligence literacy scale: A study of reliability and validity in Turkish university students. Journal of Learning and Teaching in Digital Age, 10(1).
Dong, Y., Xu, W., Huang, J., et al. (2025). Validating and refining a multi-dimensional scale for measuring AI literacy in education using the Rasch Model. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 12, 1317. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-05670-6
Hollands, F., & Breazeal, C. (2024). Establishing AI literacy before adopting AI. [Journal details to be verified]. https://doi.org/10.1080/00368555.2024.2308316
Hornberger, M., Bewersdorff, A., & Nerdel, C. (2023). What do university students know about Artificial Intelligence? Development and validation of an AI literacy test. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 5, 100165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100165
Kang, K. Y., & Park, J. H. (2026). Development and validation of a multidimensional AI literacy scale for higher education students: A mixed-method study. [Journal details to be verified]. https://doi.org/10.1177/09610006261425235
Lai, C.-Y., et al. (2024). ChatGPT effects on cognitive skills of undergraduate students: Receiving instant responses from AI-based conversational large language models (LLMs). Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 6, 100198. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100198
Larson, B. Z., Moser, C., Caza, A., Muehlfeld, K., & Colombo, L. A. (2024). Critical thinking in the age of generative AI. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 23(3), 373–378. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2024.0338
Lee, C. C., & Low, M. Y. H. (2024). Using GenAI in education: The case for critical thinking. Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence, 7, 1452131. https://doi.org/10.3389/frai.2024.1452131
Lee, Y.-J., Oh, J., & Hong, C. (2024). Exploratory research on understanding university students’ artificial intelligence literacy in a Korean university. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/14711
Long, D. Y., Wang, S., Md Rashid, S., & Lu, X. T. (2026). Artificial intelligence in higher education: A systematic review of its impact on student engagement and the mediating role of teaching methods. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1648661. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1648661
Mansoor, H. M. H., Bawazir, A., Alsabri, M. A., Alharbi, A., & Okela, A. H. (2024). Artificial intelligence literacy among university students—a comparative transnational survey. Frontiers in Communication, 9, 1478476. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1478476
Mohammadkarimi, E., & Omar, J. A. (2025). Does artificial intelligence impede critical thinking? A case study of Iranian university students. Journal of Applied Learning and Teaching, 8(2), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.37074/jalt.2025.8.2.3
Ng, D. T. K., Leung, J. K. L., Chu, S. K. W., & Chiu, T. K. F. (2024). Design and validation of the AI literacy questionnaire: The affective, behavioural, cognitive and ethical approach. British Journal of Educational Technology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13411
Ng, D. T. K., et al. (2023). What do university students know about Artificial Intelligence? Development and validation of an AI literacy test. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 5, 100165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2023.100165
Ninghardjanti, P. N., Umam, M. C., Subarno, A., Winarno, W., Langgi, N. R., & Widodo, J. (2025). Evaluating the impact of AI on the critical thinking skills among the higher education students by combining the TAM model and critical thinking theory. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1719625. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1719625
Rodríguez-Rojas, M.-P., Ramírez-Segura, A.-M., Valenzuela-Mora, P., Dampuré, J., & Riveros Munévar, F. (2024). Critical Thinking Evaluation Scale: Design and validation in a Colombian population. SAGE Open, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440241297418
Salhab, R., & Aboushi, M. M. (2025). Influence of AI literacy and 21st-century skills on the acceptance of generative artificial intelligence among college students. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1640212. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1640212
Tadimalla, S. Y., & Maher, M. L. (2025). AI literacy as a core component of AI education. AI Magazine, 46. https://doi.org/10.1002/aaai.70007
Tian, J., & Zhang, R. (2025). Learners' AI dependence and critical thinking: The psychological mechanism of fatigue and the social buffering role of AI literacy. Acta Psychologica, 260, 105725. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105725
van der Linde, G., Rodriguez-Montoya, C., & Garrido, L. E. (2025). Landscape of AI literacy in education: Approaches, impacts, and challenges for student preparedness. Discover Education, 4, 561. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44217-025-00924-6
Walter, Y. (2024). Embracing the future of artificial intelligence in the classroom: The relevance of AI literacy, prompt engineering, and critical thinking in modern education. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 21, 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41239-024-00448-3
Yurt, E., & Kuşci, I. (2026). Factors influencing critical thinking during AI use among university students. Current Psychology, 45, 67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-025-08800-0
Zhong, B., & Liu, X. (2025). Evaluating AI literacy of secondary students: Framework and scale development. Computers & Education, 227, 105230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2024.105230
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Syafa’at Ariful Huda, Alek Andika, I Wayan Kandia, Erwinsyah Satria, Sutrisno, Reviandari Widyatiningtyes, Everhard Markiano Solissa, Rezeki Nur (Author)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.












