First of all, depending on the age, environment, and digital exposure of the respondent, some people will not fully know what cyberbullying is — even if they answered “Yes” to the question “Do you know what cyberbullying is.” This depends on their personal experience, the type of online platforms they use, and whether they have ever been involved in online conflict.
On this page, we look at what type of responses you can expect from the people you are interviewing. This will help you to check if the respondent truly understands the question, or if they are just repeating what they have heard.
Can Cyberbullying Influence Relationships – Expected Response
First of all, let us agree on the fact that cyberbullying can influence relationships in a negative way. It can cause the following 7 damaging effects in relationships, which are:
- Loss of Trust – The victim starts to question everyone around them, especially if the bully was someone close.
- Emotional Distance – People pull away and stop opening up because they feel judged, embarrassed, or betrayed.
- Breakdown in Communication – Constant online attacks or rumours make it hard for people to talk honestly or feel safe.
- Conflict Among Friends – Friends may take sides, get involved in the drama, or completely leave the group.
- Romantic Relationship Problems – If the bullying targets someone’s partner or spreads lies, the relationship suffers.
- Social Isolation – Victims may avoid school, group chats, or social events to escape the bullying.
- Loss of Self-Esteem – When someone is constantly attacked online, it affects how they view themselves, which affects how they relate to others.
That being said, the respondents might provide the following set of answers to the question:
Can Cyberbullying Influence Relationships? Please Elaborate
- “Yes it can, because when you post something bad about your friend, they don’t trust you again. You fight and then you don’t talk anymore.”
– Grade 12 learner from Mamelodi
- “I don’t know a lot about cyberbullying but I think if people gossip you online, it can make your boyfriend or girlfriend leave you.”
– Teen girl from rural Limpopo
- “Yes. It make people hate each other. Even in our WhatsApp group someone was called ugly and now she don’t come to school.”
– Township learner from Gugulethu
- “Yes, because I was bullied on Facebook by someone in my own class and now I don’t even greet them. We used to be friends.”
– Learner from Soweto
- “Ehh I think yes, because those things hurt. You don’t trust again when people screenshot your status and laugh.”
– Teen from KwaMashu
- “No I don’t think it can break relationships, only if the person is soft. But sometimes people take jokes too serious.”
– Boy from Hammanskraal, unsure what cyberbullying means fully
- “Yes it destroy relationships. Me and my cousin don’t talk anymore because of TikTok comments people make.”
– Female learner from Durban
- “Yes I believe it cause problems, like if people say you are cheating online, your partner will believe it even if it’s not true.”
– Learner from Pretoria West
- “Sometimes the person don’t want to be your friend because others said something bad about you online. So yes it influence.”
– Grade 12 boy from Mpumalanga
- “Yoh yes. My sister cried because someone posted her picture with a bad caption. Now she don’t trust any of her friends.”
– Teenager from Umlazi
The follow up question to the above is:
Have you experienced an act of cyberbullying recently?
and,
What do you think are the effects of people posting/ forwarding offensive material on social media?
the answers to these questions can be as follows:
Have you experienced an act of cyberbullying recently?
- “Yes, someone made a fake Facebook account using my name and sent people bad messages. I got into trouble for nothing.”
– Learner from Tembisa - “No, I just see other people getting bullied but not me. I stay away from social media drama.”
– Girl from Rustenburg - “Yes, they posted my photo with a bad caption and even my family saw it. I wanted to stop going to school.”
– Grade 12 learner from Khayelitsha - “No, not recently. But last year someone shared my WhatsApp voice note and made fun of it in the class group.”
– Boy from Gqeberha - “Yes. Someone commented mean things on my TikTok. I deleted the video and stopped posting for a while.”
– Teen from Polokwane
What do you think are the effects of people posting/forwarding offensive material on social media?
- “It can damage a person forever. People will always remember that one post, even if it’s a lie.”
– Girl from Soweto - “It makes people fight and lose friends. Even families get involved sometimes.”
– Learner from Mitchells Plain - “It can make a person feel like they not good enough. They become shy and scared to be around people.”
– Boy from Thohoyandou - “You can even get in trouble with the school if they find out. Some people got suspended for forwarding bad videos.”
– Learner from Vosloorus - “It causes pain. One video or picture can break someone’s heart and their future.”
– Teen from Umlazi
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