Percepciones sobre la violencia digital en los estudiantes de educación media de la Institución Educativa José María Cabal del municipio de Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca).

Abstract

This research analyzes perceptions of digital violence among upper secondary school students at José María Cabal Educational Institution, located in the Special District of Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca. The study emerged from an interest in understanding how young people recognize, interpret, and experience different situations of violence in digital environments, particularly those involving insults, teasing, the dissemination of content without consent, and other forms of aggression that may affect school coexistence. The quantitative component involved 198 students from tenth and eleventh grades, who completed a 24-item questionnaire using a Likert scale. The reliability of the instrument yielded a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.854, indicating adequate internal consistency. For the qualitative component, two focus groups were conducted with 14 students. Their contributions provided deeper insight into the experiences, meanings, and ways in which young people interpret digital violence. The results show that students recognize different behaviors as forms of digital violence and are aware of their possible emotional and social consequences. However, the focus groups also revealed a particularly relevant issue: some aggressive behaviors may be interpreted as a “joke” or as playful teasing, depending on the relationship between classmates, the context, and the intention attributed to the situation. This perception may make it difficult to recognize certain behaviors as forms of violence. Based on these findings, the study highlights the importance of strengthening digital citizenship education, raising awareness of the consequences of online aggression, and promoting support from families and the educational institution. As a creative component, the research resulted in the documentary Cyberbullying and Digital Coexistence at José María Cabal Educational Institution, an audiovisual piece that brings together and highlights the voices of students, teachers, school administrators, parents, and a member of the Cyberbullying Committee in Buenaventura in relation to the phenomenon of cyberbullying and forms of coexistence in digital environments.