Cyber Bullying : A Deep Seated Psychological Problem

Cyber Bullying is defined by the National Crime Prevention Council as - "when the Internet, cell phones or other devices are used to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person" (National Crime Prevention Council).

1. This article was written based on a study of cyber bullying behaviors in a large group of middle and high school students. Increases in technology, and access to that technology have increased student ability to bully using an online forum. Not a lot of research had been done into this subject at the time of this article. Taking this into consideration there had been a few large scale studies done that corroborated the belief that cyber bullying is a significant problem. Researchers believed that due to the potential for exposure to this type of bullying, more studies needed to be done. With increased research there was the hope of diminishing the number of incidents of cyber bullying and the effects of those incidents. The research that had been completed also pointed to additional issues, including behavior problems, suspensions, substance abuse and depression among students who had experienced cyber bullying. The other side of previous research showed that the students who used cyber bullying as a weapon were more aggressive in their behaviors.

Cyberbullying is a relatively new threat, and it is very similar to traditional bullying. Despite the fact that cyberbullying and traditional bullying both share the common goal of harassment, cyberbullying differs from traditional bullying in that it does not stop at the schoolyard, and can continue when the victim is far away from the aggressor. It is just as devastating as common bullying, and sometimes is even more damaging. Professors Sameer Hinduja and Justin W. Patchin note in their journal, “Cyberbullying Creates Dangerous Stress and Anxiety”, that cyberbullying affects anywhere between 10-40% of students (contingent on their age group) (par. 1). J.D. Kelly A. Albin, in her article “Bullies in a Wired World”, defines cyberbullying as “…the ‘willful and repeated harm inflicted through use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices’” (157). It is caused by the fact that children feel their actions are mitigated when they use social media, as it creates the illusion of indirectness, and its effects range anywhere from mild depression to suicide.

It was given to students between the ages of 12 and 17, to find the extent of cyberbullying in the particular age bracket. Five different forms of bullying was reported, with insults having the highest percentage reported, embarrassing pictures being the lowest, and threats, privacy violation, and password theft in between. Almost 1/5 of the respondents reported repeated experiences, and 72% reported that they had been bullied online during the past year. In 2002, Finn (2004) documented survey results that 10 to 15% of 339 students at University of New Hampshire had experienced multiple e-mail or IM messages that “threatened, insulted or harassed” (pg. 2) them. A survey that was given to 666 students at a university in Turkey in 2009 was used to assess the psychological needs of the cyberbully. The results that were found from this survey were “that aggression and succorance positively predicted cyberbullying, but interception negatively predicted it” (pg. 2). Also, 22.5% of students reported that they had cyberbullied at least once, and 55.3% reported that they had been a victim of cyberbullying at least once in their lifetime (Dilmac, 2009). Technology is becoming more accessible to today’s youth, and more questions are arising because of this. Extended research is needed to focus on the increase of technology and its impact on the events that are rooted from

My first source is a scholarly journal article from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships that defines what cyber bullying and online harassment is, as well as the types of roles young people fulfill in different types of cyber bullying. The article details the various platforms on which harassment can take place, and the forms in which harassment can present itself. The main point of the scholarly article is to examine statistics regarding bullying in the age of the Internet, using key word such as bully/victims, media, and retaliation. I will use this source in my essay to define what cyber bullying is, and familiarize the reader with various terms, before I discuss the causes and effects of such behaviour.

Cyber-bullying, which describe an intrusion of ones’ privacy or a cyber-action that is intended to hurt others physically or verbally, has been occurring during the advanced period of technology, especially in the informative communication field. According to the Cyberbullying Research Center (Bullying Statistics, n.d.), it has been proven that eighty percent of teenagers have been using technology and half of them engaged in cyber-bullying. In other words, cyber-bullying includes direct attack to the society, such as harassment (Kean.edu, n.d.). There is a drastic increase of cyber-bullying around the world and it usually victimises teens who aged thirteen to seventeen (NCPC and HarrisInteractive, 2007). Researchers have proven that government

With simple access to the internet, a lot of teens have begun using cyber space as an open space for bullying. As additional teens have resorted to using mobiles and social networks to correspond, cyber bullying has turn out to be a key concern. At the moment, "cyber bullying is increasing rapidly as a result of social networks where information can reach the world in a matter of few seconds" (Sutton & Smith, 1999).

Social Networking has taken bullying to the extreme. Before advanced technology, children and teenagers were troubled by school bullies. Today, they are targeted by bullies via internet. Most people undergo some form of bullying in life. Growing up, I experienced the typical name calling and spiteful comments. I also dealt with minor cases of virtual bullies. These bullies are known as cyber bullies. I find this topic compelling because it’s a matter that has spiraled out of control.

Internet usage in children and adolescents has been increasing in a steadily fashion in the past number of years and with the increase in internet usage, a new form of bullying has developed – Cyber bullying. Cyber bullying can be defined as “the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person,” (Merriam-Webster, 2012). This form of bullying can come through various mediums including but not limited to text messages, emails, videos, and social networking sites. There is an overwhelming amount of information that defines cyber bullying, identifies the demographics of bullies and victims of cyber bullying, and identifies the outcomes of cyber bullying on victims. More focus needs to be placed on who the perpetrators

Cyber bullying is a new phenomenon that even the most tech savvy wasn’t prepared for. It allows the aggressor to pick on their victim at all hours of the day. It’s not limited to the classroom anymore; it allows the bully to enter the victim’s safe zone: home. Emails, instant messaging, photo transmitting, and social media outlets are the fuel that feeds this behavior. In traditional bullying, at the end of the day you can escape the torment, but with cyber bullying, there is no escape.

). Cyberbullying is a type of harassment that happens on and over technology. Cyberbullying is expressly defined as “any intentional, aggressive behaviors performed through electronic means (Bossler, Holt & Spellar, 2015). Cyberbullying is different from real-world or bullying in a physical confrontation in that the harassment is conducted over a technological devices such as the internet, phones (text messages), and digital media or in social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. When a person bullies someone online it is said to make it all the more tempting for the bully in that it “enhances the intimidation and makes tracing the activity more difficult. Some bullies also find it easier to be more vicious because there is no personal contact” (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team, 2011). Some of the main characteristics of a cyberbully typology that Bossler, Holt and Spellar talked about were, Flaming: in which the online fighting begins and has a tendency to include offensive language. Denigration: the bully will begin to harm the victim’s “reputation, friendships or social positions” (Bossler, Holt & Spellar, 2015). Impersonation: making up fake online personas to “masquerade as that person” (Bossler, Holt & Spellar, 2015). Outing: the bully will tell anyone online about any personal details about the victim (such as their sexual orientation or who they are crushing on). Trickery: the bully will be a fake friend in order to gain valuable

Cyber bullying is when someone is harassed through the internet. Usually the victims or cyber bullying are youth. Usually to humiliate harm an individual because of information one might have through internet websites, text, chat rooms or other social networking sites. A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying Bully-related suicide can be connected to any type of bullying, including physical bullying, emotional bullying, cyber bullying, and sexting, or circulating suggestive or nude photos or messages about a person bullying can be racist, sexist, anti-religious. Anonymous postings, comments or pictures on social networking sites. Cyber bullying are actions of someone who is a coward since they can remain anonymous behind a screen name or fake profile.

Technology can be used in many ways to cyber bully. Barnardos released a booklet in 2012 outlining a number of key risk factors of cyber bullying. Personal intimidation includes actions such as sending out threatening text messages, posting abusive and threatening comments on the victim’s Facebook profiles or other websites and the use of instant messaging in chat rooms etc. to threaten the victim further. Impersonation involves setting up fake profiles and web pages that are attributed to the victim; this also involves hacking or gaining access to the victims profile to contact or instant message others. Exclusion encompasses blocking an individual from a class group or community group on a social media website. Personal humiliation is a behaviour that involves posting images or videos of the victim that are intended to embarrass or humiliate them. This can be done on Facebook or by text messaging etc. And lastly false reporting, this is where the bully reports the victim to the service provider for a range of behaviours with a view to having the account suspended, blocked or deleted (Get With It, 2012).

Bullying is a bad thing but the worst of all the types of bullying is cyber bulling, it is a terrible weapon that can destroy someone's life and reputation. Cyber bullying is a part of bullying in which a person torments or harasses other people in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner, with technology. It has had a much greater effect on the world more than the traditional way of bullying.

For such a long time, physical bullying has been the largest problem schools and parents had to face with their children, but now another form of bullying has arisen; cyber bullying. In society today, teens are drawn cell phones, laptops, and other technological advancements. Social media is a way for many teens and adolescents to interact with one another and share countless happenings of their personal lives. Cyber bullying occurs when individuals use the internet to send or comment cruel and unnecessary messages to another. In its various forms cyber bullying includes, indirect and direct harassment, posting inappropriate pictures, impersonating another being, or just being plain cruel. Although anyone can become a victim of cyber bullying, improper use of the internet can further induce harassment, due to the adolescents desire to use modern day technologies. The harassers could be classmates, online “friends’’, or anonymous users. One barrier that is difficult to overcome is determining who is responsible for the attacks online, because many bullies hide behind fake usernames or profiles to protect their real identity, which is commonly known as “hiding behind a screen”. (Bonanno 2013). The motives for a cyber-bully are never clear, some might say