Cyber Bullying And Social Media

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that takes place over electronic technology throughout all hours of the day that can affect teens and adolescents on their daily basis. This electronic technology includes text, gaming devices, internet, emails, blogs, cell phones, apps, computers, and tablets which can be used for positive activities but can also hurt people. According to Edwina Thomas Washington (2015), these electronic technology gives the bully the capacity to contact the victim without having a face-to-face encounter. In addition, it occurs on different social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. This harmful behavior incorporates posting, sharing, or sending opposing, conflicting, and false content regarding someone else. Additionally, it includes sharing information referring to someone else with the purpose of producing discomfort and humiliation. Some cyberbullying passes the line into illegal or culpable behavior. Through the years, cyberbullying has become very common in teenagers.

Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages in an threatening nature or tearing down an individuals character based on religion, gender, ethnicity, or disability. In terms of effects overall, cyberbullying has increased the use of communication via technology and has become more common among teenagers (Cabral 3). Technology has made it easy for bullies to find individuals via social media in the privacy of their on own homes., which has allowed them to express how they feel anonomously. This has become an issue that is occurring more and more in High Schools and Middle Schools across America. One of the biggest discussions when dealing with bullying and cyber-bullying would be how do we stop this epidemic to save the soul of our youth? Education is key, we have to educate one another on the effects of bullying to know that this is real and affects so many people to this day. Much of cyberbullying is the

Societal norms in the United States in terms of adolescents utilizing the Internet once as an additional source of communication has become the primary mode of communication. Today, “92% of teens proclaim they go online daily to check popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter among others” (Lenhart 1). The alteration from physical communication to online communication has exposed a dangerous interaction for social relationships known as cyberbullying. In order to understand cyberbullying, it is critical to understand traditional bullying. Traditional bullying thrives off on aggressive behavior that is repetitive and involves a real or perceived power imbalance. Cyberbullying is a form of violence predominantly seen in teens that has the potential to lead to long-term harm. It involves the use of technology such as cell phones and the Internet with the primary objective of

In their e-book, Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard, Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin define Cyberbullying as: “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, or other electronic devices” (36). Hinduja and Patchin are both Ph.D.’s, professors at universities, as well as primary researchers at the Cyberbullying Research Center. The research and community outreach that they are involved in could greatly reduce the number of cyberbullying cases worldwide. Cyberbullies typically operate through social networks like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to harass, intimidate, threaten, embarrass or otherwise target an individual. Cyberbullying is awfully prevalent nowadays and it is a far bigger issue than most people realize. It is an issue that is quickly growing; as there are hundreds of thousands of people signing on to use these networks for the first time every day. According to NoBullying.com, 25% of teenagers report that they have experienced repeated bullying via their cell phone or on the Internet, while 52% report having experienced it at least

Cyber-bullying can be broadly defined as any form of harassment or intimidation that takes place online (O’Dea & Campbell, 2012, p. 212). According to O’Dea and Campbell (2012), approximately one in three teens experience some form of cyber-bullying throughout their lives (p. 212). In their study, O’Dea and Campbell (2012) found that this number of teens (out of 400 study participants) report “multiple feelings of victimization, embarrassment, or harassment” (p. 212). One of the most significant issues with cyber-bullying is that this activity reaches a much wider audience than typical face-to-face bullying (O’Dea & Campbell, 2012, p. 212). This means that the victim of bullying may feel escalated feelings of shame and social isolation, as the person bullying can send their negative messages to as many people as he or she chooses (O’Dea & Campbell, 2012, p. 212). Cyber-bullying generally takes on two different forms: Bullying from someone who the victim knows, or from a complete stranger. O’Dea and Campbell (2012) say that online bullying can come from almost any source, given the fact that online social networks are highly open to the public (p. 212). Of course, this raises the issue of online privacy. While sites like Facebook and Twitter have privacy settings, there are very few effective measures that can fully prevent

Cyberbullying is a new form of bullying that allows individuals to threaten or intimidate others via online resources like social media and instant messaging, as well as other electronic technology like smartphones and tablets. Due to the fact that cyberbullying is a fairly new concept, due to the advances in technology it has become one of the most prevalent sources of bullying among adolescents. The ease in which children can gain access and use electronic technology, and the fact that cyberbullying most of the time can remain anonymous, has led to an increase in this form of bullying. With reports indicating that 93% of teens are active users of the Internet and 75% own a cell phone, up from 45% in 2004, there is great potential for cyberbullying among youths (Schneider, O’Donnell, Stueve, & Coulter, 2012).The increase in cyberbullying has led to an increase in suicide rates among adolescent, and has expanded bullying past the traditional school environment.

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).

Bullying is intimidating someone by using superior strength or influence. There are three main types of bullying known as physical bullying, verbal bullying, and cyberbullying. Since 2011, the popularity of cyberbullying has increased by 85% because more children have access to social media. Tons of people do not know what cyberbullying is - it is any type of bullying via electronic medium, such as phone calls, text messages, and all social media. When cyberbullying started to become “popular”, it also caused the number of children 12 years old and up that mention self-harm to increase by 50%. There was little that could be done for those who were suffering through cyberbullying for the reason that not many adults understood social media and were unaware that this was happening.

However, it has also brought alone with it the dangers of cyber bullying. In today’s interconnected world, bullying poses a serious problem for countless teens. According to the UK 2013 annual bullying survey –taken by 2,000 teens- 69% of young people aged 13-22 had experienced cyber bullying, with 20% also having had extremes cases and were twice as likely to be bullies on Facebook than any other website. And although cyber bullying is fairly recent, and traditional bullying has been around for years, cyber bullying is actually more prevalent. Not only bullies have the ability to cyber bully, but also even those who are bullied can participate. Often times the bullied individual will take out their anger and callous frustrations online via cyber bullying. This is not right. We need to find more positive, non-technological outlets to express our emotions. Over time, our world is getting morally worse, we can be the generation to stop cyberbullying, and make a safer internet environment for our

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.

It has been demonstrated in a number of studies that the more time an individual spends on the computer and internet, the more likely they are to be cyber bully victims, perpetrators or both the victim and bully (Mishna, Khourg-Kassabri, Gadalla, & Daciuk, 2012; Sengupta & Chaudhuri, 2011). The most common mediums of cyber bullying are through email, instant messages, or internet social networking sites; however, the medium with the greatest impact on its victims is picture or video bullying (Beran & Li, 2005; Kowalski & Fedina, 2011; Slonje & Smoth, 2008). It has been suggested in the past that children who have access to social networking sites are more likely to be perpetrators or victims of cyber bullying, however, results from one study indicates this is not the case. Alternatively, it was suggested

As we enter the age of the Internet we have ushered in the newest, and arguably, most powerful form of bullying, called cyber bullying. Unfortunately, no one is exempt from cyber bullying. The Internet is a tool that gives anyone a voice, including bullies. It is a marvelous element that has become an operating tool in our daily lives. We learn from it, communicate with it, and are entertained by it. However, there are people who use it to mistreat others. We hear on the news, more often than we should, of young people committing suicide due to cyber bullying. While there are bullies of all ages, today’s youth is growing up in a technological age which makes the already tortuous period of adolescence even more painful. During adolescence we are naturally influenced by others, and constantly, obsessively comparing ourselves to everyone else. In cyberspace the bully has an accessible, almost effortless outlet that, if he so chooses, makes him anonymous. By concealing his identity, unless someone is a cyber-hacking wizard, the victim of his bullying won’t know where it is coming from. This allows him to say whatever he wants, whenever he wants, at the click of a few buttons, and remain nameless. This gives him the audacity he may not have in a face-to-face situation, to say anything that invades his head to this person he intends to hurt, without having to witness his victim’s reaction. It is almost as easy as having a thought. He can type harmful comments almost as fast as the

Facebook and other social media platforms have brought communication across the world to a whole new level. The rise of social media has created a place for children to communicate with others in both a positive and negative manner. Although it has made a positive impact on American youth, it has also contributed and exacerbated bullying in our schools. This new form of bullying, often referred to as cyberbullying, has created an around-the-clock atmosphere where bullying can occur even when school is not in session. Many professionals have sought to address the negative aspects of social media and have worked to develop a solution to bring cyberbullying to an end.

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

As technology advances, the amount of people online is also growing. Among these people, a great amount of them are teens. These teens are accessing the Internet through various digital devices and communicating with one another through methods such as texting and emailing. Today, teens and young adults are the ones who make up one of the largest groups on social media outlets. According to the Pew Report, “Teens, Social Media, and Privacy,” 95% of teens are on the Internet and 81% of them use social media sites. In the opinion piece “Social Media Should Be Used Responsibly” by Katie Atkinson, social media outlets “were created for harmless networking and fun, but have instead turned into some of the greatest tools to harm others with” and thus, cyber bullying came into existence. Cyber bullying is “a modern form of bullying performed using electronic forms of contact” (Fabio Sticca & Sonja Perren). It is where kids send hate messages, post embarrassing pictures of others, and hide behind fake identities to harass others. With all the new interactive features on these social media sites, posting a hateful comment or sending a cruel message has become easier than ever. According to cyber bullying statistics provided by the i-SAFE foundation: “Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying.” The worst part of it all is that more than half of these adolescent do not tell their parents when cyber bullying