Cyber Bullying on Social Networks Negatively Impacts Teens

Is cyberbullying an old problem with a new disguise? Bullying in the real world has been around for a seemingly endless amount of time. Due to the rise of technology in society today, bullying in the cyber world, also known as cyberbullying, has erupted. Cyberbullying can be defined as using technology, such as the Internet, social media, and text messages, to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person (Hirsch). According to 11 Facts About Cyberbullying, nearly eighty-three percent of teens believe bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person. This shows that cyberbullies use online networks to camouflage themselves from reality. Cyberbullying is emotionally abusive to the victim’s mental health because the scars imprinted from the cruel remarks sent through text messages and posted throughout social media are bound to forever impact one's life.

The word 'bullying' has developed a very traditional definition amongst society: a face-to-face interaction involving either verbal abuse and/or physical abuse. With the technological advances that have occurred within the past 15 years, bullying has become anything but traditional. Children and teens have more access to the Internet and to social media platforms more than ever before, thus allowing them to avoid face-to-face interaction. Within the past 15 years, there has been a significant rise of cyberbullying in the youth demographic (ages 12-18) (Slonje, Smith, & Frisén, 2013). In order to understand what the difference between traditional bullying and cyberbullying is, one must familiarize themselves with the definition of cyberbullying.

The internet has created an entirely new world of social communications particularly for youths. There are no more barriers. Family, friends, young and old may now stay in touch with just about everyone, anywhere in the world through the use of email, text messaging, web chat, and instant messaging. Although, most interactions are friendly and in good nature, there are some that are not. The use of technology as a tool to antagonize, torment and intimidate others is now a widespread problem. Sadly, this form of bullying like all others is most common among children and young adults. Research done by Cox Communications on children between 13 thru 18 year-olds, 25 percent said they were cyber-bullied whether online or by cell phone (Cox Com. 2009). Also in 2007, the National Crime Prevention Council reported cyber-bullying as a problem that affected approximately half of all American teens. Since it is popular among this group of American teens, then it is safe look at some of possible reason cyber bullies of this age group are encouraged to take part in such activity.

In our time today, there are many types of "bullying", but the one type I believe can be the worse and the one I will be discussing will be “Cyber bullying.” Cyber Bullying is an action when people either get together or by themselves purposely threaten or harass another kid through social media, such as Twitter or Facebook. The use of smart phones makes this action so easy to do and we can't really do anything to stop it from happening. These people can go and tweet about something any part of the day. All types of bullying are usually related in some type of way but the action of doing it is usually much different. Cyber bullying is one of the worst types of

Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. Parents may remember when they were kids and the bully would pick on them or their friends by stealing lunch money or just getting beat up, and that was the end of it. The victims remember the hurt, frustration, and sadness it caused. However, these days, bullying is not just happening on the playground or at the bus stop, it is happening on the Internet and on cell phones, making it possible to bully a child 24 hours a day with multiple bullies and thousands of kids watching. Cyberbullying follows children nonstop and into the safety of their house. Sometimes kids are afraid to inform their parents about the cyberbullying that they will think its there fault. Or that their parents will call the bullies parents or other parents, making the bullying worse. However, the effect and pain that comes from cyberbullying is real. People underestimate cyberbullying, just because it is happening online and not in person. Cyberbullying can lead to many different factors like drinking, and drugs, poor grades, depression, eating disorders. Many students have even taken their own lives because of another student saying something to them online. Cyberbullying has been taking place a lot more in middle and high schools because of the increased usage of social media networks and technology. Cyberbullying is worse and more harmful than traditional bullying.

Whilst cyber bullying is not physical it’s emotional and psychological effects are devastating for the victim and can often lead to suicide and depression (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). Social Networking sites act as a platform where bullies can say things they might not usually say to someone in person, anonymity and less physical proximity act as a wall between the bully and the victim, none the less, the words or rumors’ that are shared are still just as hurtful. Bullies often feel more confident online and they can contact their victims anytime, anywhere, day or night, not just in the school yard (Smith et al., 2008).” (Procon. (24 O). Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/)

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

When it comes to bullying, there are some invisible boundaries and limits that are set, however, on the internet there are no laws let alone limits and thus, cyber bullying is quite an eminent problem that should be discussed about more often. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying through the use of technology. In the past few years, there have been laws created against bullying, making it a lot harder for bullies to do what they want, in result the media came along and that’s when the bullies took advantage. It is unfortunate that kids are vulnerable even in a place where they should feel safe, which is at their home. With how easy and simple it is to

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 way of bullying through technology to deliberately hurt others. Cyberbullying affects a lot of youth especially in this generation and country where technology is thriving. Cyberbullying has a direct effect on victims and can indirectly have an effect on the people around the victims. This isn't always the case because all victims are different in age and personality it can be broken up into two categories the victims that don’t take an emotion toll from the bullying and the ones that do, who develop self esteem issues and other behavioral issues. It’s a fact that in Australia three quarters of schools reported cyberbullying last year, which means that there is an entire classroom full of bullied students per school. Cyberbullying is a significant issue because the amount of youth getting bullied every year is growing and with getting

Bullying is generally defined as any deliberate act of aggression towards another person with the intentions of causing harm or suffering. Cyber bullying can be termed as the use of electronic communications (e-mail, text messages, instant messaging, social media, etc.) in which to humiliate, intimidate, threaten, or harass others and is often done anonymously. Though it as not as prevalent as “traditional bullying”, it has become a much more popular version of bullying because of the convenience of anonymity and the fact that it can be done any time of the day or night and anywhere.

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).

Students are focused on who their friends are in each class and if they are going to be able to fit in with the popular crowd. This is a perfect place for cyber-bullying to occur. In a study “Cyber victimization is significantly correlated with low body esteem, low social support and social self-efficacy” (ebscohos.com). This being said, the individual doing the cyber-bullying, tends to not have high self-esteem, they might not think they are good enough or feel they do not have the support of their peers to back them up. In many cases the individual who is doing the cyber-bullying is either intimidated by the victim or they are jealous of the victim they are

There is a lot of bullying that goes on in this world, a majority of it being cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a constant problem with young kids on social media. Cyberbullying is a risk for anyone, “Cyberbullying is deliberately using digital media to communicate false, embarrassing, or hostile information about another person. It is the most common online risk for all teens and is a peer-to-peer risk” (AAP). Nonetheless, bullying is always going to happen and cyberbullying allows it to happen