Cyberbullying: A Big Problem In The United States

The world today is on a platform of heightened technological stimulus, that unfortunately have incredibly negative affects on people’s lives especially throughout the bullying culture that has sprouted from this stimulus. Bullying has rapidly increased since the introduction of multimedia cell phones in the 90’s. Cyberbullying is the current problem and an issue that will continue to be current until we as a society stop it. There is a distinction between traditional bullying and cyberbullying and its effects are different as well. Cyberbullying has its own societal norms and its own exclusive factions. Exclusive groups that support and encourage bullying behavior, because it’s seen as a norm. Digital harassment has evolved alongside technology, to the point that the issue is uncontrollable and extremely accessible; the web has created anonymous identities to those who harass now have become untraceable. Bullying is influenced by internal emotions, social factors, and the accessibility of other’s information. Although, cyberbullying is extremely prevalent there is no federal law for cyberbullying. There should be change to societal standards and harassing should be seen as a severe issue, not simply general school behavior.

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

Bullying is everywhere and with the recent stories about the most violent cases it is becoming so public, a new major issue has been found for in our nation. The tolls of years of bullying are effectively pushing victims into two corners. The victims either seek out help and fight back or fall in deeper and resort to self harm. Whatever it maybe be, it's everywhere. Bullying has found a new home on the internet. Cyberbullying is so common in today's society. Teenagers spend most of their time on social media sites and those sites are perfect for potential cyber bullying. One in ten teens go to parents for help when cyberbullying is involved.

For decades, physical bullying has been a constant problem for young individuals today. Bullying is any “Unwanted aggressive behavior(s) by another youth or group of youths who are not siblings or current dating partners that involves an observed or perceived power imbalance and is repeated multiple times or is highly likely to be repeated” (stopbullying.gov). Social media is one of the most dominant activity young individuals participate in. The more social media that are being created and distributed to the teens are steadily increasing and causing more people to cyber bullying, although there have been certain restrictions set into place to stop cyber bullying it is still affecting teens today, without law enforcement and parents involvement youth are more at risk of negative effects of cyberbullying, such as unhappiness and suicides. Cyber bullying can be defined in many different ways such as, when an individual is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another individual by using the Internet, interactive, and digital technologies with mobile phones included.

Before technology took over our society, bullying was limited to physical and verbal harm. Today, technology has allowed bullies to attack someone at any time and say as much as they wish. This allows for the victim to read and re-read his or her threats over and over again. When the threats become too harsh, the victim feels unsafe in public areas, such as school, and the victim misses out on schoolwork and activities. Although there are more serious problems that should be addressed at school, school officials should fight cyberbullying because dealing with cyberbullying issues will teach students to become better, stronger people in the future, the disturbing comments that are made online affect the students’ mental and emotional health, and when addressing this issue, both the bully and the victim could be helped.

Bullying has been an extreme issue all around the world for hundreds of years, and since modern technology has advanced, so has cyber bullying. “‘Gimme’ your lunch money” has turned into texting and posting gruesome threats and embarrassing material all over social media. Millions of kids all over the world have taken their own lives due to the harmful effects of cyber bullying. Problems that cannot be resolved independently are brought to court, and the government has become increasingly involved in banning cyber bullying across the nation. Many young adults (mostly girls) have been tried and convicted of cyber bullying. The United States is making efforts to stop cyber bullying by creating laws against it. The issue of cyber bullying has taken the entire world by storm. Every day, more people are seeing the effects of cyber bullying in their everyday lives, and more people are reaching out to put an end to cyber bullying.

Many times, disputes that normally would have simply been resolved by a manger or boss, are suddenly spewed all over Facebook for their peers to see. This makes people feel validated in their arguments, but also slanders the coworker or even the company. People have a hard time keeping things of this nature to themselves and social media and texting are just other outlets for people to blow off steam these days. This allows people to be more emotionally detached from a situation as well, allowing them to be crueler and ruder than they would be in person. These situations are harmful to productivity and all around morale in the work place.

The act of bullying is not something relatively new but recently has drawn much attention to the public due how prevalent and damaging it has become. New technology accompanied by an endless expanding digital world has brought a new trend of bullying called cyberbullying. This form of harassment no longer requires face to face interaction, the aggressor, and the victim are in the comfort of their home. Cyberbullying is on the rise due to the ease of access to social media. (Lucy R. Belts, Karin A. Spencer, Sarah E. Gardner, 2017) Statistics have marked an era where women increasingly are targeted with an overall prevalence rising from 15% to 21% between the years of 2006 and 20012 (Kessel S., O’Donnell L., Smith E. 2015) The harmful consequences that set upon the victim have both long-term and short-term effects. Suicide is by far one of the most dominant and prevalent impacts caused by the onset of bullying. Among other mental health issues associated with or brought upon by bullying, you find depression and anxiety these associations are more invasive and prominent as a child. (Klomek, Sourander, and Gould. 2011)

Cyberbullying has been more popular now than ever with many children and teens affected by it worldwide. Cyberbullying is permanent, and nothing can be done to erase the damage. About 4,500 people per year commit suicide as a result of bullying. Using electronic devices, bullies can threaten victims with hurtful messages, which can also provoke many insecurities. According to studies, “more than one in three young people have experienced cyberthreats online” (“Cyberbullying Statistics”). This research shows that bullying may harm countless people under the age of eighteen who use the media. The results of cyberbullying can have negative impacts on people of all ages throughout their lives and leading to rash decisions and suicide.

Did you know bullying is a leading factor in teen’s suicide rate here in the United States? Bullying is the act of using physical force or verbal use against an individual to make them feel uneasy or bad about themselves. In today’s society we see it more than usual and what’s the response people do. Nothing they absolutely do nothing and walk away like they didn’t see anything happening. Another form of bullying that is growing and picking up pace in society is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is the use of using social media or any means of communication that could be like text messages and Facebook to attack an individual behind closed doors. The aspect of cyberbullying that individuals love is the ability to remain anonymous and attack a wider range of individuals over a short time of period rather than using direct confrontation. With social media being a fingertip away we can easily send a Facebook status or a tweet out like that cyberbullying is picking up steam and more and more people are becoming a part of the problem instead on the solution. With the elimination of direct confrontation the individual doesn’t know who is attacking him or her and cannot do much in the process of putting a stop to it or even ask help to make it stop.

Cyberbullying occurs when technology is used to tamper with, abuse, shame, or target another person online. It is usually a problem that happens among adolescents but when adults are involved it can become a crime that can possibly lead to prison time. Most victims are terrified to report that they were bullied, making it nearly impossible to report the number of people affected. Recent studies have shown that 25% of teens are victims of cyberbullying and 16.67% have admitted that they have cyberbullied another person. The advancement of technology in our society has inevitably brought a rise to cyberbullying, which can now happen anytime and victims can be oppressed from thousands of miles away. The sheer convenience that the internet now offers to bullies allows them to harass victims with just a tap of a keyboard. Experts have recorded that there is a general increase in suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completions from both cyberbullying victims along with the bullies themselves. Some signs of cyberbullying are; “being very secretive or protected of one's digital life, avoiding school or group gatherings, and being nervous or jumpy when getting an instant message, text, or email.” Parents can help their child if they are being cyberbullied by communicating to them and comforting them. Parents should also boost their kids by telling them it's not their fault and they also make them feel less lonely.

Bullying is not only limited to the real world, but also the online, virtual world, in a form known as ‘Cyber Bullying’."Cyber bullying" is when a child or teen is threatened, harassed, humiliated orembarrassed by another person using the Internet, mainly social medias, or mobile phones The application of the internet to the modern world has made it easy for people to harass others without even having to be face-to-face, and with the increase in technology, there is no doubt that cyber-bullying will increase. Because of this, I believe it’s important to educate people about cyber bullying because it will help stop it from happening. Doing that would encourage the victims to speak up for themselves and get help, and have the bullies think twice about their attempt to bully someone.

Cyber bullying is the act of a person, or persons, viciously attacking another using electronic media such as email, texting, photos, social media, or video sharing sites. Nasty, hate-filled messages are directed at the bully’s target with the intent to criticize, humiliate, and defame the individual. If available, videos or photos that describe vulgar or inappropriate behavior even when it does not exist are used to further their cause. During this time, the person being bullied is initially hurt, which is the goal of the attack. While the attacks continue, they usually grow in intensity because now the bully knows that the attacks are affecting the individual, and the bully is gaining control. This only encourages the bully to do even more damage. As the bully is successful in breaking down the individual, more and more people take notice and continue the tormenting. The attacks get worse and more frequent, eventually becoming relentless with no sign of letting up. Without help, the individual can become depressed and withdrawn, furthering the bully’s agenda. If parents or authorities do not intervene very soon, a horrifying and terrible disaster is possible. The key to the prevention of cyber bullying begins first with communication. the biggest solution for this problem would be to talk with the victim and try to get them to deal with it in a better way and not let what others say to affect them, good family support would also be

Cyberbullying is growing and becoming one of the leading causes of teen suicide. Cyberbullying occurs when a person posts or messages someone in a negative way online. It can include threats, harassment, and even smearing someone’s name by spreading lies. The web’s anonymity provides the perfect cover for bullies to harass classmates or even mere strangers. Cyberbullying is usually not a hit and run, bullies target one teen and insult or spread rumors about them, not realizing that if caught, they are setting themselves up for criminal charges. Also, many bullies do not understand the effects their actions have on the victim, and how significant they are. Cyberbullying is a severe form of psychological abuse, and it can lead to short and

Three hundred "likes" on Instagram. A hundred retweets on Twitter. Ten million views on YouTube. These are some common social media networks in our society used by all ages and sadly valued more than they should be. The growth of technology use in young adults, mostly teenagers, has improved extensively over the past few years resulting in new problems. "Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. 1 in 4 has had it happen more than once" (www.DoSomething.org). Before internet bullying was to the extent of picking on each other, name calling or fist fights, Cyberbullying takes bullying to another level. This topic is of huge controversy in schools across the nation, political debates, the president of the United States has even given speeches on it. Many people believe cyberbullying has no long term affect on victims yet cyberbullying is number three on the charts for cause of deaths among teenagers and adolescents (BullyingStatistics.org). Social Media can give teenagers and young adults confidence that may not always be used in the best way. They can hide behind a screen and say hurtful things they 'd never have the audacity to say to a person face to face because they 're scared to. This is a huge problem and needs to be stopped completely.