Cyber Bullying Research Paper

Cyberbullying didn’t really seem like a big deal at first until technology really advanced all across the world. The 1990’s is when the technology ship really set sail. As of 2004, 45% of americans owned their very own cell phone. As of now, 77% of Americans now own cell phones. Now, nearly seven-in-ten americans now use social media and that is where the bullying starts. In 2005, only 5% of

Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are huge contributors to cyberbullying. These social network sites grant their members the privilege to engage in the actions of the attacker which is a menace. A majority of the cyberbullied population have committed suicide due to the abusive comments. Cyberbullying has gone into a hyper drive with new devices and faster types of social media.

However, as more as the prevalence of cyberbullying climbs so do the people saying just what Brett Warnke says in his article “The Danger of Cyberbullying”, “why don’t kids just unplug?” Well, the thing is, that they can’t. Social media is everywhere and people are integrating it into everything now. Going back to Warnke’s article, Eden Foster comments on technology, “[The] use of technology has extended beyond simple entertainment”. Humans now use technology, not only to entertain ourselves, but also in our everyday lives, it’s like it’s “infiltrated the confines of the home” (Warnke 24). Things that happen solely online affect us in real life, especially negative things such as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is something that, according to Kirk Sigmon in his article titled “Sacrificing the First Amendment to catch ‘Cyberbullies’”, children should be able to avoid and ignore, but it just doesn’t happen that way. In The Ophelia Project’s fact sheet on cyberbullying there is a statistic that states “60% of targets said that their online experiences as a target of cyberbullying affected them at school, home, and with friends and reported experiencing feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness,” showing that these negative online experiences follow a person into the outside world. The feelings mentioned in the statistic can lead to a victim to hurt themselves or to develop mental issues, which is exactly what

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/)

While this technology held out the promise of a new era for interconnectedness, information sharing and education, it also came with a dark underbelly, as bigots and anti-Semites found it a useful tool for propagating hatred. The web sites they created have evolved over time and with the technology, yet they continue to be a very effective tool for spreading hatred, giving the bigots the ability to reach a potential audience of millions. Now, this ability to spread hateful sentiments electronically has reached new dimensions. It has taken on new life in the form of cyber bullying, or the ability to use (and abuse) the fairly new technologies of instant messaging, cell phones, texting, and online social networking to harass and intimidate. Nowhere has this new form of bullying been more prevalent than in middle and high schools. After all, it is teenage students who are most facile with these new technologies and who are most likely to employ them in a group social setting, such as school or camp. Indeed, the Internet, cell phones and other technological paraphernalia play a central role in the social lives of nearly all adolescents. While much of their online activity may be harmless enough, it has also provided an opening for would-be schoolyard bullies to spread innuendo, falsehoods and slander to dozens, even hundreds, of classmates with the touch of a button or click of a mouse. The real-world consequences of cyber bullying have been widely

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 today’s world bullying is an unfortunate phenomenon found mostly on major social networking sites. The term cyberbullying relates to the non-physical verbal bullying through a computer, cellphone, or another form of technical device. Emily Bazelon, an American journalist, focuses mostly on the website harassment in the newsfeed of Facebook in her article “How to Stop the Bullies”. Throughout the article she discusses the prevention of cyberbullying by the social network Facebook, Henry Lieberman, a computer scientist who built an online base to spot potential bullying situations, and the online hacking group Anonymous.

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

Why are Cyber bullying and Social Networking sites becoming more and more Harmful? Abraham Forman’s article on “Social Networking Sites Can Be Forums for Cyber bullying” by: Abraham Fox man. Abraham Fox man explains why Cyber bullying/Social Networking Sites have been a threat for teenagers and children (par.1), and why teenagers are the cause. Abraham Fox man tells us that teenagers are the only ones going around spreading stories/”rumors about classmates”/neighbors (par.1.).”Cyber bullying has become a real threat”. (par.1) also “the Internet has” “created racist forums” and communities (par.1). He states that “hate has always been with

What Li, Seiler and Navarro, and Sevcikova et al. manage to explain is something Olweus failed to do, and that was give the readers some emotion to latch on to. They all gave stories that helped demonstrate what a cyberbully victim could go through. They regarded cyberbullying as the final nail, simply meaning that cyberbullying takes traditional bullying to a new extreme and makes the victim feel even more hopeless. If they aren’t safe at home, they aren’t safe anywhere, and the victims are less likely to get help. “Most victims and bystanders do not report cyberbullying incidents” (Li 166), and “Talking to law-enforcement officials led nowhere: there are few rules governing what can get posted to the internet” (Li 159), help to explain why victims feel so helpless and on their own. Li makes it much easier for the common person to dive into the paper, explaining her findings through common examples and sympathy. Olweus, by using almost no pathos, is much more bland and systematic with his presentation. This reinforces that Olweus’s audience is strictly professional. The audience of Hase et al. varies with each section. It is not as bland and professional as the article Olweus put together, but their article is not as friendly as Li’s. The intended audience of all articles is different, Olweus being professional in the field of psychology, Li being more directed at any educated

According to Gayle (1), Facebook ranked as the worst social network for bullying in 2013 with 19-year-old BOYS the most common victims. The various forms of bullying included are intent on shaming individuals and degrading them using personal information, photos or videos with others aiming at blackmailing and harassing victims. However, Facebook has continually strived to disable accounts suspected to be involved in bullying which has helped minimize the cases.

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 social media gets popular and provides an easier access to the Internet, the more difficult it gets to control people’s outburst. Many people wonder, “What is the difference between traditional bullying and cyber bullying?” “What is cyber bullying?” Traditional bullying is when a person is bullying another person face to face. However, with cyber bullying is different. Cyber bullying occurs through out social media and on the Internet. Once in a while I overhear a person questioning about how teens and young kids use social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and etc. Social media has its pros and cons, pro because it gives us an easier to access to sources when we need it right away. Social media also has its cons because social media is very powerful tools, which can be taken advantage of like for example, making shanky comments on pictures or post inappropriate information about another person. Therefore, how fast is cyberbullying expending? How can we use the Internet in a positive way? Two great essays by Jesse Fleck, Leigh Johnson-Migalski, Jemica Carter, and Feleta Wilson explain these reasoning’s.

While social media and electronic means for communication have been around the better part of fifteen years, the past ten years have overall shown increases in cyberbullying. Although bullying in general over the past decade has been at a consistent rate, or in some cases even declining, cyberbullying on the average has been rising over the past decade. Statistics regarding