Cyberbullying College Student

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.

As the drastic increase of social media networks has increased, so too has the cyberbullying prevalence. Merriam-Webster defines cyberbullying as the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person often done anonymously. Kassandra Gahagan and her fellow colleagues studied cyberbullying among students and its outcomes. Studies show higher rates of suicidal thoughts and behaviors with victims of cyberbullying, along with higher rates of depression, anxiety and paranoia (Gahagan, Vaterlaus & Frost, 2015). While cyberbullying can be both intentional or unintentional, it is a negative process which effects the victim. This includes comments, posts without consent and messages. The study conducted sought to determine the prevalence of cyberbullying among young adults and the negative outcomes through asking three questions.

Cyberbullying is an ever-growing issue that occurs daily. A survey was conducted on 80 random teenagers with the topic of Cyberbullying. The survey consisted of 15.19% of the surveyors being between ages14-16, 45.57% of the surveyed were teenagers between the ages of 16 to 18, 27.85% were between the ages of 18 to 20 and 11.39% of the surveyed were above 20. The survey results showed that 88.75% of people knew someone who has experienced cyberbullying and 58.75% have experienced cyberbullying themselves. The survey also stated that 40.51% of the 10-surveyed said that they know someone who has committed suicide based on the influences online. Out of the 58.75% who

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.

Contrary to popular belief, cyberbullying only affects a minority of the student body. Recent statistics show that a large percent of students have never been cyberbullied. According to a recent survey 74.9% of girls and 83.4% of boys have never been cyberbullied (Doc A). In reality the effect of cyberbullying is

This statistic shows that cyberbullying is becoming a problem for students and the bullying can continue in school and affect the students learning and can cause classroom disturbance. In 2015 the Cyberbullying Research Center released statistics showing

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.

Cyberbullying and the issues surrounding it within a particular middle school setting. While cyber bullying may be viewed as just another type of bullying, and the study focused on the issues that complicate the issue of cyber bullying and the possible approaches to minimizing the effects of cyber bullying. Cyberbullying victims predicted more favorable attitudes toward cyberbullying perpetration, more favorable attitudes toward cyberbullying predicted higher intentions to cyberbullying and higher cyberbullying intentions predicted more frequent perpetration of cyberbullying behaviors. The study revealed the impact of cyberbullying to the academic performance of the BSIT 3 students of Bukidnon state University External Study Center, Gingoog

“Cyberbullying: The hidden side of college students,” was put on by using a total sample size of 519 undergraduate college students attending two different universities in Portugal. The students used in the study ranged in ages from 19 to 24, first year students made up 41.6% of the participants, 24.5% of the students were on their second year of school, and lastly 33.9% were made up of third year undergraduates. Choosing participants who were pursuing a variety of majors were also taken into consideration while planning out this study, likewise, the sample size was made up of 116 males and 402 females.

Cyberbullying affects both genders equally as both male and female adolescents are a target of cyberbullying. It does not matter whether the person is a male or female because they both have their sides as each of them experience some type of cyberbullying. In Li’s article, “Cyberbullying in Schools,” she discusses the differences between cyberbullying in males and females. In this article, the research they do investigates the nature and the extent of adolescences’ experience of cyberbullying. Li states, “Males were more likely to be bullied and cyberbullies than their female counterparts” (Li 157-170). She also discusses that even if the males were more likely to be bullies, there is no difference between a number of time males and females

In another study conducted of 799 college students who were surveyed online, 8.6% of those questioned admitted to being victims of cyberbullying. Victims of cyberbullying had notably more suicidal thoughts, preparation and efforts than those who were not bullied and also generally coped with cyberbullying by telling someone and avoiding friends and peers (Schenk and Fremouw, 21). A study was conducted in 2010 on 417 college aged participants in New Jersey that reported “prevalence rates of 10% for cyberbully victims and 9% for cyberstalking victims” (Schenk and Fremouw,

Despite the fact that cyberbullying occurs in the virtual world, the emotional and behavioral consequences, such as anger, sadness, frustration, fear, low school commitment, substance use, and delinquency, affect students in a very real way. A survey of 1,913 middle school students found that victims of cyberbullying were 1.9 times more likely and perpetrators of cyberbullying were 1.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide compared to other students in the study. Some of the students in the study reported high levels of emotional distress, including frustration, sadness, and anger. Additionally, the article goes on to reveal exposure to cyberbullying increases the risk of delinquent behavior.

Agatson, Kowalski, & Limber (2012) originally wrote Cyberbullying: Bullying in the digital age after working together on various bullying prevention programs and collaborating on research pertaining to cyberbullying. The authors goal is to educate parents, teachers, and the community about the growing cyberbullying problem among children and adolescents. An additional goal of the authors is to empower adults, amongst our youth, to prevent bullying. Many adults, whether in the community or in the school environment, have found themselves in a situation of cyberbullying where they have the opportunity to intervene. The authors’ book seeks to define cyberbullying, present current research on the topic, actions parents and educators can take, and current laws and policies in place surrounding cyberbullying.

While cyberbullying affects each child differently, there has been a clear correlation between victims and non-victims and their self-esteem. In one study, bullied victims had less self-esteem than those who were not bullied online. Additionally, it was reported that victims of cyberbullying were thirty percent more likely to think about committing suicide (Cyberbullying Research Center, 2012). With the lack of parent supervision, it was found that those who spent more than three hours per school day on social networks were 110% more at risk to be a cyberbully victim as compared those who do not spend as much time online (Gilkerson, 2012). What may be worse is the fact that majority of those bullied online do not tell their parents or an adult about what occurred. Despite the fact that most adolescents state that bullying occurs more offline then online, cyberbullying is still a real and large threat to the youth of America (Lenhart, 2007).

We live in a time period in society, where were constantly communicate through technology. It has become a part of our daily lives for not only millions of adults but also for our children. In 2001, it was estimated that 17 million youth between the ages of 12 and 17 used the Internet (Lenhart, Rainie, & Lewis, 2001). This is important information when recognizing how much we use technology for educational purposes, social networking and online communication which are important for a student’s relationship with their friends, family, and school (Lenhart et al., 2001). We use technology so much, we do not know how to function without it. Even in the classroom, technology has been integrated to enhance the student’s educational experience. Although, there has been a positive impact in technology for our students there has also been a negative impact as well. Which is the misuse of technology, students can say and do things to others without revealing their identity. Although, there are harmless situations that occur, this has opened the door for students to interact with others aggressively without any repercussions. This issue which many of our students face at some point or another is called Cyberbullying.