Cyberbullying : It All Happens Behind A Screen

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.

In 2014, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) did a study on bullying and the found that 19.4% of all the students interviewed had been bullied at school. This may not seem very surprising, bullying has been going on for decades. Generations of men and women have come to fear the people who walk the halls, stealing lunch money from those weaker than them. However, it is interesting to note that 14.8% of that 19.4% had reported being cyber bullied. Unlike the standard physical bullying, cyberbullying is a slightly more recent development, but it has evolved to become much more deadly. It gives bullies a better tool for creating more widespread pain. The awareness for cyber bullying needs to increase and ultimately, cyberbullying needs to be abolished completely due to its destructive capabilities.

Cyberbullying is “the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. This type of bulling is often carried out through the use of internet. According to Dr. Martyn Wild’s quote, “Cyber-bullying is poised to turn into the biggest online concern, already affecting up to 35% of all children.” Harassing someone online by sending or posting mean messages by an unknown person is a form of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying also occurs “when a child, preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child, preteen or teen through the Internet, interactive and digital technologies, or even mobile phones” (STOP Cyberbullying: What is Cyberbullying, Exactly?). Cyberbullying often has to have a minor on both sides, or at least have been instigated by a minor against another minor. Cyberbullying is fast growing; urgent solutions need to be provided to stop this menace. Those with little or no knowledge about cyberbullying should be educated; everyone should be enlightened so as to be prevented from falling victims.

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.

This topic is important to me because there have been many cases where I see people hurting others online. In my research, I found that there are are two types of bullying: traditional bullying and cyberbullying. Traditional bullying is an aggressive behavior or intentional violence by one person or a group of people that can be carried out repeatedly and over a period of time that involves power over others (Patchin and Hinduja 148). In the article, “Cyberbullying Among Adolescents: The Role of Affective and Cognitive Empathy and Gender”, Rebecca P. Ang defined cyberbullying as,

Cyberbullying has been a big problem for teens and adults around the world. Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. For most cyberbullying isn’t anything serious it’s just a person just joking around or just speaking their mind but its more than that its feelings being involved families being broken even hearts.

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

Bullying is all over the world. Each year there is over 3.2 million victims being bullied. Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying.17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month in a year. To many within a school semester. Since 2002, fighting behaviour has increased, especially in grades six to eight. Boys are more likely to start bullying because of being bullied in their past. Girls are most likely to cyberbully. Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. According to Gale, cyberbullying is the use of the Internet, smartphones, or other electronic communication devices to spread harmful or embarrassing information about another person, such as talking about people, telling other people’s

Cyberbullying has been on the rise in the past years because of the rise in the usage of social media. People tend to go to social media with positive intentions, but not everyone’s intentions are positive. Social media can bring what usually takes place at school to the household. For bullies, cyberbullying requires less physical contact and their bullying

Cyberbullying is a problem that has only come to light in the last few years. It has many different effects on people; it can cause depression, suicidal thoughts and actions, and effects the way students do in school. Cyberbullying is one of the top leading causes of suicide in teens and young adults (Swearer). Cyberbullying is a major problem that this country needs to get under control because it is leading to self-harm and suicide in teens and young adults. It causes an unsafe learning environment, and the victim cannot get away from the bullying because the attackers stalk them through social media accounts and their cell phones. So, how does

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

Does hiding behind a screen make bullying any less difficult? 68% of teens say it doesn't. It is more common to get bullied on the internet then at school. Until now most people believe traditional face-to-face bullying causes more damage, when that may not be the case. It's easier to say things behind a screen than face-to-face. Cyberbullying is as bad if not worse than traditional bullying because often times you may not know who it is, the Bully had no boundaries, and it causes the victim more humiliation.

With the increase of children having their own cell phones, tablets, and other internet-accessible technology, so increases the rates of cyberbullying. In the foreword of Cyberbullying: Bullying of the Digital Age., a letter written by the father of a teen who committed suicide after months of being cyberbullied shows how unpredictable and heart-wrenching the effects of cyberbullying can be. In an excerpt from the letter. John Halligan, father of bullied teen Ryan Halligan, says “October 7, 2003 will always be the day that divides my life. Before that day, my son Ryan was alive. A sweet, gentle, and lanky 13-year old fumbling his way through early adolescence and trying to establish his place in the often confusing and difficult social world of middle school. After that day, my son would be gone forever. A death by suicide. Some would call it bullycide or even cyberbullycide. I just call it a huge hole in my heart that will never heal.” The main article expresses pathos for victims of cyberbullying- who are not just the targeted victim but the family left behind struggling to cope with the loss and their attempts to change the way the cyberbullying is dealt with.

Cyberbullying has become a prevalent problem over the past decade in the United States. This is due to the radical updates in technology and the easy access that teens have to these electronic resources. Whether at school, a local coffee shop, or in their own home, teens can gain access to computers, and are able to use them for cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place online or through any electronic device such as a computer or cellphone. There are many different ways to bully someone through these devices. This includes text messages, emails, direct messages on social media, comments on social media profiles, and much more.

Cyberbullying has recently become an issue in the United States. With the continuum of advancements in technology, and the ever-growing online worlds, bullying has turned from taking a classmate’s lunch money to posting hateful comments about them online. Sometimes the people know exactly who posted it, but other times the perpetrator can post completely anonymously. People are now able to be mean behind closed doors. The worst thing about it is that people cannot always see who the true bullies are anymore. I chose to research this topic because it has become such an issue in today’s world. I also chose to research this topic because I have experienced cyberbullying personally and have seen it done to my friends. Cyberbullying can