Cyberbullying : The Negative Effects Of Social Media

Social media itself is a huge danger to society. It causes many suicides within the world because of the cyberbullying and spreading of rumors. “Recent studies have shown that one out of four teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and one out of six have admitted to having cyberbullied someone” (Trautner 1). The internet and social media is supposed to be used to communicate with friends and for searching information, “Kids use technology different than their parents do. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand that this can even be a possibility” (Trautner 1). It is not supposed to be used to bully someone, especially not to the point where the victim would think about suicide. “One of the statistics that has been highlighted within this news coverage is the threefold increase in the suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14. The rates for girls in this age group increased from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100,000 during this time period. The increases for boys in this age group were not as high, climbing from 1.9 per 100,000 during 1999 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2014” (Olsen

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.

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.

Rebecca Sedwick, a 12-year-old girl, committed suicide after being repeatedly cyberbullied by 15 girls for many months. Once again, cyberbullying through social media has led to the suicide of a child. (“Phillips, Suzanne”) Social media allows hundreds of ways to communicate with others with electronic devices. Sometimes communicating with strangers, and sometimes unanimous. This idea of constant messages, notifications, and texts can be very dangerous when it comes to cyberbullying because the victim feels like they have no way out, or nowhere to hide. Social media for kids and teens ultimately has only negative effects because it leads to cyberbullying, a decrease in education, and suicide.

Technology is rapidly advancing at a dizzying rate which has seen many amazing feats but has also introduced and increased the act of Cyberbullying. Cyber bullying can be defined as targeting someone using any form of technology (this includes social media) to tease, stalk or humiliate someone online (Dictionary.com, 2016). Cyberbullying is so detrimental because it encourages the targeting of an individual; It is often done in secret with the bully hiding who they are by creating false profiles or names, or sending anonymous messages. It is difficult to remove as it is shared online so it can be recorded and saved in different places. Cyberbullying has such a negative impact that research shows that there is a correlation between the violent

Many girls in the world would get bullied for one simple mistakes. Nine percent of junior in high school has been bullied three or more times online. Nineteen percent of girls in middle school said they have bullied someone. Everywhere in middle school and teens in high school are getting bullied on the internet. The person who cyberbullying on the internet are most likely use alcohol, drugs, skip school, experiences in-person bully, unwilling to attend school, receive poor grades, and have low self-esteem. Being a victim of all bulling can be depressing for others because they feel like there no one there for them. It can harm whoever it happens to or the people they love because the results at the end can be upsetting if the victim commits suicide.

The common technological tool, social media has introduced many more dangers to the world. Some of the dangers included internet scamming, online predators and cyberbullying. In Magliano study, he gathered information about the amount of people who have experience cyberbullying on social media, 38% of people experienced cyberbullying on Facebook, 45% on Twitter and !3% on Instagram. Many people especially teen who are active on social media and are cyberbullied fall into depression. Some even take their own lives

Social media allows us to connect with others and to expand our knowledge about ourselves and the world around us. The rise of social media has led to an increased amount of interactions between people of different ages, races, and nationalities. It has also been used a source of news. In fact, most people in today’s world use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter rather than newspapers and news reports to gain new insight into global and local events. However, the expansion and widespread use of social media has its costs. Cyberbullying is the harassment and targeting of person through online media and technology. It is a growing problem in today’s world, as a result of our technological advancements. However, various solutions towards

Inclusive of these platforms is the rise of social media applications. These are tools which have aided people to send photos and other multimedia files and messages to millions of people at a moment’s notice. These implements have been used to disastrous effects on many college students in various incidences of cyberbullying. [What are the disastrous effects of cyberbullying? How does cyberbullying impact students? Including the answers to these questions will help the readers understand your argument.] Research conducted has shown that 83% of adults between the ages of 18-29 use the internet while attending college. 90% of them report that they are active members of the social media (Zalaquett and Chatters 2). It is a situation that has brought many problems since cyberbullying is cited to have more lasting impacts than normal bullying. The significance of the problem is accentuated by the relative lack of research done to study cyberbullying at the college

Furthermore, the teenagers may be afraid to attend school after they are cyberbullied. As stated in the article, “For example, victims might know that they see their tormentors only at school, so they feel safe at home” (Miller 386). The student usually does not talk to an adult out of fear that the torment will

Social media has a huge effect on the way this generation of teens thinks and behaves (Kite, et al.). It can be an outlet of hate, a place for this generation to vent about their problems and ridicule others anonymously. This is called cyberbullying. It is considered

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

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.

Facebook and other social media platforms have brought communication across the world to a whole new level. The rise of social media has created a place for children to communicate with others in both a positive and negative manner. Although it has made a positive impact on American youth, it has also contributed and exacerbated bullying in our schools. This new form of bullying, often referred to as cyberbullying, has created an around-the-clock atmosphere where bullying can occur even when school is not in session. Many professionals have sought to address the negative aspects of social media and have worked to develop a solution to bring cyberbullying to an end.

Despite the positives, there are many negatives associated with social media. Using social media can make a person more vulnerable to predators and cyber bullying. In this age, “Cyber bulling is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and tragically suicide” (“American Academy of Pediatrics”). Cyber bullying impacts society in a negative way because it is harming young teenagers’ minds. Bullies, torment, threat, harass, and even embarrass their victims by using different forms of social media. Using social media can also decrease privacy for an individual. People often give out their personal information not knowing who can see it. To average internet users, “A false sense of security may leave social networking site users vulnerable to security attacks such as hacking, leaking sensitive information, and sending viruses” (“ProCon”). Furthermore, Social media can also lead to brain disorders and can cause people to have a hard time interacting with people face to face. “Social networking entices people to spend more time online and less time talking to a person face to face.” (“ProCon”)