Cyberbullying is defined as the repeated use of technology to harass, humiliate, and threaten others. Cyberbullying has become the new way to bully others because teenagers have access to their social media, cell phones, and internet anywhere and at any time. Even though traditional bullying has occurred for years, researchers and school officials are still searching for solutions to solve the new form of bullying known as cyberbullying. Since cyberbullying is anonymous a solution to the problem is harder to find and the bullies do not have to pay for their actions because they never get caught. In many ways, cyberbullying is worse than traditional bullying because cyberbullying infiltrates every part of a victim's life and can cause …show more content…
In contrast, twelve percent said that they have experienced or taken part in traditional bullying; however, of those at least ninety-five percent said it was meant to be a joke (Duverge). Cyberbullying is affecting more people each day and is becoming even more vicious the longer researchers are trying to find a solution. One-third to one-half of teenagers have been targeted or been a victim of cyberbullying. Teenagers involved have experienced everything from a decline in academic performance all the way to committing suicide (Holladay, pg. 5). Although traditional bullying is slowing down because of the increase in cyberbullying, some teenagers still resort to bullying each other face-to-face. Studies show that boys are more likely to bully in person; however, girls are more likely to bully online. Girls use labels such as slut, whore, etc. during their cyberbullying attacks while boys mostly make fun of each other's appearances and accuse one another of being gay or too fashionable (Holladay, pg.6). A majority of cyberbullying begins when one person's desire for confidence and/or power becomes too strong.
Not only can cyberbullying be done 24/7 and can be done anywhere but everything a teen does is now done online. The content an individual shares online- including personal, negative, mean or hurtful content-creates a permanent record of their views, activities, and behaviors ( “What is Cyberbullying”). Social media is
Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that takes place over electronic technology throughout all hours of the day that can affect teens and adolescents on their daily basis. This electronic technology includes text, gaming devices, internet, emails, blogs, cell phones, apps, computers, and tablets which can be used for positive activities but can also hurt people. According to Edwina Thomas Washington (2015), these electronic technology gives the bully the capacity to contact the victim without having a face-to-face encounter. In addition, it occurs on different social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter. This harmful behavior incorporates posting, sharing, or sending opposing, conflicting, and false content regarding someone else. Additionally, it includes sharing information referring to someone else with the purpose of producing discomfort and humiliation. Some cyberbullying passes the line into illegal or culpable behavior. Through the years, cyberbullying has become very common in teenagers.
Where a few years ago an angry review or nasty play ground comment could be only voiced verbally and face to face. Now, we are able to access several mediums and platforms which provide us the ability to express ourselves on the internet and more importantly in writing. Good, bad and ugly words are forever imprinted online, particularly on social media. With social media sites and technology making improvements in leaps and bounds, we excitedly work to keep up. New laws are being crafted to protect us from hate speech and cyber bullying. A younger generation are drawn to social media and have the ability to connect to friend and (perhaps) foes. Kids may take to the web to seek out justice after being wronged by a friend, but what are the rules for web based threats and ugly words? Cases have been made of kids lashing out on teachers and peers by creating "hate groups" and posting comments voicing their strong opinions. While many kids feel this is a harmless act that could be compared to griping about another student or teacher during their free time, authorities feel it is much different.
to indulge in what would be called cyberbullying, this would be the area of concern, how the
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.
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
“I wanted to say bye… for, like, ever” (Abigail Pesta). Those were the last words Rebecca Sedwick texted to her two middle school friends before jumping to her death. This is one of many cases where bullying has been a common cause of death especially for young adolescents. A statistic from bullyingstastics.org states that 1 in 3 adolescents have experienced cyber threats online. Based on the research, now with advanced technology and social media sites, cyberbullying is a growing concern today. There is no federal anti-bullying law, but every state has their own laws. With each cyberbullying case being unique, defining this recent phenomenon can be challenging. This paper will look to address the issues behind cyberbullying, ways it can be stopped, and a universal definition that can be applied to these hateful acts.
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.
Bullying has been happening for generation after generation. Today’s society made possible to bully people without being face to face. This type of bullying is called cyber-bullying. Teenagers uses theirs electronics advices as weapons to attack other people with hurtful things though the use of text messaging or social networking websites. Cyber-bullying can “damage a person emotionally” (Media). It can also make them have low self-esteem. In our society today, cyber-bullying is a new type of problem that many teenagers have to face.
Cyberbullying is a growing problem among the teen population. The abuse that is taking place online has a much more far reaching effect than physical bullying, since it is available to a much larger audience. It has the ability to cause serious psychological effects on teens that could lead to depression and possible suicide. The reason for this, is because a teen’s self-esteem and self-worth relies so heavily on the approval and acceptance of their friends and peers. The best way to work towards eliminating this problem is to petition the state government to enact a bill making cyberbullying against the law. In this digital
Cyberbullying is getting increasingly popular among teens, the effects can last for a few years up to a lifetime. "Today's young adults and teenagers have
Every month at least 3 million kids are absent from school, and 4,500 per year commit suicide due to cyberbullying. In fact, girls are more likely to be cyberbullied than boys. Bullying is when a person starts rumors or acts aggressively towards another through hurtful comments and actions. Cyberbullying is very similar to bullying, but Cyberbullying takes place on the internet. This problem is ruining the lives of many kids, but if schools encourage students to report cyberbullying and have programs for students who are or went through it, it would make things a lot better.
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).
Cyberbullying is a crime due to the fact that cyberbullying has led to suicide and deaths before
So Cyberbullying happens public and private from the user accounts. By that, it means Cyberbullies have their ways of putting on a victim on the spot because others will view it. Teenagers will see what’s going on causing others to get involved and spreading around the problem. Spreading rumors are the most common situation teenagers like to do. Anything on social media makes teenagers talk about it having people to believe it or not. Some examples are people seeing the conversations, screenshotting, commenting, and receiving messages or texts about what the cyberbullying doing. Teenagers on social media continue to talk about it by spreading it around. Teenagers who are victims from Cyberbullies are worried about what others think of them after everyone knowing what’s going on. At times victims receiving a notification from a cyberbully makes them afraid to even open the message. Victims who have been harassed happens because of the way they look, gender, body figure, posting pictures, and how they behave. Due to social media, teenagers should be cautious of who they have on their accounts.
Cyberbullying occurs around the clock and everyone is able to witness the harassment when it is published online.