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Hardships Of Cyber Bullying

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Unique Hardships of Cyber Bullying
The presence of digital media is very prevalent in today's society; it has become the most preferred medium of communication for the vast majority of people. Yet, this same technology that is used to ask Google quick questions, to follow friends on Facebook, and to send text messages to loved ones, is also being used as a medium for bullying. Bullies are now sourcing the use of technology to assault their victims. Cyber bullying is a form of bullying which is instigated through electronic technology. Cyber bullying is often harder than face- to- face bullying because it is more difficult to identify the bully, the bully has a larger audience, and the victim feels targeted all the time.
To begin with, it is more difficult to identify a cyber bully because he/ she is using a screen name that shields his/her identity. The victim is able to identify the bully in traditional bullying however, a cyber bully is often hiding behind the screen of a laptop or smart phone and is unidentifiable," anonymity, occurring when the victim does not know the identity of the bully, is unique to the online world" (Spears et al., 2009, as cited in Smith & Steffgen, 2013, p. 32). This anonymity that the bullies are offered from cyberspace gives way to the disinhibition phenomenon. This phenomenon entails that individuals will engage in certain actions if they are unidentifiable, yet they will not proceed with these actions if their identities are know. (Kowalski,

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