Kelsey Wells. Ms. Mccoy. English 1302. 26 April 2017. Cyberbullying

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.

Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. Parents may remember when they were kids and the bully would pick on them or their friends by stealing lunch money or just getting beat up, and that was the end of it. The victims remember the hurt, frustration, and sadness it caused. However, these days, bullying is not just happening on the playground or at the bus stop, it is happening on the Internet and on cell phones, making it possible to bully a child 24 hours a day with multiple bullies and thousands of kids watching. Cyberbullying follows children nonstop and into the safety of their house. Sometimes kids are afraid to inform their parents about the cyberbullying that they will think its there fault. Or that their parents will call the bullies parents or other parents, making the bullying worse. However, the effect and pain that comes from cyberbullying is real. People underestimate cyberbullying, just because it is happening online and not in person. Cyberbullying can lead to many different factors like drinking, and drugs, poor grades, depression, eating disorders. Many students have even taken their own lives because of another student saying something to them online. Cyberbullying has been taking place a lot more in middle and high schools because of the increased usage of social media networks and technology. Cyberbullying is worse and more harmful than traditional bullying.

Cyberbullying is one of the many factors for a teen to commit suicide. Cyberbullying is the use of the internet to send harm to another person. It is a way of bullying that happens anonymously through the internet. “While cyberbullying alone is not likely to lead to youth suicide, it may worsen feelings of hopelessness in adolescents struggling with stress in their lives” (Hinduja, Sameer, and Patchin). Cyberbullying can easily be started by just making fun of someone and continuing to something more serious. People think that making a joke online is funny, but little do they know it can really affect someone. As teens, we do not fully think before typing something online and what seems like no big deal to someone, can be a breaking point for someone else. There are many movies that talk about cyberbullying and it is suppose to spread awareness about this kind of bullying. When cyberbullying became a big deal, everyone started doing something to stop it, and it is still around today but not many people are paying attention to it anymore. Most likely the suspect will harass and will continue harassing the victim till they have reached their breaking point. People bully online to make other’s feel less then they really are (Phillips). They may use hurtful words or even just

Cyberbullying is getting so serious to the point where it is causing teenage deaths. Teens are becoming suicidal and killing themselves due to things being said/posted on the internet. Suicides due to cyberbullying are growing in numbers. On the site http://www.bullyingstatistics.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. it states, "Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC." This is alarming because even though there are lots of deaths there and many more suicide attempts caused by cyberbullying. The site also states, "For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of

Michael M. Honda states that “everyone in America likely has a bullying story, whether as a victim, bully, or as a witness.” Cyberbullying has become a major epidemic in the modern day world because everyone has access to the internet in some way. By taking an in depth look at cyberbullying, one can see just how urgent it is to stop it, because not only can it strike anywhere at any time, cyberbullying can also lead to suicide and cause serious mental health issues.

Cyberbullying is worse than physical bullying because the bully can remain anonymous and those being bullied have no safe haven. Bullying through the internet means the the bully can remain unknown. Because students are too nonchalant about their usernames and passwords, the bully could easily hack into another student’s account and take on their identity (Scott Meech, computer teacher) . Therefore, the bully would be untouchable and could remain a complete mystery. Due to the accessibility of the internet, a student could be bullied by anyone, anywhere and at any time of the day. This means that student is no longer safe from bullying by just going home. In fact, a 2006 survey revealed that

42% of teens reported being cyberbullied within the last year. This is only the people who have reported it, there are many more who have been cyberbullied and done nothing about it. It is important to work to stop cyberbullying because it can affect all aspects of your life. Cyberbullying can do a greater harm than any other kind of bullying because it is so easy for someone to torment you. It can occur anytime during the day or at night. It can affect how your day goes and can leave you feeling worthless. It is important to put an end to cyberbullying because the number of suicide attempts and self harm have increased just due to cyberbullying. People do not understand how serious it is and are willing to have someone take their lives because

Cyberbullying is just one of the many forms of bullying that can occur and unfortunately, it continues to occur in ever-growing amounts. In this generation, the internet is so easily accessible that no one can prevent themselves from potentially being entrapped by the heinous claws of cyberbullying. Since cyberbullying can reach so many people, it can also bring the detrimental effects along with it. Mental illness, self-harm, and suicide are just a few of the effects that can happen to a person being cyberbullied. Most of the time these effects can be prevented by the intervention of schools, friends, or loved ones. Most cyberbullying incidents happen to students and in most cases, schools are unable to take any form of action. People, especially young Americans should speak up and take action against cyberbullying. They must voice their concerns and make schools be required to intervene in cyberbullying matters that occur off campus, because it can affect them, their friends, or others around

There over thousands of cases where a child ended up taking their life because that child fell victim to cyberbullying. As a nation we see cyberbullying everywhere it is publicized on the news, in movies, and even books. Nobody wants to talk about it, just another thing that is swept under the rug but its here in the world. There should be a law preventing cyber bullying because it affects the welfare of the victim, cyber bullying is a constant, and we are better than this.

There’s many different effects on victims because of cyberbullying. First of all, about 10% of victims have tried to commit suicide, and 30% of victims have had suicidal thoughts. I believe that this is absolutely ridiculous! The website www.cbc.ca has stated that “in 2011, and in the first 4 months of 2012 there were a total of 18 suicides due to cyberbullying”. Students and kids will often feel unwanted and hopeless, and that the only way they can get away from the

Basically, cyberbullying can lead to depression, which can lead to suicidal thoughts and actions. A study was conducted on high school students, where they were asked various questions. The study created data for typical bullying and cyberbullying. The study found that “for females, cyber victimization was strongly related to depression, which in turn was associated with suicide attempts” (Bauman 346). An interpretation of this quote can make the inference that females are typically more in tune with what others think about them. This can also make them more likely to be cyberbullied because bullies typically choose a vulnerable target. The study also concluded that “because many cyberbullying actions are attempts to publicly humiliate the target or damage her friends and social status, the self-focus of the imaginary audience may magnify the belief that the entire social world in which the target interacts is aware of her humiliation, contributing to the development of depression” (Bauman 346). This imaginary audience is the users behind their screens observing the cyberbullying. The idea of imaginary audience is actually quite scary and even more humiliating because the victim does not know who has seen it and who has not. This plays into the fear and humiliation that the bully wants to evoke in her prey. Another study that was done on cyberbullying and suicide in the U.S., Canada, United

According to researchers, the targets of this new type of harassment are more likely to have less friends than their peers , be more isolated, and more of an outcast before and after school hours. To start off, Teens who are the targets of cyberbullying or any kind of bullying are prone to feel like they deserve the harassment they are receiving. They believe that they are not deserving of friends and becomes distrusting of anyone who wants to be their friend, wondering if it is just to learn their secrets and spread them all over the internet. Secondly, victims can experience anger, frustration, embarrassment, sadness, and severe depression, often causing a lack of focus on school work. In some cases, these adolescents have to change schools due to these jarring crimes. Finally, Cyberbullying has also been tied to delinquency, violence, drug or alcohol abuse, as well as possessing weapons on school property. “Severe, long-term, or frequent cyber bullying can leave both victims and bullies at greater risk of anxiety, depression, and other stress-related disorders. In some rare but highly publicized cases, some kids have turned to suicide. Experts say that kids who are bullied — and the bullies themselves — are at a higher risk of suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completed suicides.” (database). It is not surprising that the targets of cyberbullying would be more prone to suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and other issues because of being harassed therefore are scared to be online, or even go anywhere without feeling like everyone is teasing

Bullying is described as using strength or superiority to convince someone to do something (“Bully”). Cyberbullying is simply bullying that takes place online. Technology becomes involved because it contains the internet, which is where all cyberbullying takes place. It is very possible for the victims of bullying to suffer from trauma later in life. In Sally Kuykendall’s book, Bullying, she speaks of the symptoms victims suffer from. “Bullying victimization and perpetration have profound health, academic, and social effects on the victim, the bully, as well as the bystanders. For victims, bullying is associated with feelings of loneliness, humiliation, insecurity, loss of self esteem, and self destructive behaviors,” (Kuykendall 26). Bullying has shown to have many effect on the victims of the situation. These effects, along with many others, impact the lives of victims. Had the devices not existed for cyber bullying to occur, numerous lives would have a more positive impact. Children would not have to live with these side effects had they not been provided with the devices, the source, of the bullying. Later on in Sally Kuykendall's book, she speaks of people whose

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

Cyberbullying has drastic effects on one’s psychological state. Cyberbullying tends to make its victims feel powerless, overwhelmed, and depressed. Cyberbullying is done anonymously and can be done anywhere and at any time. This is due to the fact that 94% of teens go online, while 89% of teens go online at home, 77% go online at school, 66% go online at the library, and 63% go online daily. The bullying can invade the victim's home, causing them to feel as if nowhere is safe, furthermore, they don’t know who is inflicting the pain, which may escalate feelings of fear. Because whatever is posted online is permanent, this also causes many to feel exposed or humiliated. As once something is on the web, it is never coming down. Many people believe that cyberbullying, is just teens being teens, and eventually, everything will die down and go back to normal. This is not the case, one example would be the Jessica Logan case. Jessica Logan was an 18-year old Sycamore High