Pros And Cons Of Cyberbullying

Anyone can be caught in a bullying situation either as a bully, a victim or a bystander. Since the internet is widely used by anyone from all different age groups and is used publicly or privately, it is hard to know a person 's real identity. There are many instances where the bully is hiding his or her identity and one cannot see who is the predator. As for the victims, many had publicly written down some suicidal thoughts online or described how their life is complicated online or offline. For instance, a young girl claimed to be the richest girl on the app and was commanding people to be her peasant. She was harassing the other players with rude comments. The reason she chose to resent everyone was because she was once bullied before. Based on the studies on cyberbullying, the evidence strongly suggests that our mental health plays a part on how people bully others.

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

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

In general, social critics and specialists have discussed this abuse in two ways: online bullying and online exploiting. A prominent pediatrician and health journalist, Gwenn O’Keefe, acknowledges, “…cyberbullying is quite common, can occur to any young person online, and can cause profound psychosocial outcomes including depression, anxiety, severe isolation, and, tragically, suicide” (2). The significance of O’Keefe’s statement is that in our society, there are individuals who are not aware that their actions online can lead to detrimental consequences, which has allowed social media to become much easier for someone to oppressing others. Another journalist, June Chisholm, even believes that cyberbullying is thought to be worse than face-to-face bullying as she states, “…cyberbullying is a distinct, separate category of bullying behavior because of the unique psychological processes involved in cyberbullying and being cyberbullied” (n.p.). In making this statement, Chisholm positions that cyberbullying has an entirely different set of psychological effects on the victim. These effects are often caused by anonymity considering that a victim can be cyberbullied by a stranger or even someone close to them, and they will never be able to tell who the perpetrator is. Because they hide behind a computer, bullies may feel empowered to say and do more harsh things to their target than they would

Social media is the ultimate platform for bullies. Using social media, perpetrators can bully their victims to the point of anxiety, fear, low self-esteem, suicidal ideations and in some cases to the committal of the suicidal act. Cyberbullying is defined as the deliberate repetition of hostility toward a group or persons with the intent to induce psychological, emotional, or physical harm through the use of digital communication (Niels, Menno, et. Al, 2013). A study conducted in 2014, stated that nearly 75% of school age youth have been the victim of cyberbullying (Giumetti, Kowalski, et al., 2014).

According to Beran and Li (2007) there are six different forms of cyberbullying, which include flaming, harassment, gossip, impersonation, exclusion, and cyberstalking. The ways for this to occur have become countless, from well-known social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, to smaller sites that allow you remain anonymous such as Yik Yak and ask.com. The days are gone of having to be the biggest meanest kid in the schoolyard to hurt others. Now it does not matter one’s size, age, gender, or social standing to bully someone. People can now create their own anonymous personas or simply continue to bully others online after they have left school or work.

Everyone, at some point in their life has been exposed to or; witnessed some type of bullying. Since this type of behavior is traditionally witnessed, victims has a means of accusing the other student. Technology is undeniably apart of everyday life, especially in that of today’s youth. Cyberbullying has become a nationwide epidemic due to the dramatic impact technology has on communication in our society.

My first source is a scholarly journal article from the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships that defines what cyber bullying and online harassment is, as well as the types of roles young people fulfill in different types of cyber bullying. The article details the various platforms on which harassment can take place, and the forms in which harassment can present itself. The main point of the scholarly article is to examine statistics regarding bullying in the age of the Internet, using key word such as bully/victims, media, and retaliation. I will use this source in my essay to define what cyber bullying is, and familiarize the reader with various terms, before I discuss the causes and effects of such behaviour.

Cyberbullying, intentional aggression through means of digital technology, is slowly becoming recognized as a social problem that needs to be addressed. This new form of bullying, emerged with the information and communication revolution during the last two decades of the twentieth century. Cyberbullying occurs largely through communication devices; cyberbullies harass their victims “by sending photos, text messages, e-mail, instant messages, and video through cell phones, personal digital assistants, and computers” (Swartz 2009). Since there was an initial gap between those who grew up with the new forms of communication technology and those of the older generation who had not adapted, the threat of cyberbullying was often left unchecked

In the United States, 23% of teens, in a study, reported being targeted by cyberbullying (Pappas). Once someone is singled out by a bully, different peers will know that the person is a target, and they will join in the bullying against that particular child. The number of adolescents being directly affected by cyberbullying has grown everyday. As more adolescents get involved with technology, unfortunately more of them have felt the need to get involved with other peers in a negative manner. Without finding a root cause to stop it, children and teens can be affected by serious and sometimes fatal mental health illnesses. According to a study, more than 15% of children said that they were either being cyber bullied or they were the target of some aspect of cyberbullying. (Ockerman, Kramer, and Bruno). As a result, whether children are bullying or being bullied, the numbers are increasing. This has the possibility to dig America in another hole that it does not need to be in, with adolescents being horribly affected every day. Cyberbullying worsens the mental health of children ages 12-18 in the United States. Online abuse worsens the mental health of adolescents by increasing

Imagine you are sitting at your computer, whether it is on Facebook, Twitter, or Snapchat. Then a notification comes up but your mom is yelling at you from downstairs to start on that long essay you have been putting off for so long. You decide a few more minutes could not hurt. So you click the notification, and it is a comment on a picture you posted. "You look ugly," says the comment. You stop and stare at it. Then another notification dings in your ears. Deciding to get your mind off the hate comment, you click the new notification. Some older teenager has privately messaged you, telling you to meet some place alone. Sound fun? Social Media is harmful because it is not safe for younger users, it is a distraction from more important activities,

Have you ever been cyberbullied? Has anyone ever tried to talk you into giving them your password. Have you ever been scammed? Well I will show you about the importance of being safe online. I think the most important things to be careful of are password safety, cyber bullying, and scams.

Moral panics is something that the society will always experience. From back in history to now, there are different cases of moral panics. Most of these panics affect and target individuals on a daily basis. Rainbow parties, teen sex bracelets, and even bullying has become a huge moral panic for the society now. Bullying have always existed, however, the method and seriousness of bullying has increased dramatically over time. Cyberbullying is one of the most troubling and disruptive crimes of our society now. The advancement of technology has definitely enforced a huge impact on cyberbullying. The internet and its easy access has made it exceptionally easy to target people, especially juveniles, throughout the day at any given time.

In May 2013, Gabrielle Molina, a 12 year old excellent and outwardly positive student, took her life after being called a “slut” and a “whore” online. Throughout the use of social media, teens are potentially susceptible to become victims of cyber-bullying, and the drama that rises from it could work as a catalyst in the development of psychological traumas. To help the prevention of bullying, parents and schools must work hand in hand in this issue by incorporating anti-bullying education in their curriculums, and establishing a channel of communication and trust between adults and teens.

Internet usage in children and adolescents has been increasing in a steadily fashion in the past number of years and with the increase in internet usage, a new form of bullying has developed – Cyber bullying. Cyber bullying can be defined as “the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person,” (Merriam-Webster, 2012). This form of bullying can come through various mediums including but not limited to text messages, emails, videos, and social networking sites. There is an overwhelming amount of information that defines cyber bullying, identifies the demographics of bullies and victims of cyber bullying, and identifies the outcomes of cyber bullying on victims. More focus needs to be placed on who the perpetrators