Social Media and Cyberbullying

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.

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

Annotated Bibliography "Bullying, Cyberbullying & Suicide Statistics." Megan Meier Foundation. Web. 15 Apr. 2015. <

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

Bullying has been a big problem in our school system for many years, but it has escalated over the past decade due to the new era of modern technology. Unanimously, we can agree that our daily lives greatly depend on technologies; the internet, cellphones, computers, tablets, IPad etc. Although the uses of technology positively impacted our lives, there is also the downside when it uses have negative connotations. For instance, modern technology made it very easy to engage in cyberbullying, perpetrators used cell phones or computers to conduct this hideous behavior, hiding behind their keyboards to express negative feelings and or thoughts toward others. Using social media for senseless and unwarranted insults to intentionally cause harm

More than 40% of adolescents and teens have been cyberbullied online and 1 in 4 have been repeatedly cyberbullied. Cyberbullying started to become a problem once the internet became a common tool. Today around 90% of teens go online everyday.

The enablement technology provides is one of the reasons cyberbullying is so prevalent amongst young teens. Thanks to the advent of technology, bullying has taken on many new forms. Some of which now follow teens from schools to their homes. And, the places for these new types of bullying to occur is on social networks. In the mid 2000s, there was an increase in middle schoolers bullying each other on the social media platform Myspace. One of the most famous cases for the social network occurred in October 2006. Megan Meier, a 13 year-old, killed herself on October 17, 2006 after she received messages from an online account “Josh Evans.” The Evans account began to harass her and other online users joined in on the abuse. After her death, it

Bullying is a major problem that impacts many teens over generations, causing an endless cycle of bullying. With the new age of technology, this leads to new issues that are affecting teens’ lives. One of these issues is that cyberbullying is quickly becoming more common than the traditional playground bullying, as more social media are appealing to teens. Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that happens using electronic devices such as phones, laptops, and tablets. This form of bullying includes spreading rumours, sending mean and hurtful messages and sharing embarrassing videos or photos. Cyberbullying over social media has become extremely easy for bullies to victimize other teenagers affecting the victim’s mental health. Therefore,

Cyberbullying is a new form of bullying that allows individuals to threaten or intimidate others via online resources like social media and instant messaging, as well as other electronic technology like smartphones and tablets. Due to the fact that cyberbullying is a fairly new concept, due to the advances in technology it has become one of the most prevalent sources of bullying among adolescents. The ease in which children can gain access and use electronic technology, and the fact that cyberbullying most of the time can remain anonymous, has led to an increase in this form of bullying. With reports indicating that 93% of teens are active users of the Internet and 75% own a cell phone, up from 45% in 2004, there is great potential for cyberbullying among youths (Schneider, O’Donnell, Stueve, & Coulter, 2012).The increase in cyberbullying has led to an increase in suicide rates among adolescent, and has expanded bullying past the traditional school environment.

With simple access to the internet, a lot of teens have begun using cyber space as an open space for bullying. As additional teens have resorted to using mobiles and social networks to correspond, cyber bullying has turn out to be a key concern. At the moment, "cyber bullying is increasing rapidly as a result of social networks where information can reach the world in a matter of few seconds" (Sutton & Smith, 1999).

Social Networking has taken bullying to the extreme. Before advanced technology, children and teenagers were troubled by school bullies. Today, they are targeted by bullies via internet. Most people undergo some form of bullying in life. Growing up, I experienced the typical name calling and spiteful comments. I also dealt with minor cases of virtual bullies. These bullies are known as cyber bullies. I find this topic compelling because it’s a matter that has spiraled out of control.

Have you ever been personally targeted by another individual? If not in a physical manner, how about verbally? Have you ever known someone who physically took his or her own life because of bullying? The issue of bullying has become much more serious in recent years, as cases of suicide have risen as a result. Bullying can be defined as mean, hurtful behavior that occurs with an imbalance of power or strength. An acronym that is set in place and taught by programs in schools to combat bullying is RIP, which stands for repeated, imbalance of power and purposeful. In a bully’s eye, it doesn’t appear as a wrongdoing when in fact, they are breaking all three aspects of this definition. What they don 't realize is that they break all three aspects of bullying. There are four types of bullying: verbal, physical, relational and cyber bullying. Each form whether standing alone or combined with another, can drive a person into depression. This particularly happens when labeled as “different.” Cyber bullying through social media in particular, has become one of the biggest controversies yet due to the simplicity of disseminating information about someone or sending a quick Facebook message. The effects that bullying has can well change or even ruin a life. The fact that we still have to worry about it in the 21st century is utterly horrific.

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

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.

For such a long time, physical bullying has been the largest problem schools and parents had to face with their children, but now another form of bullying has arisen; cyber bullying. In society today, teens are drawn cell phones, laptops, and other technological advancements. Social media is a way for many teens and adolescents to interact with one another and share countless happenings of their personal lives. Cyber bullying occurs when individuals use the internet to send or comment cruel and unnecessary messages to another. In its various forms cyber bullying includes, indirect and direct harassment, posting inappropriate pictures, impersonating another being, or just being plain cruel. Although anyone can become a victim of cyber bullying, improper use of the internet can further induce harassment, due to the adolescents desire to use modern day technologies. The harassers could be classmates, online “friends’’, or anonymous users. One barrier that is difficult to overcome is determining who is responsible for the attacks online, because many bullies hide behind fake usernames or profiles to protect their real identity, which is commonly known as “hiding behind a screen”. (Bonanno 2013). The motives for a cyber-bully are never clear, some might say