Essay on Social Networking Causes Cyberbullying and Suicide

Bullying is one of the leading causes in teen suicide today. People bullied in the past or present have been studied and it has shown that they have a lower quality of life. Though they have a lower quality of life, the have better physical and mental health. (“Seaman” 1). Studies have shown that most bullying happens in middle school and high school. There is bullying in elementary school but it is minimal and less serious (“Bullying Statistics” 1). Most kids refuse to speak up while being bullied in fear that the bully will just taunt them more (“Cyber-Safety Act” 2). Bullying has become a very serious issue regarding our society today.

Social media itself is a huge danger to society. It causes many suicides within the world because of the cyberbullying and spreading of rumors. “Recent studies have shown that one out of four teens have been the victims of cyberbullying and one out of six have admitted to having cyberbullied someone” (Trautner 1). The internet and social media is supposed to be used to communicate with friends and for searching information, “Kids use technology different than their parents do. Sometimes it is hard for adults to understand that this can even be a possibility” (Trautner 1). It is not supposed to be used to bully someone, especially not to the point where the victim would think about suicide. “One of the statistics that has been highlighted within this news coverage is the threefold increase in the suicide rate for girls ages 10 to 14. The rates for girls in this age group increased from 0.5 to 1.5 per 100,000 during this time period. The increases for boys in this age group were not as high, climbing from 1.9 per 100,000 during 1999 to 2.6 per 100,000 in 2014” (Olsen

“A 14-year-old girl in treatment for depression, reported that she was being bullied in school. She said that girls in her classes constantly made negative comments about her appearance, dress, and behavior. They excluded her from social activities despite her desire to participate. She said that the girls were telling lies about her to boys in the class, which was damaging her reputation. What upsets her the most was that an online site had been created in which students were encouraged to write all the reasons they hated her. She cried and said that she could not avoid the bullying even outside of school. She believed the only way to escape the bullying was to not exist anymore, and she confirmed that she was suicidal.”(Karen 2016) Bullying at the age of 13-19 increases the rate of depression, anxiety, suicide, and other mental health issues. Bullying is plaguing teens across the United States and is causing possible mental health issues later in victims’ lives. Each local community needs to take action to dull the effects bullying has on teens.

Whilst cyber bullying is not physical it’s emotional and psychological effects are devastating for the victim and can often lead to suicide and depression (Hinduja & Patchin, 2010). Social Networking sites act as a platform where bullies can say things they might not usually say to someone in person, anonymity and less physical proximity act as a wall between the bully and the victim, none the less, the words or rumors’ that are shared are still just as hurtful. Bullies often feel more confident online and they can contact their victims anytime, anywhere, day or night, not just in the school yard (Smith et al., 2008).” (Procon. (24 O). Retrieved from http://socialnetworking.procon.org/)

“Nationwide, one out of four students from the ages twelve to eighteen have been bullied. That is twenty five percent to the teenage/young adult population and these numbers are continuously to rise every day” (Wassdorp, Bradshaw, and Leaf 116, 149-156). Bullying is the action of repeated harmful acts or harassing another in various forms. Many situations fall under one or even multiple of these categories: physical, verbal, indirect, and cyber. What this does is strips the victim down from their identity and leaves them to pity themselves for being the way they are. Bullying is an issue in this nation because it tears apart the teenage/young adult population, and it is causing an increase in risk of suicide among these groups. Bullying is

Bullying has become a major issue in the United States and around the world. What brought the attention to people about bullying is the number of suicides that are committed by adolescents and the stories they share online or live television. Bullying is categorized to be direct verbal, direct physical, and indirect forms. Not every person has an idea how terrible bullying can be and how harmful it is to the victim. Bullying has driven students to commit actions they have never done before such as cutting themselves, suicidal thoughts, health disorders, and bad behavior. Bullying must be taken seriously, because it results in negative effects on its victims and may drive students to commit horrific actions. Lawmakers should draft anti-bullying legislation, students should stand up for one another, and society should work out what can be done to combat this problem.

Suicide is the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily, a person who kills herself intentionally. In fact suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds and at least 90% of teens who kill themselves have some type of mental problem. Suicides among young people continue to be a serious problem. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for children. School bullying statistics in the United States show that one in four kids in the U.S. are bullied on a regular basis. A student is being or victimized when he or she is exposed negative action on the part of one or more student. Bullying remains one of the largest problems in school with the percentage of students,over most 13 million American kids, will be bullied this year. Noticeable effects of bullying are ongoing sadness, withdrawal from others, reckless behavior, rejecting to eat & lack of sleep. According to suicide prevention resource center, cyberbullying is a new way of communication through social media and texting to hatrass and cause emotional harm to victims. Suicide is clearly influenced by bullies.

Bullying is the cause of many suicides and deaths (Home n. pag). In McCormack’s article, he explains how many students are bullied each day and harassed to the point where they question their own self-esteem. They are no longer

It is apparent that bullying has become a serious problem in today’s society. It affects people of all ages, and the results of bullying can be disastrous and devastating; suicide is just one of many examples of a consequence of bullying. We need to all come together and think of a plan that can help stop bullying. People don’t understand how terrible it feels to get bullied until it happens to them. We are the ones doing the bullying, whether it’s directly or indirectly, so it is up to us to put an end to it. As previously shown, there are quite a number of myths surrounding the topic of teenage suicide; when the myths are addressed and made clear, it is easier for people to get a better understanding of teen suicide and how to deal with it. Many people have come to believe that you cannot tell when someone is contemplating suicide. They also usually believe that suicide cannot

“A 14-year-old girl in treatment for depression, reported that she was being bullied in school. She said that girls in her classes constantly made negative comments about her appearance, dress, and behavior. They excluded her from social activities despite her desire to participate. She said that the girls were telling lies about her to boys in the class, which was damaging her reputation. What upsets her the most was that an online site had been created in which students were encouraged to write all the reasons they hated her. She cried and said that she could not avoid the bullying even outside of school. She believed the only way to escape the bullying was to not exist anymore, and she confirmed that she was suicidal.”(Karen 2016) Bullying at the age of 13-19 increases the rate of depression, anxiety, suicide, and other mental health issues.Bullying is plaguing teens across the United States and is causing mental health issues later in victims’ lives. Each local community needs to take action to dull the effects bullying has on teens.

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

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.

Young adults aged 14 – 26 are the demographic which make up the vast majority of social media users and thus are the most effected by social media. Social media has negative effects on young adults. The use of social media by young adults has harmful psychological effects, creates antisocial effects, and negatively consumes time.

The following literature review is all about how cyber bullying affects the life of the ones who got bullied, the chances of committing suicide among the victims and the laws in several states regarding cyber bullying.

The internet has a greater impact on people today than ever before. It has been a constant source of news, entertainment, and education for users around the world for more than twenty years. However, the most revolutionary of its technologies, social media, didn’t achieve mainstream popularity until about ten years ago. As a result of this new development, Facebook, Twitter, and similar services are becoming the most visited destinations on the internet. These websites allow users to quickly and easily share pictures, links, ideas and messages with other users; theoretically facilitating social interaction. But do these self-proclaimed social networking tools actually encourage healthy human interaction? The evidence suggests that they do.