The Cyberbullying Epidemic Essay

Is cyberbullying an old problem with a new disguise? Bullying in the real world has been around for a seemingly endless amount of time. Due to the rise of technology in society today, bullying in the cyber world, also known as cyberbullying, has erupted. Cyberbullying can be defined as using technology, such as the Internet, social media, and text messages, to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person (Hirsch). According to 11 Facts About Cyberbullying, nearly eighty-three percent of teens believe bullying online is easier to get away with than bullying in person. This shows that cyberbullies use online networks to camouflage themselves from reality. Cyberbullying is emotionally abusive to the victim’s mental health because the scars imprinted from the cruel remarks sent through text messages and posted throughout social media are bound to forever impact one's life.

The world today is on a platform of heightened technological stimulus, that unfortunately have incredibly negative affects on people’s lives especially throughout the bullying culture that has sprouted from this stimulus. Bullying has rapidly increased since the introduction of multimedia cell phones in the 90’s. Cyberbullying is the current problem and an issue that will continue to be current until we as a society stop it. There is a distinction between traditional bullying and cyberbullying and its effects are different as well. Cyberbullying has its own societal norms and its own exclusive factions. Exclusive groups that support and encourage bullying behavior, because it’s seen as a norm. Digital harassment has evolved alongside technology, to the point that the issue is uncontrollable and extremely accessible; the web has created anonymous identities to those who harass now have become untraceable. Bullying is influenced by internal emotions, social factors, and the accessibility of other’s information. Although, cyberbullying is extremely prevalent there is no federal law for cyberbullying. There should be change to societal standards and harassing should be seen as a severe issue, not simply general school behavior.

Typically, the person that is doing the cyberbullying is generally a victim of bullying themselves. How is cyberbullying done? Normally, the use of electronic devices to send messages that tend to emotional hurt someone feelings. Social media can lead to many negative outcomes when communicating to others. For example, if a teenage boy responds on a girl’s photo stating she is “ugly” is considered online bullying. One popular social media site is Facebook that over millions of people use for communicating. Facebook can be a positive source to communicate with family and friends that you may not see often. Also, it can be a very negative source that a lot of people use to criticize one another. Therefore, cyberbullying occurs nationwide

To continue, when people see cyberbullying many people don’t report it. Though it is online, and many people see it. According to “What is cyberbullying”, it states “With cyberbullying, the aggression remains present online and can be viewed by anyone with access to the web.” This shows that cyberbullying can be seen and reported at any time, and many people are doing nothing to stop

In 2014, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) did a study on bullying and the found that 19.4% of all the students interviewed had been bullied at school. This may not seem very surprising, bullying has been going on for decades. Generations of men and women have come to fear the people who walk the halls, stealing lunch money from those weaker than them. However, it is interesting to note that 14.8% of that 19.4% had reported being cyber bullied. Unlike the standard physical bullying, cyberbullying is a slightly more recent development, but it has evolved to become much more deadly. It gives bullies a better tool for creating more widespread pain. The awareness for cyber bullying needs to increase and ultimately, cyberbullying needs to be abolished completely due to its destructive capabilities.

Not to mention with everyone being connected throughout social media makes it easier for the word to get around faster and make it worse for that person. Cyberbullying might not involve physical abuse and the words said will not make it hurt any less, but the posts someone puts up will be there for anybody to see and might not ever go away. Cyberbullying is no better than bullying because it can still lead to psychological or emotional problems many kids have to face. In some serious cases it can lead to depression or even worse suicide. It can be prevented by social media websites censoring any harsh or mean comments before the posts are even posted. Although it is not their fault, that is how the problem starts and continues.

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 has been a big problem for teens and adults around the world. Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. For most cyberbullying isn’t anything serious it’s just a person just joking around or just speaking their mind but its more than that its feelings being involved families being broken even hearts.

When it comes to bullying, there are some invisible boundaries and limits that are set, however, on the internet there are no laws let alone limits and thus, cyber bullying is quite an eminent problem that should be discussed about more often. Cyberbullying is a form of bullying through the use of technology. In the past few years, there have been laws created against bullying, making it a lot harder for bullies to do what they want, in result the media came along and that’s when the bullies took advantage. It is unfortunate that kids are vulnerable even in a place where they should feel safe, which is at their home. With how easy and simple it is to

“Cyberbullying is reported as an aggressive, intentional act distributed by an individual or group, using contact in an electronic medium, continuously and relentlessly against someone who cannot stand up for himself or herself easily”(Davison & Stein, 2014) With social media being so popular, bullies now have many avenues in which they can attack their victims, research shows that adolescents spend up to 17 hours a week on the internet, some children even up to 40hrs a week. (Davison & Stein, 2014) This is an

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.

The Ophelia Project describes cyberbullying as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices.” Cyberbullying can reach a broader audience because bullies don't even need to know the people they're hurting. Only “84% of cyberbullies report to know their target,” (The Ophelia Project). Cyberbullies are often more ruthless because they don't immediately see the damage their bullying is inflicting, so they continue. Sometimes they assume it's just a joke, which is certainly not how the victim feels.

Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that is highly overlooked, unlike traditional bullying. Cyberbullying is a very serious topic, it can lead to victims committing suicide and it can have long term effects on their life. There are many different forms of cyberbullying, it is not just limited to a cyberbully sending a mean text. Parents must keep a close eye on their kids when they are using the internet, their mood after using the internet may be an indicator if the child has been cyberbullied. Schools must provide help for students who are being cyberbullied. Schools should provide a program which shows kids that cyberbullying is serious and that they should not do it, the program should also provide students with the help they need to get

There is no argument as to if cyber bullying is good or bad. However is social networking to blame? Or is lack of parent monitoring the problem? It’s true that adolescents are often given too much technology independence. I believe parents should fully acknowledge what websites their children are visiting and what they are posting. On the contrary, I feel there is no excuse for child or teenager to feel the urge to emotionally attack

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