The Dangers Of Cyber Bullying 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.

In modern society today, freedom of speech has been a main concern to delinquents as to what they say on the web. Although, cyberbullying has turned into a major issue online that has gotten the schools’ attention and turn towards the security of their students. To accomplish nurturing their students’ safety, they have punished pupils for what they say on the Internet that is harmful in account of others. Alternatively, the Constitution believes this goes against the First Amendment and violates the students’ rights. Schools should be authorized to limit students’ online speech to decrease the matter of cyberbullying which has affected us in many ways.

The word 'bullying' has developed a very traditional definition amongst society: a face-to-face interaction involving either verbal abuse and/or physical abuse. With the technological advances that have occurred within the past 15 years, bullying has become anything but traditional. Children and teens have more access to the Internet and to social media platforms more than ever before, thus allowing them to avoid face-to-face interaction. Within the past 15 years, there has been a significant rise of cyberbullying in the youth demographic (ages 12-18) (Slonje, Smith, & Frisén, 2013). In order to understand what the difference between traditional bullying and cyberbullying is, one must familiarize themselves with the definition of cyberbullying.

Raskauskas and Stoltz (2007) asked a group of 84 adolescents about their involvement in traditional and electronic bullying. The researchers defined electronic bullying as “…a means of bullying in which peers use electronics {such as text messages, emails, and defaming Web sites} to taunt, threaten, harass, and/or intimidate a peer” (p.565). The table below is a frequency table showing the adolescents’ reported incidence of being victims or perpetrators or traditional and electronic bullying.

The internet has created an entirely new world of social communications particularly for youths. There are no more barriers. Family, friends, young and old may now stay in touch with just about everyone, anywhere in the world through the use of email, text messaging, web chat, and instant messaging. Although, most interactions are friendly and in good nature, there are some that are not. The use of technology as a tool to antagonize, torment and intimidate others is now a widespread problem. Sadly, this form of bullying like all others is most common among children and young adults. Research done by Cox Communications on children between 13 thru 18 year-olds, 25 percent said they were cyber-bullied whether online or by cell phone (Cox Com. 2009). Also in 2007, the National Crime Prevention Council reported cyber-bullying as a problem that affected approximately half of all American teens. Since it is popular among this group of American teens, then it is safe look at some of possible reason cyber bullies of this age group are encouraged to take part in such activity.

1. This article was written based on a study of cyber bullying behaviors in a large group of middle and high school students. Increases in technology, and access to that technology have increased student ability to bully using an online forum. Not a lot of research had been done into this subject at the time of this article. Taking this into consideration there had been a few large scale studies done that corroborated the belief that cyber bullying is a significant problem. Researchers believed that due to the potential for exposure to this type of bullying, more studies needed to be done. With increased research there was the hope of diminishing the number of incidents of cyber bullying and the effects of those incidents. The research that had been completed also pointed to additional issues, including behavior problems, suspensions, substance abuse and depression among students who had experienced cyber bullying. The other side of previous research showed that the students who used cyber bullying as a weapon were more aggressive in their behaviors.

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.

Schools today are constantly updating their code of conduct due to cases involving cyberbullying. The average teenager has a social media account and can easily access the account at any given time. Many teenagers rely on social media for various reasons which then increases the potential for cyber bullying to occur. Cyberbullying can be seen on such media like, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. Cases of cyberbullying between teenagers have created a great dilemma upon parents and school districts. Since online bullying is not done face to face, the bully feels more daring and aggression towards the victim. Most of these cases have ended in tragedy and were not taken care of correctly by administration at schools. Bullying and harassment

Bullying is all over the world. Each year there is over 3.2 million victims being bullied. Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying.17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month in a year. To many within a school semester. Since 2002, fighting behaviour has increased, especially in grades six to eight. Boys are more likely to start bullying because of being bullied in their past. Girls are most likely to cyberbully. Nearly 43% of kids have been bullied online. According to Gale, cyberbullying is the use of the Internet, smartphones, or other electronic communication devices to spread harmful or embarrassing information about another person, such as talking about people, telling other people’s

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

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

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).

Bullying is a bad thing but the worst of all the types of bullying is cyber bulling, it is a terrible weapon that can destroy someone's life and reputation. Cyber bullying is a part of bullying in which a person torments or harasses other people in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile manner, with technology. It has had a much greater effect on the world more than the traditional way of bullying.

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

Cyberbullying is defined as deliberately attempting to upset someone; cyberbullying can happen via a number numerous ways. With all different forms of social media, whether it be Twitter, Facebook, or even, Instagram, cyberbullying can occur. Bullying effects our communities. Kids that are bullied appear likely to experience anxiety, depression, loneliness, unhappiness, and sleep deprivation. Yet, while the victim might appear passive, it stands imperative that the parent may not. When a parent takes part in his or her child’s social media, it makes it harder for his or her child to be made fun of because their parents watch over them. A parent can stand as the ultimate counselor a child needs when getting bullied.