The Ryan Halligan Case

In the past, bullies were bigger children who constatntly picked on the smaller and weaker children. Bullies normally teased the children they victimized. If they got away with it, bullies also demended food and money from their victims. Sometimes, for the few unlucky ones, the bullies got physical with them. When bullyng occurred, it typically happened on school’s premises. Once the children who are being bullied got home, they were safe from the abuse. As scoiety evolve into the world of technology so has bullying. With cyberbulllying, children are never safe from the continous torture of being bullied. Yet, some states do not define cyberbullying as a form of bullying in their anti-bullying laws. Every state has a diverse definition of bullying. While some states specify physical altercation or badgering as a form of bullying, others define it as merely aggravating behavior (Maggie Clark 2). With no definite definition and no sole constitutional course of action, adults are bullie at work as well. They can only fit the crime to a punishment (Allison Ballard 3). If there is a single definition which covers all aspects of bullying, in any type of environment,, adults and children will have the protection they need.

It is known that face to face bullying can cause long term psychological harm to victims, including anger, depression, poor self-esteem, violence, or even suicide. Victims of face to face bullying fear going to school and come in contact with alienation, humiliation, and insecurity. Cyberbullying

In Congress right now “the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act” is being debated upon. If the bill was passed it would “...make bullying through an electronic means a federal crime.”(Warnke 26). If the bill is passed different charges upon the bully may be applied depending on how severe the bullying

Bullying is defined as an intentional act that causes harm to others, and may involve verbal harassment, verbal or non-verbal threats, physical assault, stalking, or other methods of coercion such as manipulation, blackmail, or extortion. Without a doubt bullying, has become an increasing epidemic among individuals today. “The bulling cycle,” according to Dan Olweus, a world-renowned psychologist from Norway, there needs to be three individuals or groups of people involved: the bully, the victim and the bystander. The process begins with simple taunts and can escalate into behavior requiring legal intervention. In fact, several cases have been presented to courts for both criminal and civil prosecution. Another key factor in the progression of bullying cases is the internet. Today’s bullies need not be physically present

However there are negative effects to both bullying and cyberbullying. One consequence of bullying is that it is a repeating cycle of unhappiness. Often individuals who have been bullied before will bully individuals in order to gain back their self-esteem and power. According to Daniel Belzer who is a Duke senior had mentioned “Anyone with a grudge can maliciously and sometimes libelously attack defenseless students” (Bennett 230). Technology has made it easier to bully someone through instant messaging, emails, pictures or videos being shared and eventually posted onto different

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.

Bullying is a pervasive problem among children and adolescents, and may take various forms including physical (e.g., hitting), verbal (e.g., name-calling), relational (e.g., social isolation), or occurring in cyber space. Previous studies have consistently shown that depression is associated with exposure to bullying. Bully-victims, a group of individuals who are both bullies and victims, are a distinct group at highest risk for psychosocial problems.

but “bullying” alone is not illegal. And recent news stories abound with tales of cyberbullying –

The victims can harm themselves over what the bully has told them, insulted them, anything. Source 3: fact sheet, states “60% of targets said that their online experiences as a target of cyber bullying affected them at school, home, and with friends, and reported experiencing feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness.” Cyber bullying can affect people in so many ways by harming themselves, etc. In source 1: radio interview, it states, “In 2008, Lori Drew was convicted of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act after creating a fake Myspace account. Assuming the fake identity of a teenage boy, Drew used the account to flirt with, and then later break up with, Megan Meier.” See the bully can not only be someone people have met, it can be people they have never met.

“It’s much harder to flee a cyberbully, as they can ‘attack’ through a variety of electronic means,” states Psychologist Eden Foster. Cyberbullies who do “attack” individuals should be prosecuted. Cyberbullies should be prosecuted because most bullies take it too far. Cyberbullying is a form bullying online with any device. Although, some say that under the first Amendment people have a right of free speech, but some cyberbullies take the online bullying too far. In conclusion, cyberbullies should be prosecuted for what individuals say online.

The results of cyber bullying is very unpredictable as it can go from the victim just shrugging it off to the very extreme with is that the victim taking their own life.

There are a wide variety of devastating effects on the victim because of cyberbullying. One very common effect is depression and loneliness. Most of these people are alienated. Because other cliques fear they many be bullied if they befriend them. Or their social

Victims can suffer from a lack of confidence, poor social skills, zero self-esteem and the inability to socialize with the outside world. As a child victim of bullying the chances of further problems in their adult lives is inevitable, they can suffer from health issues like absenteeism and depression as well as physical health, insecurity and become emotionally unstable. Cyber-bullying on the other hand possess a serious health threat towards victims causing more psychological damage than traditional bullying (Barback, 2012). All these can lead a child even an adult towards serious harm or to their death

Many negative effects are outcomes of cyber bullies. The impact cyber bullying has on kids is detrimental. Victims can develop psychological problems. For example, victims begin having anxiety, lower self-esteem, and frustration. They may also be diagnosed with depression. It’s tough to ignore cyber bullying. Compared to school bullies, internet bullies cause their victim more emotional pain. Children and teenagers are able to escape school bullies when they return home. However targets of cyber bullying don’t have that advantage.

First, cyberbullying can be devastating and long lasting because of how that person might take all the actions the bullies are doing to them. Research has shown that cyberbullying can have multiple people ganging up on one person, that same research has claims that there is about 10% of kids in certain areas that have said they have been cyberbullied. Cyberbullying can cause people to take their lives because of some of things that people have done to them or said about them on the internet when everybody can see it.