Bullying has always been a nuisance to society and has left its mark on many people around the globe.
Bullying involves a person physically or verbally harassing another person face to face. However, a new form of bullying has emerged in the past few years in the form of cyber bullying. The dangers of cyber bullying are just as dangerous as traditional bullying. Mostly teenagers are affected by cyber bullying but on the internet, anybody of any age or gender can also be affected.The effects of cyber bullying are very harsh as 2 students have already committed suicide among many others because of getting bullied on the internet.
Cyber bullies do not understand what kind of effect they might have on their victim so they have no remorse for their actions. There are many ways to deal with cyber bullying; one method is to inform local authorities if the issue is serious. Another method is to tell your parents, friends or school counselor about the matter. The method to choose varies on the severity of the cyber bullying issue.
Although cyber bullying is considered a serious crime in many places, some people argue that it is there freedom of speech which allows them to post anything they want online. They believe that getting the government involved will just be taking away their freedom of speech. In the end however, people who use the internet or any other technology should be aware of dangers such as cyber bullying. It is wise to keep oneself updated to deal with such delicate situations.What is cyber bullying? In recent years a new form of bullying has emerged, cyber bullying.
Bullying involves a person physically or verbally harassing another person; however, cyber bullying is not an act committed face to face. “Cyberbullying involves sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet (e.g., instant messaging, e-mails, chat rooms, and social networking sites) or other digital communication devices, such as cell phones” (Feinberg & Robey, 2009, para. 4). Since cyber bullying is relatively new, there are not many laws to protect people from becoming victims of such acts.
It is often neglected and not taken seriously by parents, teacher, school principals and the government around the world. It would seem that the problem does not appear to be as dangerous as people might think, but is it really safe to not have new laws immediately passed to prevent cyber bullying and bring cyber bullies to justice? People against laws for cyber bullying:First off, not everybody agrees that the government should intervene and pass laws against cyber bullying. Some people believe that it is their right to post anything they wish on the internet. They believe that it is their freedom of speech which allows them to post or say anything online via cell phone or through the internet.
However, these people do not realize how serious a small case of cyber bullying can manifest into. How damaging is cyber bullying?Cyber bullying is just as dangerous as a person getting bullied physically or verbally. There have been a few cases where victims have even resorted to committing suicide to escape their bullies, just like with normal bullying. Though the act of cyber bullying is being committed online, the effects are just as dire as traditional bullying.The main problem with cyber bullying is the anonymity the person has behind the keyboard or even a cell phone. The person can bully his/her victim over the internet or mobile without the other person knowing who it is.
It makes it very difficult for people to deal with this issue since they have no clue as to who might be the culprit. The bully could be someone real close to the victim without them even knowing about it. “Although bullying and relational aggression among students are longtime concerns, the elusive nature of cyberbullying compounds the difficulty of identifying harmful behavior and intervening to stop it” (Feinberg & Robey, 2009, para. 2).
This anonymity provided by the internet or cell phone messaging, has caused a few problems with police. Phoebe Prince was an Irish immigrant in South Hadley, Massachusetts. She was described as a smart and charming young lady (Nies, James & Netter, 2010, p. 2). However, Phoebe Prince suddenly committed suicide for an unexplained reason.
What would cause a young lady who was admired by her peers to commit such a horrific act? When the police investigated, they found out that Prince had been the victim of nasty and cruel online messages. She had been constantly receiving horrible messages saying things such as “go hang yourself”. Even Prince’s friends did not know who was sending all this messages before the time of her death. To think that verbal abuse online would lead to a person committing suicide.Another case was that of Amanda Cummings.
“Amanda Cummings killed herself by jumping in front of a bus two days before Christmas. It came out after she was in the hospital that there were a group of kids at school who bullied her incessantly. They stole her stuff and taunted her all the time, even online, even while she lay dying” (English, 2012, para. 6). Even in her death, the cyber bullies kept posting cruel messages on a Facebook memorial page dedicated for her. The posts were so cruel that they had to be removed at some point.
The cyber bullies had no remorse for the death of Amanda Cummings.These are just some examples of people who have committed suicide as a result of being cyber bullied. There is even a case where a nine year old hanged himself due to getting cyber bullied. Some governments have taken action to pass laws to prevent cyber bullying. “Currently, 41 states and the District of Columbia have anti-bullying measures and 23 have statutes against cyberbullying” (Nies, James & Netter, 2010, para. 14).
Though 41 states in the US did pass laws against cyber bullying, the rest of the world still has to catch up, including Massachusetts where Phoebe Prince committed suicide. These laws will ensure that people who get cyber bullied will be able to get professional help from the government in order to confront the cyber bully.Although the government can intervene to help the people, some might argue that it is their freedom of speech which allows to them to write whatever they want on the internet. “Although the anonymity available on the Internet creates opportunities for abuse, attempts to restrict cyber-bullying raise thorny issues about free speech” (Zavis, 2009, para.
18). So the government has to be careful how they approach this delicate issue of cyber bullying. Statistics on cyber bullying:Lots of data has been collected from teenagers and avid users of technology about cyber bullying.Figure 1.1 The graph above shows which technology teenagers use the most.
Since cell phones are the most used technology among teenagers, it is also the most common medium for cyber bullying. “Research on cyberbullying sponsored by Opennet has found that teenager who are 'heavy cell phone users' are more likely to engage in the practice of bullying online, as well as become bullied themselves” (Osbourne, 2012, para.1). According to a survey conducted by Opennet, most people aged 13 to 17 in the US have a cell phone.This increases the risk of them becoming a victim of cyber bullying or even getting engaged in doing the cyber bullying. Also, the research showed “88 percent of cyberbullies indicate they have been bullied themselves across wireless networks” (Osbourne, 2012, para.
4). People between this age bracket who are heavy cell phone users, also tend to hide their activities on their cell phones from their parents. Parents will have no idea if their children are engaged in cyber bullying or getting cyber bullied.Cell phones are not limited to just calling and messaging, cell phones can also be used to browse the internet.
Websites such as Facebook and Twitter are common websites teenagers like to visit. These websites are also hotspots for cyber bullies to harass people. Such as the cases in the previous paragraphs, Prince and Cummings were harassed on Facebook and people were still posting nasty messages on Amanda Cummings Facebook memorial page. Such knowledge can help authorities, parents and schools in monitoring children to keep them out of trouble.
Cyber bullying is not a crime to be taken lightly. Parents should use such information to help their children whenever they can.Figure 1.2 The figure above shows cyber bullying by gender among high school students in the US. As you can see by the graph, females have a higher percentage of being cyber bullied in their lifetimes compared to males. Also, females have a higher percentage of being engaged in cyber bullies.
This shows that females are more susceptible of being cyber bullied. Another point is that “the type of cyberbullying tends to differ by gender; girls are more likely to spread rumors while boys are more likely to post hurtful pictures or videos” (“Summary of Our”, 2010, para. 6).These graphs show that women are more vulnerable to be targeted by cyber bullies but it also shows that they will also be more likely to get engaged in cyber bullying. This is a serious concern as there have already been two cases mentioned above where teenage women have committed suicide.
So how can people deal with cyber bullying? Primary Research data:For my primary research, I conducted an interview with two female volunteers. They both wished to remain anonymous. One of the interviewees was 28 while the other was 19. In my interview, I asked various questions on cyberbullying. I asked if they knew what cyberbullying was and if they had encountered or engaged in cyberbullying. The data was quite astonishing.
The 28 year old, let’s call her S, had a good idea of what cyberbullying was and had even encountered a cyberbully herself. S had met the cyberbully through Facebook and she dealt with him/her in a simple manner, she simply blocked the user and never had to deal with him/her again. However, the 19 year old, let’s call her Z, has a different story.She also had a vague idea of what cyberbullying was but her story was more complex. She is an online gamer and on online games, people create a community, very much like in real life. It is very hard to leave such a community since people become much attached.
Now Z had added many of her online friends on Facebook and Skype and they knew each other in real life by doing so.However, as time passed, her so-called friends started talking behind her back and started posting mean messages about her on Facebook. This was very heart breaking for Z who wished not to go too into details about the issue. She dealt with the issue in the same manner as S but it left a mark on Z.
She found it very hard to trust people on the internet and was reluctant to share and real life information about herself after the incident.My conclusion after these interviews was that most teenagers are affected by cyberbullying. Also that adults are more mature and do not get very attached to people they met online. They also deal with the issue in a calm manner. People in online communities, such as gaming communities, who have been a victim on cyberbullying find it hard to trust people on the internet again.
Even though they are not physically hurt, they are mentally scarred and find it hard to open up to people on the internet. Ways to deal with cyber bullying:Just like with regular bullying, there are many methods to deal with cyber bullying. The methods vary from people to people, like how parents should help their child being cyber bullied. Schools can also help when their students who are being cyber bullied.
A simple way to prevent cyber bullying is to completely ignore the person who is targeting you. Ignoring the cyber bully might make the bully give up on harassing his/her victim. However, some cyber bullies might be persistent which will cause some issues. Also, it varies from person to person how they deal with such issues. “Some adolescents are more susceptible to instances and effects of cyberbullying than others. Adolescents who are socially well-adjusted and have healthy peer and family support systems are likely to have better decision making and coping skills” (Feinberg & Robey, 2009, para.
15).Teenagers who have social problems and spend a very long time using online chats or social networking have a harder time dealing with cyber bullies. This people should try and consult their friends, parents or even their school counselor.Another method is to go to your local authorities to resolve the issue. The cyber bully can be brought to justice depending on what he/she has done.
If the cyber bully has referred to something sexual, he/she can be registered as a sex offender and brought to court. Also, “teens may think that if they use a fake name they won't get caught, but there are many ways to track someone who is cyber bullying” (Bullying Statistics, 2009, para. 4). It is relatively easy for the police you find out who and where a cyber bully is in case the case gets serious.
However, tracking down the cyber bully can be considered as a breach of private information and the authorities might even get sued.Schools can also offer counseling to their students. If a student is having issues with a cyber bully harassing them, they will have somewhere to go to resolve their problems. Teachers can also have one to one chats with their students and hold conferences where they discuss the dangers of cyber bullying. By informing their students beforehand, the students will have an idea on how to deal with any cyber bully they might meet in the future. The knowledge students can gain from such conferences will greatly help them understand exactly what they are dealing with.
As a victim or person who uses the internet, it is wise to have some kind of knowledge on how cyber bullying works. One can never be too careful when browsing the internet. Asking questions about such issues will give tips and advice on how to handle such a delicate situation. Is the person sexually harassing or just insulting? These problems can be dealt with easily if the person is calm and has a vague idea of how cyber bullies act.Parents should also be involved if their child is getting bullied over the internet or getting cruel and nasty messages. Parents might not even notice that their child is acting weirdly, such as avoiding using their computer or cell phone.
This might be a sign that somebody is harassing your child. The parents should confront their children on such matter as if it carries on, it could develop into something very serious. It is a parent’s duty to care for their child and to know what bothers them. If the problem is identified in its early stages, it can be easily avoided or the problem may manifest into a worst case scenario.These are just some of the methods proposed by people around the globe on how to deal with cyber bullying. There are many other methods in which cyber bullies can be dealt with.
However, in the end, it rests on the person being bullied to decide how to tackle the problem of cyber bullies. People cannot force their help on a victim if they choose not to get others involved. Also, forcibly trying to help may make the issue worse. Cyber bullying victims are usually very sensitive people who might share information they should not with strangers which makes them an ideal target. People on the internet should not share personal information with anybody they do not know to avoid the same information being used against them.
There have been many cases of people tricking others, usually women, into giving out information that would normally be kept private. They then proceed to use that information to blackmail their target into getting whatever they want. So another important way to avoid cyber bullying is to avoid giving out personal information to people one does not know. Conclusion:From this research which I have conducted, I have learned many things about cyber bullies and ways to deal with them. Cyber bullies usually target people who are emotional or are socially awkward.
They also feel no remorse for their actions and will not stop most of the time when asked to. Also, governments have tried to intervene in cyber bullying cases as some incidents are extreme. There are many different ways to deal with cyber bullies mentioned by professionals. One has to be very careful when browsing online on their cell phones or internet.
