Generations after generations teens have used the actions of bullying to hurt others they felt as a threat or to be in the “in crowd” of popularity. Traditional bullying was physical and thus confined to face-to-face contexts. However, with the development of widespread social interaction via social media websites, email, and text-messaging, teens have additional avenues of expression and, as a result, other means of bullying. Over time the bullying taking place using digital means has come to be known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has brought the evilness out of teen’s actions, words, and thoughts whether they were the bully or the victim. Equally important, the ending results of these actions, words and thoughts have brought death, limited yet undefined punishable consequences if pursued, and slowly progressing methods to control cyberbullying as a whole.
What is Cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is simply the use of technology and its accessible tools to harass, hurt and embarrass the targeted individual repeatedly. Stopcyberbullying.org (n.d.), a dedicated organization to prevent cyberbullying and promote awareness, has defined cyberbullying as the use of the internet and mobile devices or digital technology such as text or instant messaging, e-mail, and/or post blogging by adolescents or teens to repeatedly threaten, harass, embarrass, torment, humiliate, or likewise the targeted adolescent(s) or teen(s). The 21st century has promoted and forced our teens to become very knowledgeable with the use of technology in addition to social media use and access. The array of social media medium includes Twitter, Facebook, and the even low-key Formspring—a medium that offers “total anonymity” to users (Holladay, 2011, p. 5). Even though ...
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...r 15). Fox News. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/15/girls-12-and-14-arrested-in-death-bullied-florida-girl-police-say/
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What is cyberbullying, exactly?. (n.d.). STOP cyberbullying: What is cyberbullying, exactly?. Retrieved April 28, 2014, from http://stopcyberbullying.org/what_is_cyberbullying_exactly.html
The act of bullying has been present in children’s life throughout time. It has been seen in movies, books, and even real life situations. In recent years there has been in increase in the use of technology and the Internet. As a result a new type of bullying has been introduced to today’s generation of teenagers. This new type of bullying is known as cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has a negative impact on the lives of the teenagers that experience it.
Trolley, Barbara, Linda Shields, and Constance Hanel. Demystifying and Deescalating Cyber Bullying in the Schools: A Resource Guide for Counselors, Educators, and Parents. Print.
Mason, K. L. (2008). Cyber bullying: A preliminary assessment for school personnel. Psychology in the Schools, 45(4), 323-348.
Vandebosch, Heidi, and Katrien Van Cleemput. "Cyber Bullying Among oungsters." Conference Papers -- International Communication Association (2007): 1.Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 29 Nov. 2013.
Cyberbullying and cyberthreats are two of the most violent acts a person can commit. These acts have lasting effects on a person’s life. Cyberbullying and cyberthreats can occur through personal websites, blogs, emails, text messages and cell phones just to name a few. These acts can continue indefinitely and the victim may not be able to identify their aggressor. Cyberbullying and cyberthreats have become challenging issues facing our schools and communities. As counselors we are advocates, collaborative consultants, and resources for our students and school personnel. Nancy Willard’s Cyberbullying and Cyberthreats provides educators with valuable information on these issues and guidelines to prevent and respond.
‘Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me’ (The Christian Recorder). This is the infamous saying that many have heard since they were young. With vastly growing technology today, face to face bullying is being replaced with what is known as ‘cyberbullying’. Cyberbullying is defined as, “an aggressive intentional act carried out by a group or individual using electronic forms of contact repeatedly and over against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself” (WebMD). It can take place using cell phones, computers, tablets, social media sites, text messaging, and/or chat rooms. Cyberbullying has become a growing awareness nationwide, prompting lawmakers to act and propose new laws making cyberbullying a criminal offense. Several tragedies nationwide have been a result of cyberbullying, making state lawmakers more increasingly willing to criminalize such behavior. With new modern day technology, recent laws being legislated, and worldwide tragedies; cyberbullying has led to a growing awareness of the issue and prompting cyberbullying to become a criminal offense.
Technology has given individuals the opportunity to change the game of bullying. Cyber-bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying as of today. The Internet has no boundaries so the public has access to endless and countless number of things. Cyber-bully is the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person (as a student) often done anonymously according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. While traditionally bullying and cyber-bullying are very comparable in forms of technique that also have many differences. Cyber-bullying gives the bully the benefit of hiding their identity behind a screen. This makes it easier to tear people down because they do not have to come in contact with anyone. It’s the easiest form of bullying. These can happen in text messages, chat rooms, email, websites, excluding people from certain online activities, digital photos, and social media. Cyber bullies have unlimited supplies of ways to hurt someone. It is difficult to conduct a study on cyber-bullying because the majority of people will not confess or admit to it. Instead, in the article “Cyber-bullying among adolescents: Measures in search of a construct.” Researchers sit and listen through the grapevine on what is going on inside of schools. They found out that cyber-bullying is more dealt with within adolescents than traditional interaction bullying. (Mehari, K. R., Farrell, A. D., & Le, A. H.) Cyber-bullying can cause more
Because cyberbullying is a relatively new phenomenon, there is some degree of variance in its definition. In its early inception, cyberbullying was thought to be limited to the internet. However, the rapid creation of new technology tolls has expanded the boundaries to include cell phones, instant messaging, chat rooms, and email (Campfield, 2006). Campfield (2006) conducted a study of middle school students to determine the incidence rates of cyberbullying. She found that nearly 70% of students were involved in cyberbullying in some capacity, as a bully or victim. In a similar study, Li (2007) found that 39% of students have been involved in cyberbullying, while 52% were aware of a peer being harassed through electronic m...
McQuade, III, Samuel, James Colt, and Nancy Meyer. Cyber Bullying: Protecting Kids and Adults from Online Bullies. First Edition. Road West, Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2009. 47-49. Print.
The playground bully is a classic figure in the life of children. Shoving, pushing, pinching, name-calling, and dirt-throwing are some of his favorite pastimes. In the modern world, however, bullying is moving to another arena, one much more sophisticated and secretive than the jungle gym. Bullying that takes place online, or cyberbullying, is a growing area of concern among the younger generations. Recent events have thrown cyberbullying, rather unceremoniously, into the spotlight.
After surveying 2,000 middle schoolers, an astounding 20% of students thought of suiciding, while 19% attempted suicide due to the harassment done online. In extreme cases, cyber bullying often lead to suicide. People as young as middle schoolers are already thinking of suiciding because of the danger of online harassment. Litwiller and Brausch (2013), suggested that “violent behavior, substance use, and unsafe sexual behavior were tested as mediators between two forms of bullying, cyber and physical, and suicidal thoughts (2013).” The role of violence contributes to the fact that children are used to being bullied which result in anxiety and suicidal behavior.
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 of this form of violence are and how this form of violence is linked to traditional bullying. This will allow researchers and practitioners to move forward with research and implementation preventative methods and intervention once the problem has already occurred.
Cyberbullying is one of the major growing issues in our younger generation today. The ironic part of cyberbullying is that “cyberbullies often say things that they do not have the courage to say face to face because technology makes them feel anonymous, insulated, and detached from the situation.”( 6 types of bullying).
Imagine being personally targeted and bullied by another individual constantly. Maybe never seriously injured but verbally abused in person and possibly online. The issue of cyberbullying can be quite pivotal in this new generation. Cyberbullying is a controversial matter that the world must address because of how it can occur anywhere at any time, causes harm to targeted people, and affects all associated parties.
Retrieved April 15, 2005 from http://www.media-awareness.ca/english/resources/special_initiatives/wa_resources/wa_shared/backgrounders/challenge_cyber_bullying.cfm?RenderForPrint=1. Coy, D. (2001). The 'Secondary'. Bullying. Greensboro, NC: ERIC Clearinghouse for Counseling and Student Services.