“Over the course of three months, Prince was verbally abused — publicly and in Facebook posts. She was threatened with physical abuse and received hostile text messages. On the last day of her life, Jan. 14, 2010, some of her tormentors drove by in a car, called her an Irish slut, and suggested that she go kill herself. She did.” (Huus). Phoebe Prince was an ordinary High School teenager who wanted nothing more than to fit in and live a normal teenage life, but because of harassment and embarrassment her life was cut short. Instead of focusing on how to prevent this type of bullying, people are focusing on how to punish the bully and deal with the incident after it happens. The internet is a fairly new thing, and it is not going away anytime soon; therefore, students need to be educated on cyberbullying and somehow shown how it can impact their life or someone else’s. Also students should be monitored when using computers and other technology that allows them access to the internet, and students need to take responsibility while facing the consequences for their actions online.
Students should be educated about cyberbullying by people who impact their lives or play a large role in their society; for example, fireman, police officers, school officers, and parents. Many kids and even teenagers can be easily influenced by people who are seen as a role model or a “figure of authority”, so if those are the adults educating our kids about it then it could more easily be prevented and controlled. Kate Fogarty writes, “Have the local law enforcement agencies talk to kids about their rights, how to prevent cyberbullying, and how to control it. If children have more options of people to talk to about bullying, they will be more likel...
... middle of paper ...
...nt.
Murphy, Wendy J. "Federal Law Requires Schools to Protect Children from Cyberbullying." Cyberbullying. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Suing School Would Shine Light on 'Suicide by Bullying,'." Patriot Ledger 13 Feb. 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Parikh, Rahul. "The Dangers for Teens Online Are Exaggerated." Policing the Internet. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from "Our Overblown Paranoia About the Internet and Teens." Salon. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 6 May 2014.
Simmons, Rachel. "Cyberbullying Is a Growing Problem." Policing the Internet. Ed. Peggy Daniels. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2007. At Issue. Rpt. from "Cliques, Clicks, Bullies and Blogs." Washington Post 28 Sept. 2003: B01. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.
The purpose of writing this article is to highlight the adverse effects of bullying on vulnerable individuals. Hopefully, the light shed here using Phoebe Prince story will put a halt on this vice in our school system. Playing it safe by being well mannered can only get you so far when it comes to avoiding being victimized by bullies.The key to avoid bullying as such is not to learn how to be as invisible as possible, but to learn how to stand up for oneself and have a support network that one can fall upon. The Phoebe Prince story features prominently to help students and parents understand the dynamics behind bullying and how to arrest it so that no individual gets emotionally damaged.
In her article “How the Internet Has Changed Bullying”, Maria Konnikova explained how bullying has reached technology, and in the workplaces of many adults. The Internet has made it harder to escape from bullying, and easier for bullies to escape from confronting their victims. Furthermore, the author stresses that cyberbullying not only targets high schoolers, but it’s affecting the lives of college students as well (Konnikova 1). Cyberbullying takes place in the Internet world where is easier for a bully to gossip and humiliate multiple of victims in a faster pace. The studies have shown that cyberbullying is making a greater impact in the victims’ and the bullies’ lives more than the traditional bullying and many people are not aware of it; therefore the schools, witnesses, and employers should work together to fight against cyberbullying and provide help to the victims and bullies.
Cyberbullying is a very controversial matter. People are starting to say that cyberbullies should be prosecuted for their actions. First of all, there are more important crimes to focus on like murder and theft than just prosecuting a kid who said something “offensive” to another kid. Also, the First Amendment protects cyberbullies to have freedom of speech and say stuff to other kids. To add on, just because someone “excludes” another kid form not joining a group, does not mean that they should be criminally prosecuted. If people are being cyberbullied, they should not use social media much.
Poland, Scott. "Cyberbullying Continues To Challenge Educators." District Administration 46.5 (2010): 55. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 2 May 2014.
The rise in technology has influenced our lives with the use of social networking sites and electronic devices predominant with today’s youth. What many adults are unaware of is bullying exists in many forms and is more common in the cyber world. In 2012, CBC news reporter Joan Leishman , aired “Cyber-bullying,” she describes a story about a student named David Knight’s unbearable life entering the Internet. Later in 2014, Rachel Simmons, a former Rhodes Scholar and the founding director of the Girls Leadership Institute, wrote an article titled “Cyberbullying Is a Growing Problem.” Simmons article addressed the impact of cyber bullying in the 21st century and actions school officials and parents overlooked when they are unaware of their child’s Internet activities. The increasing use of social network sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and numerous others allows bullies to go beyond verbal bullying to become cyber bullies.
Cyberbullying is seen by a portion of our United States Congress as the internet equivalent of actual physical assault against another person. In the Megan Meier Cyberbullying prevention act, they found that “ electronic communications provide anonymity to the perpetrator and the potential for widespread public distribution, potentially making them severely dangerous and cruel to youth”. This makes logical sense, as it points out the harms cyberbullying could do, as well as making the point it should be stopped. However, the equal and nearly opposite point could be made that cyberbullying is not an extension of bullying, rather a misconception of a deeper underlying problem: that bullying in itself is the actual problem, and it needs to be stopped, and cyberbullying can be solved by just turning off the device you are using.
"Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 21 Jan. 2011.
“Cyberbullying only takes a push of a button to harm another individual. It is a risk someone is more likely to take when there is no one around to see where it originated from; an easy, sneaky way to cause harm. This bully is faceless, and their victim's unnoticed pressure is unbearable. Old school bullying is easier to catch and prevent. One can step in during the attack, acknowledging the bully and the harm of his/her victim. Cyberbullying spreads rapidly and goes unnoticed often until the victim is
This sort of phenomenon makes major headlines regularly in recent times and effects a clear majority of today’s youth. State and local lawmakers have taken steps to prevent this type of bullying by making illegal under several criminal law codes. Michele Hamm, a researcher in pediatrics explained, “There were consistent associations between exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression.” Cyberbullying became widespread among students with the rapid growth in use of cellular devices and the Internet. With this kind of technology bullies have the ability to send harmful messages to their recipients at any given time. This type of bullying is the hardest to control because it involves students but often happens off school grounds. However, because the evidence is material, students and parents could bring this evidence to the school and local police departments if a situation were to happen. Parents should be mindful of their child’s use of the internet and electronic messaging, cyberbullying usually takes place in a medium in which adults are seldom present (Mason, 2008). Also, instead of sending direct messages to other students, bullies use platforms such as social media and anonymous blogs to post harmful things for others to see. Educators must understand the significance of social media use to their students, especially
The physical abuse that used to happen in the halls and on the playgrounds is no more. Time has changed bullying into a twenty-four hour, seven day a week, occurrence. The pain these children are suffering, from being bullied over the web, is not something you can put an ice pack over. The psychological hurting is what gets to them. The agony these children endure is just as real, and may be even more excruciating to bear. With cyber bullying becoming a sweeping problem for children, there needs to be a solution. Adults, educators, legislators, and even children need to prevent this type o...
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.
...rbullying has been proven to be even more detrimental to adolescents especially considering the rate of suicides. Technological advances have also played a significant role in the development of cyberbullying techniques in order to make the victim feel alone and helpless. In most cases of cyberbullying, 25% of students reported that they would not tell anyone and 47% would tell friends but not school faculty or parents in fear of consequences, such as retaliation from the bully or limited internet use at home, or belief that there was nothing that the authority figure could do to help them (Granello 18). Cyberbullying is an issue of rising concern that needs to be dealt with as soon as the warning signs become present. Laws enacted to protect those victim to cyberbullying will not only provide them with a sense of security, but help minimize the issue altogether.
Mickie Wong-Lo and Lyndal M. Bullock, in their encouraging attempt to intervene in incidents of cyberbullying, have recommended many ways to deal with it. In their article entitled “Digital Aggression: Cyberworld Meets School Bullies”, they asserted that children do not acquaint their parents with their activities on the Internet and as a result parents do not know how to address similar situations (67). According to Kowalski, parents ought to follow “reporting techniques, which includes knowing when to ignore, block, or react, being mindful of the language being used and respond appropriately;” (qtd. in Wong-Lo and Bullock 68). In other words, the authors rightly emphasize that systematic supervision and knowledge can be valuable measures because parents will monitor children’s use of Internet and will be able to provide appropriate guidelines just in case a danger arises (Wong-Lo and Bullock 68). Moreover, as Keith and Martin argue, “[…] incorporating popular youth technology would be to teach youth how to use a social networking site to promote themselves in a positive manner that would appeal ...
Technology means that bullying is no longer limited to schoolyards or street corners. As technology use begins to increase, so does cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology may include devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites. Chris Rowan states the obvious, commenting “a mere 20 years ago, children used to play outside all day, riding bikes, playing sports and building forts” (The Impact of Technology 1). Because so many kids are caught up in the latest technology and no longer care about playing outside, it is much easier to access the internet and therefore talk, and even harass, other kids. Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying doesn't require physical strength or face-to-face contact. Many kids say things online to others they would never say in person— this is why cyberbullying is so popular; kids want to feel big and bad, in control, and superior to their peers. The only way to feel like this is to be feared by others.
With technology progressing, students are moving past face to face hectoring, and are verbally bullying other through social media. Cyberbullying can sometimes become more harmful than verbal, physical, and emotional bullying due to victims, not feeling like they have an escape route because they are threatened repeatedly through text messages, e-mails, social media, etc. The worst part about cyberbullying is that the things posted can be anonymous; therefore, there is no blame for who posts what. A victim can suspect that someone is to blame for the actions done, but there is no proof to solve a possible ongoing issue. Cyberbullying and bullying are actually considered a crime when someone: physically assaults another person, gender or racism is talked about, violent or deadly threats are made, sexually texting, inappropriate photos, stalking,