The Effects of Cyber Bullying on the Mental Health of Middle School-aged Youth

1434 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Research paper on bullying and suicide

Bullying has been an childhood problem for many and has been recognized as a serious issue. Campbell (2005) quotes Peterson (2001) stating that bullying is “the abusive treatment of a person by means of force or coercion” (qtd. in Campbell, 2005). Bullying is hurtful and can happen for no reason. It is a quick fix to make the bully feel satisfied and assert power (Campbell 2005). Cyber bullying is just one form of bullying and involves many different methods of harassing an individual. Use of the Internet via websites such as Facebook and Twitter along with both instant messaging on computers and text messaging on cell phones, allows a bully to target a victim with the use of anonymity. The anonymity of cyber bullying permits the use of technology to attack a victim without having to be in the same location as the victim and many times without the victim ever discovering whom their attacker is (Nuccitelli, 2012, p. 20).

Cell phone usage and ownership along with technology has advanced over the last decade. According to Miah and Omar (2013), cyber bullying has become so common “with over half of adolescents and teens having been victims of online bullying, and about the same number having engaged in cyber bullying”. Newspapers often report that in school violence events many times the perpetrator was a victim of bullying – a potential risk factor.

Bullying has been correlated with mental health via research studies most specifically through the form of cyber bullying. Research has shown that children who are bullied develop psychological distress from being isolated, threatened, and/or physically attacked (Arseneault, Bowes, & Shakoor, 2010). Middle school is an awkward time for young people as they are in-between phas...

... middle of paper ...

...rs for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved

November 16, 2013, from

http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/youth_suicide.html

The University of Texas at Arlington. (n.d.). UTA's Criteria for IRB Approval. Retrieved

November 18, 2013, from

http://www.uta.edu/research/administration/departments/rs/human-subjects-irb/criteria-f

or-approval.php

Wagner, MD, PhD, K. D. (2007). Bullying and Risk of Suicidal Behavior in Adolescents.

Psychiatric Times, 58. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from

http://campus.westlaw.com.ezproxy.uta.edu/result/default.wl?cfid=1&mt=CampusNews

Bus&origin=Search&query=(BULLYING)+%26+(SUICIDE)&db=PSYCHTIMES&rlt=

CLID_QRYRLT405902716181211&method=TNC&service=Search&eq=search&rp=%2

fSearch%2fdefault.wl&sp=000649297-

2000&srch=TRUE&vr=2.0&dups=False&action=Search&rltdb=CLID_DB18457161812

11&sv=Split&fmqv=s&fn=_top&rs=SCRN1.0

Show More
Related

  • The Importance Of Bullying In The Glass Castle

    1419 Words  | 3 Pages

    The definition of bullying uses broad statements to define the actual meaning. Because of this, people may view the definition differently than others. Bullying can range from physical violence to verbal abuse to even cyberbullying. Most people do not realize how common cyberbullying actually is. Over half of teens and adolescents have been bullied online and almost the same number have engaged in the bullying (“Cyber Bullying Statistics”). Cyberbullying is becoming more and more prominent throughout this time period because of the technology continuing to expand around the world. Each year this statistic increasingly grows due to the technology

    Read More

  • Bullied to Death? by John Cloud

    1538 Words  | 4 Pages

    Bullying is nothing new but now times have changed because technology has made it possible for teenagers to bully one another without having to be face to face. This type of bullying is known as Cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is another method that is being used in today’s society to bullied one another and it takes place using technologic devices such as; computers, tablets, cell phone and using social media websites such as; facebook, twitter Instagram etc.. Although cyber bullying is not physical it has become a big problem in today’s society affecting many families psychologically and resulting in irreversible outcomes.

    Read More

  • Cyberbullying Persuasive Essay

    719 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bullying has occurred for many years and via the internet is a new form of bullying, giving higher chances for bullying to occur more often due to technology.

    Read More

  • Cyberbullying In Middle School

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    Middle school is a transitional period where students are going through many changes physically and emotionally that affect their well being. They are breaking away from the comforts of elementary school and are transitioning into young adults with more responsibility and independence than before. It is also a time where many adolescents are learning about themselves and are experiencing new emotions and may face periods of insecurity and low self esteem. New forms of online bullying have become worrisome for today’s middle schoolers, teachers, and parents. Cyber bullying which occurs online and on various social media platforms has been linked to negative affects on adolescents mental health and behavior. Cyber bullying has become a new challenge

    Read More

  • Social Media Restrictions

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    Track back to 15 to 25 years ago. An unfortunate student would normally get bullied at school with physical acts of violence, but as soon as that student arrives at his home he or she is presumed safe. Cyber bullying does not allow this luxury. Cyber bullying occurs over the information waves of the internet, with sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google plus. Which is why the guidelines must be improved or that children should not be allowed to access such sites entirely. With a the tools of direct messaging and posting videos cyber bullying can follow children to their home, beyond the school playground, seven days a week 24 hours a day. These acts of emotional trauma occur on a child’s computer and smartphone. For this reason it is more difficult to monitor...

    Read More

  • Cyber-Bullying and Teen Suicide

    2406 Words  | 5 Pages

    Traditional bullying that used to occur commonly on school-grounds has now been over shadowed by harassment through the Internet and other technology related devices. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary “cyber bullying” is defined as ...

    Read More

  • Are Cell Phones a Harmful Distraction to Society

    1446 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cell phone users feel as though they can say almost anything they want too because it gives them a sense of power. Cyberbullying is a major issue that has become popular between teenagers. Behavior tends to change when teenagers feel they can hide behind a cell phone;...

    Read More

  • Bullying During Adolescence

    1084 Words  | 3 Pages

    This article will be looking at the effects of bullying during adolescence. Bullying has been identified as one of the major contributors of depression among adolescents. During a research investigation, it was found that 14.3% of the individuals who were bullied at the age of thirteen reported that they were depressed by the age of eighteen, however, of the surveyed individuals who stated that they weren’t bullied at the age of thirteen only 5.5% reported that they were depressed by age eighteen (Bowes, Joinson, Wolke, & Lewis, 2015). There are several aspects to focus on to form a better understanding of bullying during adolescence. The first of which are the negative impacts on both the cognitive and physical aspects of the individual, after

    Read More

  • We Need to Pay Attention to Bullying and Cyber Bullying

    2457 Words  | 5 Pages

    Violated. Trapped. Afraid. These are the feelings of young victims of cyber bullying. Bullying has metamorphosed into so much more than face-to-face interactions. Now, children cannot escape the torture when they leave social situations. The torment follows them home and has transformed into words laced with hatred and animosity. Behind computer screens, the oppressors may remain anonymous, creating fear of the unknown. Unnamed and unidentified, these online bullies can instill terror in the hearts of those being harassed. These types of bullies, via the Internet, tyrannize children that choose to remain indifferent, children who do not have the desire or will to fight back against them. These children that suffer severe bullying not only have to deal with a cruel social hierarchy in public, but now they are assaulted over any type of online media in the comfort of their own home. The Internet allows anonymity, and has led to a brutal breeding ground for cyber bullies to attack whomever they choose. With the increasing dependence and use of technology all over the world, cyber bullying is becoming a more important issue than it ever was before.

    Read More

  • We Need Harsh Punishments for Cyberbullying

    2253 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Cyberbullying

    777 Words  | 2 Pages

    Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a perceived power imbalance (stopbullying.gov). Cyberbullying is bullying by an electronic means. Unlike normal bullying that only last while a person is in school or away from home, cyberbullying can continue nonstop. With the majority of young people having access to computers and cell phones with internet capability it is easy for bullies to harass someone anonymously and continuously. As parents we must understand that cyberbullying is happening and it can cause strong emotional damage to our young people.

    Read More

  • Cyber-Bullying: A Brief Research Proposal

    1671 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Freedom of Speech in the Era of Cyber Bullying

    1941 Words  | 4 Pages

    As we are living in the age of technology, we are seeing our youth being victimized by a new phenomenon of bullying, called cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is defined as the use of information and communication technologies such as email, cell phones and pager text messages, instant messaging, defamatory personal Web sites, and defamatory online personal polling Web sites, to support deliberate repeated and hostile behavior by an individual or group, which is intended to harm others. Cyberbullying can also employ media such as PDAs, blogs, and social networks (Beckstrom, 2008). This form of bullying is progressive because it can happen instantly due to the technology involved, whereas traditional bullying tends to take longer to evolve and happens

    Read More

  • Essay On Cyberbullying

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that takes place with the use of any electronic technology. Cyberbullying is a major problem affecting young people today. There are different types of cyberbullying. This topic comes as an interest to many people these days because bullying is very common and it can ruin a person’s life. These days, cyberbullying is considered a new form of bullying. It can happen over the internet by computer, mobile phone or any other electronic devices. Cyberbullying could involve any form of unpleasant words or pictures being displayed on the internet for others to see. It could also involve the spreading of lies about the victim on the internet. Many people are stepping up efforts to prevent bullying in the first place. Approximately half of U.S. students are impacted by traditional bullying each school day (Ross). Bullying peaks in middle school, then reduces in high school. Other types of bullying may involve the passing of notes behind someone’s back, rumors being whispered about someone, or being threatened in the internet. The most common types of cyberbullying include passing of humiliating photos, cell phone pranks, cyber stalking, impersonation, online slam books, and text wars. Bullies appear scary but truthfully they are the unhappy ones. Majority of bullies have been bullied by parents, siblings, or other young people. This may trigger them to bully and pick on other kids.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Cyber Bullying

    1159 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nowadays bullying has gone much farther than just physical violence. Most teens today have either been cyber bullied or have been witnesses to it. Cyber bullying is a form of bullying that is done over electronic messaging or over social media. This is very new to many people of the older generation, but is very relevant to the new generation. Cyber bullying is becoming an increasingly big problem in the U.S. every year. Being a kid who has grown up with technology and social media I have witnessed cyber bullying many times in my life. I have had many friends that have fell victim to cyber bullying and this is why I chose to talk about this topic. Since this topic of bullying is overlooked in our society as not being an issue I decided to choose

    Read More

More about The Effects of Cyber Bullying on the Mental Health of Middle School-aged Youth

Open Document