The Veil of Social Media
Although cyberspace is a necessity for many Americans to preform everyday tasks, social networking sites are often misused. Instead of the internet being a place known for friendly interactions; it is more often used to spread hatred. With the assistance of anonymous comments, messages, and even fake profiles such negative interactions have become easier to conduct. Cyber Bullying is a known problem all across the world. It goes unnoticed as actual bullying most of the time, but cyber bullying can be very harmful, and sometimes even fatal. The New Smyrna Beach High School (NSBHS) is no stranger to the negative effects of the veil of social media. In recent years the students who have attended NSBHS have witnessed first-hand
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Social media is being used as a vail for aggressors to hide behind, concealing their true identity in order to make themselves feel more powerful and in control. Having a secret identity, the bullies are more likely to speak with a tone of incivility which they would otherwise not. Maria Konnikova perfectly states, “The moment you shed your identity the usual constraints on your behavior go, too.” (Konnikova) With no face-to-face interactions, the internet is used as a distant mean of communication in order to blatantly insult and bully others instantly from anywhere in the world. The aggressors that use the internet for their attacks have no fear of physical contact from their victim. The lack of emotional involvement in electronic communication in cyberspace has made it possible for people to have thoughtless conversations. Such conversations are often on very personal subjects that would otherwise not be discussed in person. These types of communications in cyberspace lack the feelings of shame and guilt, and have little to no effect on the people that are involved. Anonymity further leads to bolder and more frequent social media attacks. With the ability to access the internet at any time cyberbullying can now occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The constant access of the internet further broadens the reach of cyberbullying.
Bullying has always been a worldwide issue faced in many schools, neighborhoods and public places. In the past, bullies targeted their victims by acting tough and intimidating in person. As our society advanced in technology, the types of bullying advanced as well. The creation of the internet and social media sites now allows bullies to now hide behind their computer screens to torment their victims. Social media negatively affects our society more than it benefits us because it has created cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has become a worsening issue in our society that is difficult to prevent. We need to reduce our usage of social media networks in order to decrease cyberbullying on the internet.
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.
As the world becomes more and more technologically advanced, cyberbullying has become a growing issue. It is an issue not just for teens and kids but even adults. Most cyberbullying occurs through social media, which in this world of technological communication, is a must for the youth to “be cool.” Although social media and others sources may be used beneficially (business-wise) it may also be used abusively, which is where cyberbullying plays in.
Did you know that, “Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying” (“Bullying Statistics” 1). Teens are affected everyday by bullying on social media; this form of bullying, called cyber bullying, has become more of a dilemma within the last 10-15 years as technology continues to advance and more and more people start to use these social media sites. Scott Meech states that, “this form of harassment is worse than physical bullying because it subjects the victim to humiliation from a large audience, since embarrassing pictures or taunts are typically spread throughout a peer group.” He explains more by saying that, “victims have no safe haven from cyber-bullying because
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
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...
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.
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.
Facebook and other social media platforms have brought communication across the world to a whole new level. The rise of social media has created a place for children to communicate with others in both a positive and negative manner. Although it has made a positive impact on American youth, it has also contributed and exacerbated bullying in our schools. This new form of bullying, often referred to as cyberbullying, has created an around-the-clock atmosphere where bullying can occur even when school is not in session. Many professionals have sought to address the negative aspects of social media and have worked to develop a solution to bring cyberbullying to an end.
Cyberbullies are hiding behind technology because they can’t deal with the victim face to face. People depend on social networking sites because it’s an easy way to target their victim. Girls are more likely to bully online and boys are more likely to bully in person. Cell phones and computers are not to blame for cyberbullying it’s social media sites themselves that are to blame. 25% of teens say that they have been bullied through the use of technology and over half of young people report being cyberbullied. Cyberbullying happens 24/7 and never stops because technology can be used whenever the bully wants to use it for hurting their
Before students only had to worry about being bullied at school, but due to technology advances and the use of social media, teenagers can be bullied twenty four- seven. Cyberbullying causes a huge impact on students and when they are too busy with the anxiety of being bullied their grades can suffer or they can even drop out. According to HealthDay News, 9,590 students were surveyed from 580 U.S. schools. Compared to kids who were not bullied, students that were cyberbullied experienced a 0.049 drop in their GPA between grades 9 and 12. This number is too big when you think about the potential students have but the constant bullying by their peers on social media effects that. For some, dropping out or taking the bad grades feels like their only option. Some teenagers that get cyberbullied on social media can’t take the constant criticism, which can lead to suicide. An example is Hannah Smith, a 14-year old student from England. Smith had been on ask.fm, a social networking site that allows people to ask questions anonymously. Cyberbullies urged her to drink bleach and cut herself. Eventually she couldn’t take the bullying any longer and committed suicide. Social media has a huge impact on these suicides because it’s through these websites that these teens are being bullied by other students. If teens don’t stop soon the side effects of cyberbullying
In Sarah Nichol’s article “Cyber-Bullying and Trolling”, a view is expressed that social media does not cause bullying. According to Karyn Krawford, online anonymity has little to do with making bullies since most victims already know their attacker. In addition, often in real life, bullies and victims play the same role. As director of Cyborg Australia and expert on cyber psychology, Krawford has st...
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
Stutzky suggests that cyber bullying is the use of modern communication technologies to embarrass, humiliate, threaten, or intimidate an individual in the attempt to gain power and control over them. Bullying has been around since the beginning of time. These days however, bullying isn’t just happening on the playground, it’s happening on the internet and mobile phones, making it possible to bully a child 24 hours a day. Cyber bullying follows children around the clock and into the safety of their own bedrooms. A recent survey by MindOh!, an educational company that follows youth trends, reported that nearly 80% of the 5,500 teens that were surveyed said that they had been exposed to cyber bullying. Cyber bullying affects the mental health of so many young adolescents around the world, and the issue is steadily increasing as more and more ways to bully are created.In extreme incidents, cyber bullying has led teenagers to suicide. Most victims, however, suffer shame, embarrassment, anger, depression and withdrawal. While technology continues to evolve, new means of communication enable today’s bullies to become more effective in terrorizing and tormenting their victims. The aim was to increase awareness and decrease the prevalence of cyber bullying- Year 9 at Meridan State College being the stakeholders (people involved).
Most of us have heard the saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me”. With today’s technology, that saying may no longer hold true. Studies show that in the past five years, online bullying has quadrupled (M. Ross, 3). The technology has given bullies a whole another proposal for their actions; virtual name-calling can have harsh effects on the security of kids and teens in today’s society. An online bully is someone who sends messages via technology, hides behind that keyboard and uses words or pictures to embarrass and bully their target.