Cyber bullying is when one or more person is using the internet or interactive and digital technologies to target, torment, threaten, harass, humiliate or embarrass another individual. This type of bullying can have many effects on a victim’s health, both physically and emotionally. When the victim’s emotional state is affected they may experience anxiety, depression and lowered self-esteem. This is turn, affects the victims physical state which can trigger lack of eating, sleeping and in some extreme cases even harm or suicide. Andre Sourander (2005) psychologist quotes ‘Policy makers, educators, parents, and adolescents themselves should be aware of the potentially harmful effects of cyber bullying’. For this particular reason stated in the quote a survey was created by the Year 11’s for the Year 9’s to establish the main cause of Cyber Bullying.
It was established that the main cause of Cyber Bullying, derived from a survey produced by the Year 11’s and filled out by the Year 9’s, was that the Year 9’s believed in internet anonymity, causing some to become much more self-assured and insensitive online. There are many socio-cultural factors [appendix 1.1] that may be at the root of Cyber Bullying for most cases. Peer groups can have a largely influential effect on children by either creating a support network [appendix 1.5] or peer pressured situation. Associate Professor Judy Drennan (2010) announces ‘204 of the 218 surveyed students admitted to being subjected to Cyber Bullying at least once’. The Government Queensland’s survey on Cyber Bullying (2011) states; that of the telephone calls that the Kids Help Line receives each week in Queensland about Cyber Bullying, 75% of calls are from 10-14 year olds who are being bullied...
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Works Cited
Speech - Criminal Code 2011, Andrew Powell, accessed 30 March 2011,
Cyber Bullying Survey 2011, Parliament Queensland, accessed 30 March 2011,
Media Release 2010, The Australian Psychological Society, accessed 30 March 2011,
Anti Bullying Ideas 2010, Cheryl Starr, accessed 30 March 2011,
School Bully Activities 2011, eHow, accessed 30 March 2011,
Bullying has been around for a long time, but the negative influence that it has on society is becoming overbearing. Bullying can occur anywhere, from the workplace to the store, but its main host is the school compound. Bullying in school is a major concern, not just for Americans, but internationally. Some of the negative influences of bullying are depression and anxiety in students, which is causing them to become drug addicts. Also, bullying is one of the major causes of suicide among teens in the United States.
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
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.
As a recently recognized form of bullying, cyber bullying also referred to as electronic or Internet bullying, is defined as “the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others” (Belsey, n.d., p. 8; Bonanno & Hymel, 2013). Cyber bullying is characterized by intimidation, harassment, victimization, and aggression toward others that occurs through email, chat rooms, instant messages, webs...
We live in an era where technological innovation is constantly evolving and the integration of electronic devices for daily functions have become a standard of living. These devices allow users to perform communication electronically by means of text messages, instant messaging programs, email and provides easy access to social networking. People of all ages, especially teenagers have become more reliant on these applications to maintain their social network and connect with others on a global scale. This method is still a form of human interaction and therefore unethical behavior and unmerited practices such as cyber bullying which are still a common concern amongst its users. Bullying can affect individuals of all ages and is defined as
Bullying has been around forever, however with today’s technology bullying has become easier than ever. It is easier to bully in cyberspace than it is to bully face to face. With cyberbullying a bully can pick on people with much less risk of being caught. Bullies are natural instigators and in cyberspace bullies can recruit the participation of additional students who may be unwilling to bully in the real world. Cyberbullying is any harassment that occurs over the Internet. Vicious discussion posts, name calling in chat rooms, posting fake profiles on web sites, and cruel email messages are all ways of cyber bullying. Cyberbullying can be more serious than conventional bullying. At least with conventional bullying, the victim is left alone on evenings and weekends. Many people may think that cyberbullying is not a problem in life; well, think again, it can change a victim’s life forever by just one offensive comment about them. It will make the victim want to commit suicide, drop out of school, and suffer from self-esteem issues like depression and anxiety. We must fight for what is right, the sooner the better. The movement into the digital age has change the behaviors and interactions of minors and it is time our culture to rethink its relationship with the Web and social networking.
While traditional bullying leads to physical pain, cyber bullying strictly lies within the mental aspect of the victim’s brain. Although the victim never receives direct bullying or abuse, cyber bullying can cause suicide, depression, and other forms of earnest mental disorders, thus being why so many believe cyber bullying is much worse than any other form. Of course, these days, almost anything can drive somebody to suicide or depression, which is why people believe that cyber bullying should not be considered a “problem”. Most problems lie stringently in the sensitivity level of the person who is being bullied. In our ever growing country that never seems to sleep, it isn’t uncommon for teenagers to experience more bullying online than in the school hallways. With traditional bullying, children may come home with bruises, scars, ripped clothes, and tear stained cheeks, but with cyber bullying, the signs are becoming less and less
Adolescents in today’s society face a lot more conflict in their personal lives than more people aware of. Bullying has become a vast issue in some people’s lives. Bullying involves the negative and hurtful interaction between two people. One or both tear down self-esteem and self-confidence of the other. Each of these leaves a negative impact on people’s lives and can hurt them in the future. There are many different kinds of bullying, some being traditional bullying and cyber-bullying. In the earlier years, bullying was easily controlled because of the limitations of technology but now technology is growing at a rapid pace. Instead of the traditional face-to-face bullying, cyber-bullying is more common in today society due to this growth.
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.
Bhat, Christine S. “Cyber Bullying: Overview and Strategies for School Counsellors, Guidance Officers, and All School Personnel.” Australian Journal of Guidance & Counselling 18.1 (2008): 53-66. Australian Academic Press. Web. 20 May 2011.
In conclusion, cyber bullying is a problem that is growing exponentially with the expansion of today’s technology. In order to stop the hatred thrown onto children through the Internet, preventative strategies need to be put in place. Too many children are being worn down mentally and emotionally due to being bullying anonymously on social media, through texts, and over email messages. Ignoring this problem can not continue. There are so many promising preventative routes to take when approaching cyber bullying. More people need to be educated and aware of the prevention methods available to them, because the varieties of prevention methods are endless.
The online bully’s goal is to make their target feel weak; these online bullies can be referred to as a cyber bully. Cyber bullying is the exercise of using technology to embarrass, threaten, harass, or target another person; according to its definition it occurs among young people (New, 4). It is usually performed by a child’s peers and surprisingly occurs early as the second grade (Jacobs 1). Cyber bullying can even be unintentional, especially through the use of emails, IMs, and text messages because the tone of the sender may be hard to depict. However, recurring emails, online posts, and texts are hardly ever unintentional (124). As the number of youths increase that have the availability to technology, cyber bullying is likely to continue to rise and continue to take its toll on youth. Due to its excessive effect that it has on children today, Cyber bullying should be taken more seriously.
“First, many targets report feeling depressed, sad, angry, and frustrated.” (Hinduja and Patchin). These are just some of the bad effects that cyber bullying is causing for today’s teens. One of the worse effects of cyber bullying is the link between cyber bullying and suicide. “Finally, cyberbullied youth also report having suicidal thoughts, and there have been a number of examples in the United States and abroad where youth who were victimized ended up taking their own lives.” (Hinduja and Patchin). This alarming fact should be the wakeup call to the U.S. that we need to do something about this problem and fast. Cyber bullying simply does not just hurt someone’s feelings, but it is taking lives of our youth. The first step to help prevent this issue can be to have our schools inform the students of the dangers of cyber bullying. “Furthermore, school district personnel should review their harassment and bullying policies to ensure that it allows for the discipline of students who engage in cyberbullying.” (Hinduja and
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).
A great number of children and young adults are the main target of bullying via the internet. In most instances the youngsters cannot understand that they are being bullied as this shows that that the once safe internet environment is over time becoming a great sources of anxiety and confusion (Berson, Berson & Ferron, 2002). Cyber bullying tend to have negative effects of the one being bullied in that the victim attains a confused feeling and are hurt since they have been targeted and insulted for no justifiable reasons. With time the victims develop feelings of loneliness and fear and may opt to stay at home where they feel secure and may even avoid to schools or in other social gatherings. This is likely to affects