The Negative Effects of Cyberbullying

We use technology in almost every aspect of our daily lives; it is how we stay connected in this fast-paced world. Technology provides many benefits, but it has the potential to destroy many people. With technology use on the rise, bullying has taken a new, more destructive form. Cyberbullying, as defined by the Cyberbullying Research Center, is the willful and repeated harm inflicted through the medium of electronic text (qtd. in Chait). Cyberbullying is a serious problem and has serious consequences.

There are many contributing factors to cyberbullying. Children and young adults have almost infinite access to social networking sites, chat forums, and cell phones. It is hard to find a middle school age child without access to the internet in some way. The internet is a huge part of the life of an adolescent (“What Is Cyberbullying”). Schools typically assign work that requires the use of the internet. It is how we research for projects, papers, and now we can access most of our textbooks online as well. With access to a portal of information about people, websites that allow people to publish their own thoughts, and a fine line of censorship and monitoring, it is as if America is laying the foundation for this to occur. The tools for this crime are lying around and are being abused by people. This leads to many victims having to undergo the harsh effects of cyberbullying. Bullying has always been a problem in its nature but bullying in cyberspace is a whole different story. Images and hurtful messages can be sent or posted at anytime anonymously or on a website where anyone can access the information (“Cyberbullying”). This increases the chance that the information will be seen by multiple individuals thus embarrassin...

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