Cyberbullying: the bully’s perspective

It is unknown exactly what drives children, or people of any age, to engage in cyberbullying. There are several reasons that could be the source of why an individual feels the need to verbally assault or harass another person online. According to stopcyberbullying.org, these reasons may include boredom, feeling threatened, entertainment, by accident, or being power hungry, etc.

In my experience and knowledge regarding bullying, more specifically cyberbullying, low self esteem may attribute to the need to bring others down. Often times, the bully would never say or do things in person to the victim, but a sense of security lies in the fact that the bullying does not appear face to face, but behind a screen. A sense of anonymity is possible in various social media accounts such as ask.fm and several others as well.

The following link is to a piece written by Michelle Lynn Nelson, an individual who witnessed cyberbullying and discusses her views and perspective that includes negative effects on her school due to the movie “Mean Girls” and how her friends were affected by bullying:

http://www.stopbullying.gov/blog/2013/09/17/personal-perspective-cyberbullying

According to stopcyberbullying.org, “ The Power-hungry do it to torment others and for their ego. Revenge of the nerd may start out defending themselves from traditional bullying only to find that they enjoy being the tough guy or gal. Mean girls do it to help bolster or remind people of their own social standing. And some think they are righting wrong and standing up for others.”

I agree with this statement and believe that individuals who choose to partake in cyberbullying are potentially unaware of the negative and possible life long effects their actions have on their victims. They know their words are offensive but may not understand the seriousness of their acts and just how haunting their actions online can be for victims.