Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is a major problem with social media; it is not limited to but can be posting nasty comments on pictures, deliberately hurting someone over social media sites or sending harmful and hurtful text messages. At first I didn’t think of cyberbullying as an issue because like many I thought bullying could only happen in person. Of course I was wrong because cyberbullying can hurt just as much or even more than being bullied in person. Still, there is a huge difference between bullying and cyberbullying. Bullying most commonly occurs in person. When we think of bullying, we think of being bullied in a school environment or on a playground but its most typically face to face. This means that when the victim goes home, they escape the bully. The worst part of cyberbullying is there is no escaping it.
While the internet is great because it is accessible 24/7, there is a downside. In this specific case, the downside is that bullies are able to constantly attack their victims all day and all night. Even while people are asleep they are able to be haunted through hateful comments on photos and statuses. This makes it really hard for people to just live their lives, freely without judgement. As a result of these hateful posts, people are skeptical when posting pictures or statuses on social media. They worry about what other people will say or think. This is common during teenage years but social media has taken this concern to another level.
One of the reasons behind this is the permanency of the bullying through cyberbullying. Commenting is a major part of cyberbullying. These hurtful comments are left for the world to see; if such comments are reported it is a small chance that they will be deleted and ever if they are, once someone has seen it the content can never fully be removed. Posting hurtful comments can also encourage other people to partake in this form of bullying. It is also very true that when one person says or writes something bad, it gives other people the impression that it’s “ok” to say something that might hurt someone’s feelings. In many ways, this is similar to ganging up on a one vulnerable young child.
On social media sites such as Facebook it is actually against policy to cyberbully; this policy is introduced to each Facebook user at the first stages of creating a profile. The article “How to Stop the Bullies” states that Facebook receives thousands reports of cyberbullying but it is difficult for them to assess the situation and take action. This difficulty occurs because it is unclear to tell whether or not certain comments or statuses were made to intentionally hurt someone or was it accidentally hurtful. This is a major issue because without the complete background of a story the intentions of the poster are not clear and that is what determines if it is considered cyberbullying. Although a comment or status may be hurtful, if the poster did not intend to cause harm then he/she cannot be held accountable; therefore it is difficult for the website manager in charge of regulating comments to decide whether or not if a certain comment should be deleted or not.
Cyberbullies have complete access to their victim’s lives through social media, which is very different from a school day. A child, in school can choose to remain silent as a way to avoid bullying but social media creates an outlet where it is basically an open window into their lives and, in many ways, the bully is able to pick on every minute detail of their life. While, there are privacy settings on social media outlets that allow users to choose their friends, not all people choose wisely. Many young children want to be liked and feel that by having a lot of Facebook friends that means they are popular. Sometimes it is important to take note of who your real friends are and remember its quality not quantity.
It is often said that once something is put out there for the world to see, it can never be taken back. While negative and hateful comments that are noted as acts of bullying can be reported through social media websites like Facebook and Instagram, the damage has already been done. This brings up the issue of permanency one again, these comments, though can be deleted and removed by the companies could be screenshot and saved by other users to only taunt and harass others. Not only can such comments be saved through photos, once someone has seen it they will remember it and continue to pass on the content of the comment even if it was taken down by the site itself.
In recent years, cyberbullying has been taken even more seriously as the rates of suicide related to cyberbullying has increased dramatically. Organizations and campaigns have been created solely to if not end, at least decrease the amount of cyberbullying that occurs each day. Such organization were also created in an effort to decrease the amount of suicides caused from cyberbullying. People such as Amanda Todd were victimized and taunted over social media; as a result of becoming depressed and being able to deal with such depression and hate from people all over, even strangers, Amanda Todd took her own life. Amanda Todd is just one person out of the many that have taken their own lives as a result of being bullied online. The website cyberbullyhotline.com lends help to victims of cyberbullying. In addition, the website provides statistics about cyberbullying. For example, 42% of teenagers admit to being cyberbullied and 81% say that cyberbullying is easier to get away with. Further 20% of cyberbullied victims think about suicide and 1 in 10 actually commit suicide. Victims of cyberbullying feel vulnerable and unable to escape therefore some find themselves thinking about suicide as a way to finally escape those hurtful and hateful comments on social media.
I was lucky enough to never be a victim of cyberbullying however I have witnessed it firsthand with friends and it is a scary thought to think that someone on a computer miles away can break down one’s self esteem with the click of a button. This makes one reconsider who a bully is. We are a notion in our minds of what a bully looks like and an understanding of bullying, but cyberbullying has changed the face of bullying. I agree with the article “How to Stop the Bullies” in that organizations such as Anonymous should be put into effect so that bullies are punished. For example, such organizations could contact the schools where the cyberbullies attend and try to have the school punish them in some way. I believe that it is more difficult to punish someone for cyberbullying because of the common thought that bullying cannot occur if you are not face to face. It is also difficult for schools to punish cyberbullies because the bullying is not happening on school property therefore it can be against school policy to punish students for something they do at home.
