Alexis Doyle

Ms. Christiansen
Honors English 9
March 4th, 2015
Cyberbullying: The Silent Killer
Have you ever been cyber bullied? Have you ever witnessed cyber bullying? You
probably cannot count the quantity of times that you have heard these two questions. They are
everyday phrases that by now most likely mean nothing to you. Now try reading them again, and
really think about what they mean. Think about what cyber bullying is and what it can do to
teenagers and adolescents. Distorted body image? Eating disorders? Suicide? Do those two
questions have meaning to you now? Social media is one of the biggest contributors to these
problems among young people. Social media can be mentally and physically detrimental to
teenagers, therefore the rules of social media must be stricter and the punishments more severe.
Most of the world's population uses social media as a way to share with family and
friends what they are doing and to keep their 'friends' or 'followers' updated on their daily life.
This is what social media was intended for, but people have found other, more sinister ways to
use it. Social media has been around since the 1970s, the first, simple, form of it being BBS's,
short for Bulletin Board System (Digital Trends Staff). This was an online meeting place where
multiple people could share files and games, and post messages. This idea evolved into
CompuServe, which became popular to the public in the late 1980s (Digital Trends Staff). The
same things that could be achieved BBS, could also be achieved on CompuServe, but the ability
to send direct messages or join 'chat rooms was also included. These were the beginnings of the
more popular social media that are seen today, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. These

three social media sites have become the main platforms for communications among teenagers.
Nine out of every 10 teenagers use some form of social media, and the number keeps climbing
(Blaszczak-Boxe). The percentage of kids using each site (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter) is
increasing by at least 5% every 6 months (Blaszczak-Boxe). This amount of usage is great for the
companies, but it is apparent that with billions of users, there are bound to be problems.
The use of social media can negatively influence the way that children and teenagers
think about others as well as themselves, even without necessarily being bullied. Not getting a
text back can make kids realize that they may be being ignored, and they then may wonder about
what's wrong with them (Ehmke). Teenagers also worry about their profiles, and if they look
attractive or if it looks like they have friends. It seems outrageous, but if asked, almost any social
media-using teenager would admit that they do have thoughts like that. This leads to negative
body image, even if nobody says anything. The consequences are more severe when people do
say something. Calling someone simple names such as 'fat' or 'anorexic' or even just 'ugly' can
make people feel so terrible about themselves. Name-calling like this can lead to real
neurological diseases. More than 75% of anorexia victims admit that cyberbullying is a
significant cause of their disorder, according to a study conducted by the UK charity Beat
(Nixon). That is a very large majority. The words that people say, type, send, and post can have
real medical effects on human brains. Adolescents shouldn't be worrying about how they look or
what people would think to the point that it alters how the brain processes things.
"Kids text all sorts of things that you would never in a million years contemplate saying
to anyone's face," says Dr. Donna Wick, who is a very successful psychologist (Ehmke). Social
media provides the perfect habitat for this to occur. Teenagers don't have to worry about physical
repercussions when they post a comment or send a direct message. A message that pushes

someone over the edge into committing suicide can be thoughtlessly composed and sent for
public viewing in a matter of seconds. Fifty-five percent of teenagers have witnessed harassment
on social media, it is that common (Cyber Bullying Statistics 2014). The things that people say
can range in severity, from a 'subtweet' to an outright hate page.

These are a few examples of

how

cruel

teenagers can be to others.

These

are real and were actually

tweeted/posted/sent/etc. by teenagers

directed at other young

people. They are not fake. Now imagine saying these words out loud to another person. Just the
thought of it is repulsive. There are adolescents who suffer through ordeals like these daily. The
saddest part is that 95% of young people just watch and do not do anything about it (Cyber
Bullying Statistics). There have been many cases where nobody said anything, and then it
became too late to do anything at all. Something must be changed.
Many people with an opposing view to this issue argue that cyberbullying is
exaggerated (Larry Magid). Ninety three percent of cyber bully victims report negative effects
from being cyber bullied (Cyber Bullying Statistics 2014). Thirty two percent of those tested
reported being stressed because of cyberbullying and another 38% reported being emotionally
distressed (Nixon). The most staggering statistic is that young adults bullied online were 1.9

times as likely as a normal teenager to commit suicide (Nixon). The odds are nearly doubled.
This is just touching the surface. Multiple studies conducted by professionals on children and
teens aged 6-19 resulted in health detriment such as psychosomatic symptoms, depressions,
decreased self-esteem, social anxiety, loneliness, anger, substance use, and even weapon carrying
at school. These effects are now expanding the issue and posing a threat to the safety of others
who are around and interacting with the bullied individual (Nixon). About half of young people
have experienced some form of cyber bullying, and 10 to 20 percent experience it regularly
(Cyber Bullying Statistics). This means that in a school of 2,000, roughly 900-1,100
individuals would be suffering from one or more of these effects. Living life like that is
something that should not be accepted as casually as it is now. Acceptance of bullying must be
abolished.
Cyberbullying has been an ongoing issue for many years now, and as technology
continues to develop and become more available and easy to use, the occurrences of
cyberbullying will increase if something is not done to prevent it. Teens must be made aware of
the real effects that cyberbullying can have on people. They must understand that what they say
hurts, and understand how serious something that seems minor to them can be to someone else.
Society must also teach young people to report cyberbullying. If we don't fix this blemish in
society, the percentage of children being cyberbullied and the quantity of suicides will continue
to increase at an exponential rate. This is a highly debated topic that we face in our world right
now, but it is clear that cyberbullying has a real effect on teens and it is crucial that this is
addressed and changed.