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JoeLopiccolo
Mrs.Stegner
Period0ERWC
22February2016
CSI:Cyberspace
Technologyhasallowedindividualsfromallagesaccesstheinternetworldwide.Social
mediasiteshavebecomesovastwiththegrowthofthisnewtechnology,whichhasdiminished
thesafetypeoplefeelwhileexpressingthemselvesontheweb.Theprevalenceofcyberbullying,
inadolescentsespecially,hasbecometoosevereintodayssociety.
Socialmediabullyingiscomprisedofseveralthings.TheBurnBookin
MeanGirls
is
usedtowriterumors,secrets,truthsandliesabouttheirpeersatschool(Nelson1).Talkingabout
othersbehindtheirbacktoputtheminabadlightisanactofbullying.Bybringinganother
persondowninsocietyfrominformationknownissomethingbecomingmorecommonin
middleschoolages,especiallyonline.Whenusingonlinesites,kidsfeellesshesitanttospeak
theirmindbecause,unliketraditionalbullying,cyberbullyingallowstheoffendertomaskhisor
heridentitybehindacomputer(Donegan34).Byusinganonymoussites,itissimpletodegrade
someonewithoutgettingcaught.Peoplealsoimpersonateotherstotalkcruellytosomeoneelse
withouthavingtheirnameattachedtothecomment.Instagramallowsusersaccesstodemean
otherpeopleontheapp,tagpeopleinembarrassingphotos,andevencreatehatefulhashtags
virally(CyberbullyingResearchCenter1).Whenpeopledothingspublicly,itiseasyforgroups
toavoidthesituationandnotstickupforavictimofbullying.Itbecomesmoreasajoketoan

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attackersfriend,thereforekidsdonotspeakup.Kidswanttofeelsociallyacceptedwhichplays
aroleinthecommonnessofbullyingonsocialmedia.
Cyberbullyingisagrowingissueinyoungergenerationsespeciallywiththeplethoraof
socialmediasites.MySpacewasonceaplacewherekidscouldexpressthemselves,howeverit
haschangedintosomethingquitetheopposite(Nelson1).Kidsareoftentimesbulliedfor
postingcommentsonline.Kidscanbegintoganguporharassotherusersforsayingsomething
controversialorsociallyunaccepted.Depressionandanxietyaresproutedfrombullyingandin
2013,aspateofsuicideswaslinkedtothesocialnetworkAsk.fm,whereuserscanaskeach
otherquestionsanonymously(Pappas1).Usingthissitegivestheopportunityforkidstospeak
theirmindaboutotherswithoutbeingseen.Itmakesavictimfeeldistrusttowardfriendsand
peersatschool.74%ofadultsonlineusesocialmedianetworkingsites(PewResearchCenter1).
Withimprovementsintechnology,itismucheasierforpeopletoaccesstheweb.Cyberbullying
occursmoreoftenduetotheplethoraofsites,andincreaseinonlineusers.Bullyingontheweb
isbecomingmorecommonandthereforeoverlookedasaminorissue.
Arudejokeorcommentmadetoanotherpersoncanhaveahugeimpactontheir
wellbeing.Incomparisontotraditionalbullyingwhere1in10studentsfearedbeingattackedat
school,cyberbullyingcauses1in8studentstoavoidallaspectsofschoolinadditiontocarrying
weapons(Bidwell5).Kidsfearthethoughtofbeingphysicallyattackedwhenfacetofacewith
thebully.Onecanfeelembarrassedorinsecureamongtheirpeerswhenexperiencingbullying
online.AnaccumulationofbullyingcontributestothepainofavictimandJohnHalligan[s]
sonRyantookhislife(Surdin35).Peopleoverseetheeffectsfromaminorcommenton
someonesprofile.Everyonehasadifferentsenseofhumorsoacrudejokecouldbetakento

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heart.Astudywasdonewith3,000studentsresultinginresearchersdiscoveringthat38
percentofbullyvictimsfeltvengeful,37percentwereangryand24percentfelthelpless
(Donegan36).Somethingsomeonesayscansitonthebrainandgenuinelyhurtavictim.These
sadanddepressedfeelingsmayleadtootherresortslikeviolenceorselfharm.Withknowledge
onhowpeoplereacttocyberbullying,itispossibletoeliminatethisgrowingissue,startingwith
youngergenerations.
Habitsthatbeginatayoungageallowcyberbullyingtoexistmorecommonlylaterin
life.Lessonssuchasbeingthebestyoucanbeistaughttokidsasearlyaselementaryschool.
Studentsunintentionallydeveloptacticssuchaspressuringothersfortheirworktogetahigher
grade,whichleadstoabettercollegeeducation,orevenspreadingrumorstogetaheadsocially
(Donegan34).Itbeginswithminorthingslikepressuringastudentforhomework,thendevelops
intomoreseriouscases.Askidsgrowolder,technologyisintroduced,andbullyingiscarriedon
throughouttheseaspectsoftheirlife.Victimsofbullying,ontheotherhand,tendtobemore
anxious,insecure,andsociallyisolatedthantheirpeers,andoftenlackageappropriateskills
(U.S.Dept.ofHealthandHumanServices).Peoplewhoarebulliedatayoungagearementally
scarredandcannotcarryouttheirsociallivestothefullestextent.Byeliminatingtheuseof
socialmediaatsuchayoungage,theseissuescanslowlydisappear.AsofJanuary2009,
Californiaschoolsmaysuspendorexpelstudentswhocommitcyberbullying(Surdin32).
Thereiszerotoleranceforbullyingbeingenforcedasanewruleinmostschools.Thisisoneof
thebestactionstakenplacebecausepeoplewilllearnthatthereareconsequencesfordegrading
orverballyattackingotherstudents.

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Schoolsandparentsmustworktogethertoinstateasaferenvironmentforyounger
generations.Thecommonnessofbullyingonlineisaffectingthewaypeopleexpressthemselves.
Withtechnologybeingintroducedatyoungerages,precautionsneedtobemaderegardingwhat
peoplepostpublicly.Asafeatmosphereonthewebisnecessaryinordertokeephigh
selfesteemandjoyintheyouth.

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