Sam's Cyberbullying Essay

Cyberbullying, there are still people who are very unfamiliar with this term. Many parents don't completely understand the impact this word holds. It is defined as a child, preteen, or teen being targeted and harassed by another child, preteen, or teen, through the use of the Internet, mobile phones, or other technologies. This being said, I believe that anybody, anywhere, and of any age can be the victim or the bully. The unique factor in this type of harassment is the intimidation level involved. The fact that the bully is hiding behind email addresses and Face book messages make the emotional effect deeper then the physical, if any physical action even takes place.

Many would ask how one could be intimidated merely by a colourful email, but that's not always the case. Many users are victimized by humiliation, where the bully can post unwanted photographs for the entire world to see. There are cases where insulting names are publicly written up, leaving the public to freely add on to the torture. Why is this a big deal? There are kids who have killed each other and committed suicide after being involved with a cyberbullying incident. This issue is constantly growing due to the amount of technology today's youth is exposed to. The limitations of cyberbullying rely on the child's imagination and accessibility to technology. What is also interesting is that the subject's role can flip around at anytime; they're often the bully who becomes the victim who becomes the bully once again. There are two different categories that break down the methods used to victimize someone in the cyber world. Direct attacks, where the messages are sent to the victim directly. And cyberbullying by proxy, when the bully uses others to help cyberbully the victim, either with or without the accomplice's knowledge. Cyberbullying by proxy often gets adults involved in the harassment, it is much more dangerous.

Why do adolescents choose technology as their weapon of choice? Why not? They could have been frustrated, angered, or seeking revenge on their victim. Sometimes it is done out of boredom or the fact that the subject has too many technologies available without any sort of monitoring. They could do it in order to get a reaction out of the victim or maybe just for a laugh. Sometimes it's done by accident, being sent to the wrong individual, or the bully simply didn't think about how their words sent could affect the recipient. There are also cases that are referred to as Revenge of the Nerd where they are defending themselves from traditional bullying, only to discover they enjoy being the one doing the victimizing. Mean Girls do it to remind others and themselves of their "social status", often thinking they are just standing up for themselves.

What is the action taken in society against this vast issue? Nothing is set in stone, for this issue is evolving and ever changing. There are always separate circumstances and different conditions that apply to the millions of cases. The issue can be brought to the level of a misdemeanor cyberharassment charge, or if the child is young enough may result in the charge of juvenile delinquency. Usually the case does not go that far, but many guardians attempt to pursue criminal charges. If hacking or password and identity theft takes place, serious consequences can result under state or federal law.

Who is to blame for this issue? I used to believe that the bullies were the only ones at fault, but with my further research on this topic I am now convinced that everyone is to blame. Everyone is guilty of negatively impacting another person's life on a daily basis. The victims are guilty of being the bully at one point or another. The people who don't stand up to those doing the intimidation, the victims who take it out on others or don't seek help for the issues they are involved in, and the ignorant parents who don't monitor the things their children are being exposed to or exposing to others are all major contributing factors as to why this issue is growing. I don’t believe that an end can be put to the negativity that all adolescents are exposed to everyday. However, I do believe we can stop it from getting to the point of suicide. Pulling together as a society to help teach that this is not wronging a right. Ruining somebody’s reputation will not make your own better. Monitoring what a person is putting out on the Internet and receiving will do no harm either.