CyberBully Man

The term "bullying" often refers to schoolyard tough guys picking on smaller kids and humilating people to get attention. But, more recently the Internet, cell phones, and other technology has been used to threaten, humiliate, insult, or embarrass kids and adults alike, this is called "Cyber Bullying". This creates a whole new dimension of bullying, because anyone can be a bully, not just the bigger, stronger, “tough kids”. These new sources of technology enable bullying to happen virtually anytime, anywhere, and it can be done completely anonymous. Cyber bullying attacks kids emotionally and mentally, instead of physically as the traditional standard of bullying would have it. These feelings can lead to loss of concentration, low school achievement, and absentees from school. Cyber bullying is often used as an anonymous tool of revenge, that can sometimes lead to serious mental and emotional problems, sometimes even suicide.

There are many types of Cyber bullying, one of these types consists of sending nude or vulgar pictures by email or mobile device, this is often called "sexting", which can result in serious legal fines or even jail time. Sometimes these personal messages and photos are sent to friends of boy/girl friends, and when a relationship comes to an end, these pictures could be forwarded to friends and be posted on the internet as a way of revenge. Even if a nude or vulgar picture of a minor (someone under the age of 18) is on someones phone or email, they can be heavily fined and put in jail for child pornography.

One of the most famous cases of cyber bullying happened to a young girl named Megan Meier. This young girl committed suicide on November 6 1992 due to cyber bullying. Megan had befriended a 16 year old boy named “Josh Evans” on a popular social networking website called "myspace". But, Megan was unaware that the account was created by one of Meier’s friend’s mother and friend. They had created this fake account because they had heard Megan had been spreading rumours about her daughter. So these grown women decided to create a fake person to befriend Megan, gain her trust and companionship, then slander her and make her feel worthless. Megan had been battling depression for several years before this event took place, and was perhaps the driving force that pushed her over the edge, in which she took her own life.

Cyber bullying is becoming a serious problem in todays youth. The problem will never be fully solved, but it can be prevented and minimized to a certain extent with the right approach. The only way this can happen is if people start to realize the seriousness of cyberbullying.