Cyber bullying is bullying that takes place over the Internet. It is most prevalent among teenagers and is a form of violence that can do permanent harm to young people. Bullying statistics show that cyberbullying is a serious problem among teens. According to the article “Cyber Bullying Statistics” from Bullying Statistics, “Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying.” Cyber bullying is much more common than one might think and the issue must be brought to light. By being more aware of cyber bullying, teens and adults can help fight it through interventions and policies.
According to Your Self Series in their article “Reasons People Cyber- Bully,” people bully over the Internet for a number of reasons including revenge, power, entertainment and stupidity. First, bullies seek revenge when they attempt to right a wrong or protect other people. Second, bullies look for power because they want to have control over others and to be feared. Third, people cyber bully for entertainment because they think that bullying others is amusing. In other words, having spectators is part of what makes mistreating others amusing. Lastly, cyber bullies may be unaware of their actions and act before thinking of the consequences. Revenge, power, entertainment and stupidity are the four most common causes for cyberbullying yet many other influences remain unseen.
As stated by the article “The Danger of Cyberbullying” in the organization Puresight, “Cyberbullying is worse to young people than face-to-face bullying because of permanence, audience size, familiarity, social networking, and speed.” Cyber bullying is considered to be more serious than traditional bullying because it is constant and reaches an immeasurable audience. Because Internet bullying takes place over the web, it is almost impossible to contain. According to Kraft, “Technology allows information to reach a large number of people in a short period of time. The speed of technology can spread rumors and humiliating pictures faster and to more people than word of mouth. Everyone receives the same message when technology is used instead of word of mouth. The rumors can stay on the Internet indefinitely.” Cyber bullying does more damage to its victims than actual physical bullying because of the power of the Internet.
Cyber bullying exists in many different forms. As said by the article “Cyber Bullying Statistics” in Bullying Statistics, “forms of cyber bullying include mean text messages, mean emails, rumors by email or social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.” Whether online bullying takes place with a large audience or not, it is still harmful to those being targeted. As said by Messias, cyberbullying causes depression and suicide among teens, specifically. Internet bullies may not see the harm in what they are doing, but their victims definitely do.
It is clear that cyberbullying has become increasingly problematic in academic settings (Johnston). In fact, cyber bullying is extending past teenagers and into college age students. This may serve as a motivation to help faculty and counselors create more effective prevention strategies. Apparently, cyber and traditional bullying are highly related, implying that polyaggression involvement is the best target for anti bullying and anti cyber bullying interventions (Modecki). As concluded in a study conducted by Sanders, about 70% of cyber bullies bully in real life too, also known as “all around bullies”. It appears that cyber bullies and physical bullies are linked more than one might guess. Many teen victims that are physically bullied know their perpetrator from the academic setting, meaning that many cyber bully victims and abusers know each other through school. Given that most physical and emotional abuse occurs between classmates, schools play a great role in the safety of their students.
Numerous different types of cyber bullying exist in today’s world. “Research indicates that multifaceted approaches to reducing bullying in schools are more likely to succeed than single-component programs. Such programs may include: a school wide component centered on training, awareness monitoring, and assessment of bullying; classroom component focused on reinforcing rules and building social and emotional skills, such as social problem-solving and empathy; and intervention component for students who are frequent targets or perpetrators of bullying” (Berlin). Other ways of preventing cyber bullying also include “Parental involvement, incorporating cyber bullying prevention into anti- bullying programs, setting clear rules and consequences, raising awareness about cyber bullying, Internet filters, increased supervision of students, acceptable user policies, Internet safety programs, federal legislation to criminalize cyber bullying, showing students how messages can be traced, and anonymous technological reporting of incidents for preventing cyber bullying” (Kraft). As you can see, many forms of anti cyber bullying methods exist, but a common and best solution must be established nationwide.
On September 9, 2013, 12-year old Rebecca Sedwick committed suicide. This young girl took her own life because she could no longer tolerate the abuse of her peers. It all started a year before the tragedy when a group of Rebecca’s classmates started tormenting her at school. Over the course of a few months, 15 girls physically and emotionally abused her. Hoping to stop the torture, Tricia Norman, Rebecca’s mother, sent Rebecca to a new school. However, that did not stop anything because Rebecca’s peers continued to cyber bully her over social media. After the tragedy, Tricia and her attorney decided to pass a new anti- bullying law. They created The Safe Improvements Act of 2013 and are currently trying to pass it in Congress (Taurino).
The Safe Improvements Act of 2013 would replace the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. According to the article Safe Schools Improvement Act Summary in Congress.gov, the act would “require states to direct their local educational agencies (LEAs) to establish policies that prevent and prohibit conduct, including bullying and harassment, that is sufficiently severe, persistent, or pervasive.” The Safe Improvements Act of 2013 would establish policies and consequences that specifically apply to bullying. This act would set up a national anti bullying legislation that would apply to schools around America.
National anti bullying legislation needs to be updated to include specific information on cyber bullying (Hinduja). “While no federal anti-bullying laws currently exist, forty-nine states have passed their own legislation to create a safe and secure environment within their school systems. However, these state bills vary on policies, procedures, and even definitions of bullying” (Taurino). Anti bullying state laws are hard to enforce because of the administrative and financial burdens that they lay on schools. Also, many state laws are ineffective because they lack supervision. “Schools are reluctant to discipline students for off campus cyber bullying incidents because of the fear of being sued for violating a student’s First Amendment Free Speech rights. A school can only discipline a student for off campus speech if the speech materially disrupts school activities or substantially interferes with the rights of others” (Kraft). Having different policies can create implications among school districts, making a federal anti cyber bullying policy the best answer. A national anti bullying legislation would create a common form of discipline and decrease anti bullying around the country. If the United States government were to administer this type of legislation, federal law would truly be enforced as well as funded, removing all bullying related stress from schools.
According to Kraft in his International Journal of Cyber Criminology, anti- bullying programs in schools have succeeded with a 15% average reduction in bullying occurrences. However, when bystanders intervened in a bullying incident, the bullying reduced by an average of 57% within 10 seconds. The success of anti bullying programs can ultimately be determined by the bystander’s decision to stop or start bullying. In a survey that I conducted on 50 Cal Poly students, 31.25% have been cyber bullied, 73.33% know someone that has been cyber bullied, 87.50% think that cyber bullying is common, 86.67% think that cyber bullying has serious consequences, and 75% think that they can prevent cyber bullying. This survey gives serious insight as to what college students think about Internet bullying. As given by the survey, most students have never been cyber bullied them selves but still consider it a serious issue. The last question was especially important because it proved that as bystanders, most Cal Poly students truly believe that they would intervene in cyber bullying, increasing the likelihood of anti bullying program success.