Essay: Cyberbullying

When walking around in a town, city or even a school setting, most of the interactions people have is to the online world. Rarely, if ever, do you see someone without a phone walking around outdoors. God forbid one person looks around at the world that they live in! People need to learn to appreciate the world around them because online interactions are starting to take a huge toll on the younger generations. Kids are starting fear the internet rather than being able to use it to their educational advantage. This is something that we need to change in today’s world that way it won’t be passed down to the children of America.
Cyberbullying is a social trend that, for the most part, affects the most vulnerable and weak children, leading to many internal psychological issues and psychosomatic problems, depression and anxiety. Cyberbullying includes posting and sharing abusive comments, photos and videos and any other online aggression on social media sites such as Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, etc. Cyberbullying and increase of technology have a positive correlation which leads to negative effects. Cyberbullying has a negative effect on kids’ psychological and emotional health and it is becoming more common than face-to-face bullying with increased technology. Effective approaches with collaboration should be introduced to protect high school children in America. We should stop investing so much money to only further the techniques that have been used in the past such as presentations, posters and information sessions in school. More concentration needs to be revolved around the topic of cyberbullying and how to have a different approach to it rather then typical bullying because it is becoming more empowering then face-to-face interactions in today’s world. Techniques that can be applied in schools and communities to reduce the amount cyberbullying. Every year in generally every school, a social hierarchy is formed- popular kids, nerds, jocks, gamers, druggies, you name it – and kids have the ability to torment those who are “lower” or “less popular”.
There are many real life incidents that are used as reference when emphasizing the impact that cyberbullying has on the mental health of high school students. John Cloud wrote an article titled “Bullied to Death?” in Time Magazine that mentions several horrible incidents that occurred due to cyberbullying. One specific, well-known story is that of Tyler Clementi. Tyler was a freshman at Rutgers University who threw himself off of the George Washington Bridge in New York City after his roommate recorded a video of him kissing another guy and shared it online. Clementi ended his life after a status update of “jumping off GW bridge sorry”. Stories like these are the ones that we hate to hear; all because of one post. Everything you post will be seen and online aggression hurts so being careless can end lives. Another story mentioned by Cloud is that of Seth Walsh. He was a 13 year old boy who liked boys and hung himself in his backyard after being teased and tortured online for others not accepting him and his sexuality. After many incidents such as these happened, people started realizing how much of a impact technology has on the kids in America. After the Columbine massacre that occurred in 1999 where 2 troubled kids killed themselves and 13 others, 42 states have passes laws against bullying and the United States Department of Education began their Office of Safe and Drug-free schools. In 2002, throughout the economic crisis that the United States was gong through, President Obama put emphasis on bullying and asked for a twelve percent increase in anti bullying funding which was used to further emphasis the techniques that have been ongoing.
Its very hard to prevent bullying and punish bullies because many times, online, people are able to stay anonymous. Technology is a rapid process that has been advancing way beyond any effort to stop it can. Its also very hard to have a full understanding of cyberbullying. Is it only online or does it have to be physical also? Is it bullying or could you just be annoyed? Does it need to occur more then once or can it be a random one time act? There are so many questions that may spiral around the topic of cyberbullying along with many factors that may and will effect who is a bully and who is a victim including life at home and relationships. The government is conducting research to understand each form and branch of bullying. Some people get hurt, then in the heat of the moment, anything came be put on Instagram and as soon as the blue post button is touched, the damage is done.
One thing that we can do to reduce the amount of horrible incidents, especially those that involve young kids who are openly or presumably gay, is to educate faculty in schools to understand the warning signs and recognize what should take place to rid the community of those warning signs. Tyler Clementi of Rutgers University, brought up to the Residential Assistant countless times that him and his roommate do not get along due to the fact that he is gay. This is a warning sign that should have been followed by action, and was ignored. In almost every school, there are Gay Alliance programs that should continue recruiting those who are homosexual so everyone is aware as to who they may be able to talk to if any concerns do come up because most of the incidents we hear about today concern sexuality.
In some high schools, they take a better approach on educating children about bullying. They provide programs that educate not only in the form of  bullies but also as victims rather then programs that only ridicule bullies. In addition, it should be mandated that all schools must provide their community with a school resource officer, someone who’s main job is to “patrol halls and connect with kids” which is very tricky because this person needs to have the ability to offer a position that holds authority along with a friendship. Studies show that schools with a Student resource officer have lower rates of online aggression and violence (Cloud). Barbara Coloroso wrote a book titled “The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander” and she states that “A lot of bystanders are afraid to step in and it is up to parents to set an example.” By having a school resource officer, bystanders can be targeted and taught to be able to speak up. One behavior that parents can do to efficiently aid the anti bullying actions, is to “show no fear” (Cloud). Behavior is the issue more so then the technology. The technology and social media is just a way to express the behavior of these troubled children.
Approaching cyberbullying can occur in many different forms. Students must be taught to help each other because it is an “easier” reaction to talk to someone who is actually you friend rather than approaching an adult which can be more intimidating. Programs should focus more on student action than adult action as interventions by the staff itself can make things worse in the mind of a student. In the article titled, “Engaging Students to Prevent Bullying” by Nancy Willard, many people in leadership positions at schools were asked for their take. Karen Siris, Principal of a high school and author or an anti-bullying book, mentions that “ students should learn about the dangers of bullying and harassment and are given techniques to stand up for a child who may feel excluded or harassed, and pass what they learn
Every day, in high schools across America, the mental stability of kids is being altered by interactions with other students online. In a study by Nixon in 2014, he found that children that were active online have increased risk of depression and other emotional and psychological health problems. People bullied online also have a fear of face to face contact and continue to grow up with many social issues due to events in their childhood.
I strongly believe that solutions to cyberbullying must be enforced. Children need to be educated and understand how cyberbullying affects them and their peers and why these types of actions are unacceptable. Parents also must know how to notice and recognize the slight changes in their child’s behavior if they are experiencing an effect of their emotional health and help them by finding help from outside sources. Kids also need to be able to seek professional advice and support of psychologists and guidance people when cyber bullying is occurring in their lives and that can start by telling a trusted adult, such as a parent. A connected approach to cyberbullying involving teachers, parents, and students can bring positive, long-term effects. The techniques that schools and parents use in order rid cyberbullying will determine students’ safety and emotional state of mind. Online approaches to aggression are very hard detect and prevent. All collaborators including teachers, families, and students should be involved. We must approach dealing with cyberbullies in ways that can reduce aggressive behavior and make children feel more protected, both online at home and at school, face to face.