It’s Hard To Escape: Cyberbullying

Imagine you are 12 years old; you are being bombarded with comments like “Drink bleach and die”, “Why don’t you go kill yourself.” and “You should die”. What do you do? Sadly, for Rebecca Ann Sedwick this was a reality. Rebecca Ann Sedwick was a 12-year-old girl who was harassed and cyber bullied by two girls to the point where she desperately took her own life. The worst part is, this is far from the first time that this has happened. In fact, Rebecca’s case is among many of the young suicide cases due to cyber bullying (When Cyberbullying Turns 6). As reported by “Cyberbullying Statistics”, nearly half of teens become a victim to cyber bullying, but only 1 in 10 of the victims tell a parent/guardian (12). Cyber bullying has been a growing problem in recent years but remains to be a problem parents know nearly nothing about. It is an increasing contributor to teen suicide and dangerous metal health factors towards teens (Cyberbullying Effects 1). In addition to Rebecca’s devastating story, cyber bullying is a serious issue in the United States that needs to be resolved as soon as possible in order to save teens from potential threat. Sadly, the United States is not the only ones being affected by the threat of cyber bullying. Since the Internet is worldwide, cyber bullying can take place at anytime, from anywhere. This means that all countries should come together to work to abolish this problem. Based on the information given in “International Cyber Bullying Statistics” Sweden shows that 65% of parents are aware of cyber bullying as apposed to the United State’s 41%; Sweden also only had 3% of parents, who have had a child be a victim to cyber bullying (1). We must learn why more parents are aware of the threat of cyber bullying in Sweden than the United States. In addition, “Why do People Cyberbully?” states that there are many different causes of Cyberbullying. Moreover, some main reasons people cyber bully is the anonymity of it all, the ignorance of the consequences, or social pressure. Because the bullies do not have to face the victim, it is easier to bully them. This results in the bullies being able to harass their victims more frequently. Often, bullies feel that just because what they say is on the Internet, they cannot get caught; often they do not (5). Take Hannah Smith’s case for example. According to “Hannah Smith 1999-2013” a 14-year-old girl got harassed and cyber bullied on an anonymous website called Ask.fm where users are allowed to send things such as, “drink bleach” and “cut yourself” anonymously (2). Along with being anonymous, the bullies were able to get away with the bulling without having to face any serious consequences (Why do People Cyberbully? 4). Some people cyber bully simply because they think it may be “funny”, or use it as a source of feeling powerful or more popular. As well, there is the typical explanation of bullying in order to feel better about yourself and your own insecurities (Why do People Bully? 3). People feel that if they make fun of other people, it makes them feel better. The reasons behind Cyberbullying are often avoidable and not a good excuse. Consequently, the effects of cyber bullying are atrocious, and often deadly. Because of cyber bullying, teens can experiences many negative factors such as lonelier and depressing feelings, changes in eating and sleeping, and loss of