Mariah Helm
Instructor Kiger
English 101
8 February 2015 Cyber Bullying: The New Abuse of the Modern World Young people today are using the Internet more than ever. They view the Internet and even more so the mobile phones as positive aspects of our society. The internet and mobile phone systems are the two biggest systems of communication which play a crucial role in our daily activities and development of identities. On the other hand, these same technologies are also often used negatively. Many children are the targets of bullying via the internet or mobile phones resulting in total confusion on the part of the target. Very often, children are not able to understand that what they are going through is a form of bullying. As a result the previously safe environment of the internet is now becoming a source of confusion and anxiety. Cyberbullying is the use of e-mail, instant messaging, chat rooms, pagers, cell phones, or other forms of information technology to deliberately harass, threaten, or intimidate someone. Cyberbullying is often done by users who have increasing access to these technologies. The problem is compounded by the fact that a bully can hide behind an electronic veil disguising his or her true identity. This makes it difficult to trace the source and encourages bullies to behave more aggressively than they might face to face. A cyberbully is generally a product of his environment in which he too is abused in many ways, verbally or physically or he might even be cyberbullied. Perhaps however, they are simply bored or completely rotten to make everyone else’s life messy. Many times cyberbullies work in groups because in that way they feel stronger. Their main problem is that they can’t move away from their team because they feel unsafe and they have the fear that they will get cyberbullied themselves. As it is identified by researchers, tormentors are sometimes likely to be more depressed than their victims. What should be worrying us is that cyberbullies get a false feeling of satisfaction when they send threatening emails to their victims because that means that they amuse themselves. The number one objective of cyberbullies, but also traditional bullies is to have power. They want to have the control of each situation. They want to be dominators and subjugate everyone.
Cyberbullying has several negative effects on individuals or groups of people. Usually, it starts with a confused feeling on the part of the victim, feeling hurt because a person or a group of people has targeted them and insulted them for no other reason than simply to be mean. Most would ask why they are the target but perhaps even cyberbullies do not know why. They gradually get feelings of fear or of loneliness, fear of leaving their home or fear of going to school. For example some turn to drugs or alcohol to cope, have lower self-esteem, and in some cases develop health problems. If the victim is being bullied continuously, his grades may drop or even show symptoms of paranoia that would make it difficult for him to communicate with people of his age or make new friends. A feeling of helplessness occurs as the victim does not know where to turn to for help. Also, it is true that in serious cases of constant bullying, suicide may be part of the story.
I believe that the reason the U.S.A. is more concerned about cyberbullying is the large amount of their society that is affected and the relatively big number of incidents reported that has prompted them to impose laws against it. What should the average person suggest? Ignore the bully, do not take him seriously, do not answer him and if he is at your school just ignore him once more. It is suggested that you report it to your counselor or your parents so they get the chance to help you. It is possible that cyberbullies will be discouraged if you do not answer to them and they