Cyberbullying Vs. Social Media

Fifty percent of teens and adolescents have admitted to being cyberbullied. Of these fifty percent, twenty percent were cyberbullied regularly. Many of us have heard the tragic story of Amanda Todd, a fifteen year old girl who was cyberbullied to the point where she felt suicide was the only option. Nobody should be left to feel like that. Merriam-Webster defines cyberbullying as “The electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person (such as a student) often done anonymously”. In many situations, cyberbullying can be more destructive than conventional bullying (physical or verbal bullying seen in real life). One reason for this is because when teachers, parents, counselors, or authorities see cyberbullying, they sometimes do not

While social media grows and takes over everyone’s daily routine, becoming a way of life, it opens doors for the possibility of cyberbullying. Social media can be great for communication when used in the right ways, but information on social media can spread very fast. This means negative things such as rumors will also spread like wildfire on the web. Fifty percent of adolescents and teens surveyed by nobullying.com have said that they never confided in their parents when cyberbullying happened to them. That is why it is so crucial that when we witness cyberbullying, we report it right away. People who use social media regularly need to be educated in cyberbullying so that they know that it is so important to report it when they see it. In fact, ninety-five percent who witnessed cyberbullying on social media outlets report that others, like them, have ignored the issue. If even one of these witnesses report the bullying, it can possibly help save a precious life. The vast ocean which is social media is mostly unmonitored. This gives bullies the luxury of hiding behind a screen when they are doing their bullying, and they are able to say almost anything they want.without receiving any consequences. This leads me to my second key point of how cyberbullying in itself is not actually a criminal offense in

Many adults do not take cyberbullying seriously. Some would say that cyberbullying does not need to be a criminal offense because some teens and adolescents are just trying to get attention or being dramatic. Most social media outlets offer the option to block a user. This being said, most victims will not utilize this feature. This is because they want to know what the bully is saying about them. Usually, victims do not simply forget what the bully said about them and they do not block the bully. These victims read what the bully says and may become more and more self conscious, until their confidence is shattered.This is what the bully ultimately wants. In addition to this, teens and adolescents are more susceptible to believing rumors. Peers will read what the bully says and there is a high chance they will believe the bully, even if these rumors are not true. That can cause even more bullying from peers who may decide to join in. Simply blocking someone will not help in this case, because the bully may continue to spread rumors. These victims will start to feel isolated. They will feel as though they are alone and there is no one there to help them. This is why simply blocking a cyberbully is not going to solve the issue at hand (that is, if the victim even decides to utilize the blocking feature, which they usually do