Negative Essay: The Effects Of Cyber Bullying In Schools

The Effects of Cyber Bullying in Schools
A safe learning environment is essential for all students. When violence, harassment, intimidation and defamation are part of the student’s daily life, it can affect the students overall health and well-being. In today’s digital era, children as young as 6 years old have at least one form of technology as a viable form of communication. Keeping people connected at all times and no matter the distance can be beneficial for most. For some it presents an opportunity to victimize. Cyber bullying is a new trend among young students in today’s schools. It is harder to identify than traditional bullying. This new form of bullying has no boundaries and it can occur anywhere, making cyber bullying challenging

Cyber harassment mostly occurs out of school property, leaving the school with no jurisdiction to punish the bully. Schools are also “ill equipped” to deal with cyberbullies, not knowing where the boundaries of discipline begin or end (Goodno, 2011). New media such as cellphones, computers, emails and social media are harder to track and monitor for parents. A child’s “vulnerabilities escalates by the use of the wider forum of technology” (Goodno, 2011). This inability to protect the victim gives the aggressor more power, making the student feel unprotected at all times. “The victim’s perception, and perhaps the reality, is that an entire school, neighborhood, and community can be involved in the bullying” (Goodno,

Parents who are proactively involved in their children’s lives are subsequently able to monitor their online activities. Spending time playing X-Box Live or online gaming are examples of ways a parent can ease their children into communicating possible issues. Home should be a place where open discussion is encouraged and where you can stop cyber bulling before it occurs. A safe supportive school climate can also help prevent cyber bullying. A tone of respect and trust can help the student share their feelings. The misuse of technology begins with the school culture and education. The school culture “sets the stage for everything that happens within the school” and affects every aspect. Student engagement, collaboration to prioritize challenges and opportunities, setting goals, action planning, assessing attitude and engaging in openness are the six characteristics that can help build a positive school culture (Taylor & Fratto, 2012, pp. 54-58). It’s also important to educate students about the misuse of technology, the consequences and dependency. The power of blogs, social networking and interacting with a larger audience have to be monitored. Students need to be instructed earlier on password, safety, security and sharing information on the internet. Reviewing digital citizenship can not only help prevent cyber bulling, buy it can also help detect