Social Media And Cyberbullying Essay

This is a research inquiry about the nature of cyberbullying and its relation to social media, using fictional and non-fictional sources to study the causes and effects of cyberbullying, and how social media can allow people to cyberbully and hinder the abillity to cyberbully. I will draw a conclusion about the link between social media and cyberbullying.

Cyberbullying is a relatively new problem involving the use of electronics or technology to harass, insult or defame a person or persons, but to what extent is social media actually linked to cyberbullying? I personally believe that one is inseparable from the other and the link will always be there although, even though it cannot be stopped, it is possible to regulate it. I have decided

All of my sources have the underlying implication that the primary incentive of cyberbullying is the lack of consequences. For example, in the BBC article 'The Girl Who Got Even: A True Cyberbullying Story' (a personal account of how the author experienced cyberbullying in her youth, despite any possible bias that the author may have, this is still a relevant source, especially in regards to the personal elements of cyberbullying) it says "So many students sent Nicole mean messages that she couldn't get a track on who the ringleaders were." Or in Black Mirror's Hated in the Nation (a speculative fiction series that talks about how technology affects society; this is a reliable source to determine a possible cause as the series does use plausible and realistic depictions of society, that are not academic but can be used to understand on a personal level). Many characters will justify the mass harassment of public figures who have become pariahs by saying things such as "(Mean messages) don't mean anything... it's half-hate" (Karin Parke). Or they will escape responsibility with the justification of freedom of speech. The use of anonymity on social media is a right and websites cannot require all users to name because it is a violation of privacy, and furthermore, anyone can just use a pseudonym, so I don't know if this aspect

As I stated earlier, a large incentive of cyberbullying is the lack of consequences to the behaviour. This is something easily achieved with the use of social media because as written in 'Cyberbullying: Horror in the Home.' (a news report about certain individuals who were victims of cyberbullying, it was reliable to explore personal aspects of my research) (2013) "(Danielle Perry) took his own life after he was blackmailed after befriending someone he thought was a girl his own age." Meaning someone was able to torment Perry using a false identity and could not be easily traced. However, aside from a lack of consequences, using social media to harass others can simply be a more effective way of doing so. In this academic paper 'Cyberbullying' (An academic paper that was useful for explaining the nature and effects of cyberbullying, and its link to social media written 2016, on go.galegroup.com), it says "... Bullying through electronic means allows embarrassing hurtful messages or photos to be sent out quickly and to a large number of people." Which is further supported by Horror in the Home "...(Cybrbullying) can go on for 24 hours," quoting Dr. Lucy Maddox. So, the knowledge that one can humiliate someone, at any time from anywhere in the world, in front of literally billions of people may provide some sort of sick thrill to someone who is inclined to