The Pros And Cons Of Bullying

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Bullying has always been a part of our childhood. It has been around in schools for a very long time. Some people actually see it as a positive act to aid in growth and development. However, due to changes in technology, bullying has increased and intensified in today’s society than it has ever been before.
Teens these days are involved in some sort of social media, whether that’s having a cell phone to send messages, having a social networking page like facebook, a game consol, chat room, picture taking, etc. It is used by one in four around the world, according to an article on emarketer.com. Social networking can be photo sharing, video sharing, or instant messaging as fast as the speed of light. Teens use social media to bully others, whether that’s harassing someone anonymously, or blatantly doing it. For example, a teenager creates a false facebook account or other form of social networking site and harasses another individual. The harassment will most likely come through private or public messages. Since the messages are anonymous, the cyber victim cant do anything or cant find out who is sending these abhorrent messages. “The possible anonymity of the perpetrator is unique feature of cyber bullying and it may intensify negative feelings in the victim, such as powerlessness”(Menesini, pg.1).Teenagers also use another cyber bully technique by using pictures to get to their target. For instance, someone could send an inappropriate picture to someone they ‘trust’ and that person could forward that picture to someone else, then that person to another and so on. Sooner or later that picture is on a public website, like facebook or instagram, for many people to see. This could result in fear of public humiliation for the vi...

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...ly others to feel power or even harm others. These effect include drug abuse, skipping school because they are afraid of humiliation or have likely experienced in person bullying. Bad grades, low self esteem and health problems are also effects of cyber bullying. It impacts overall well being, and changes you as a person. Since the bully is anonymous, the chances of the victim having low self esteem and thoughts of suicide are higher than in person bullying. “Cyber bullying victims were 1.9 times likely and cyber bullying offenders were 1.5 times more likely to have attempted suicide than those who were not cyber bullied victims or offenders”(Patchin, pg. 2). According to Fight Crime: Invest in kids(2006). 16% of teen and pre-teens that had been techno-bullied told no one. These children are more likely to commit suicide because they did not seek help from anybody.

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