The Pros And Cons Of Cyber Bullying

The big bad bully on the playground who takes lunch money and threatens kids after school is no longer the bully kids are most worried about. It could be the scrawny boy with glasses, or the shy girl in English class. The advent of the internet allows anyone to play the role of the bully. Bullying is a whole new experience for kids in school today. Advancements made in technology have advanced the method bullies use to harass, threaten, and humiliate their victims. The use of the internet to attack others is sweeping through schools and homes with devastating consequences. Cyber bullying is more harmful than traditional bullying because of the anonymity factor, easier access to victims, and has a greater impact. A cyber bully terrorizes their victim from behind the protection of a screen. They hide behind anonymity and

Victims of any type of bullying often experience low self-esteem and depression. The kids on the receiving end of bullying feel alone and insecure and, feel that no one can help them and no one can protect them. However, incidents of cyber bullying can be captured forever, in the form of text messages, social media messages, and blogs (). The incidents can be brought back up, or come back to haunt them at anytime. It is recorded in history. This can have devastating consequences for both the victim and the bully. It is impossible to know when or if the bully’s behavior will come back to haunt them in the future. Another distressing factor of cyber bullying is that the laws are not caught up with the technology advancements. The lack of laws to support victims of cyber bullying contributes to their feelings of helplessness and vulnerability. Although there is a higher threat of physical violence with traditional bullying, the emotional scars from cyber bullying do not heal as quickly (). The seemingly inescapable abuse can lead kids to make devastating and irreversible