KenzieHeffernan

Period5
1/28/15
Cyberbullying
Bullyinghasbeenacommonissueamongadolescentsfordecades,butwiththegrowing
useoftechnology,ithasbecomemoredangerousthanever.Studiesshowthattheaverage
teenagerwillspend17hoursperweekontheInternet,resultinginthemisuseoftechnology
(SticcaandPerren).Predictably,thisabuseisknownasCyberbullying;theuseofemail,cell
phones,textmessages,andInternetsitestothreaten,harass,embarrass,orsociallyexclude
(Roumeliotis,SampasaKanyinga,andXu).Cyberbullyingisthreateningduetothesimplicity
andeaseofharassinganother,thelackofdesireadolescentshavetogiveupthesehazardous
devices,andthelegalconsequencesthatmayfollow.
Traditionalbullyingisafacetofaceinteractionbetweenthebullyandthevictim.
However,cyberbullyingcanbeanonymous,resultinginalackofpersonalinteractionand
feeling(SticcaandPerren).Sincethecyberbullycannotseethevictimsreactionandthe
possibleconsequencesofhiscruelactions,hehasmoreofanincentivetobeaggressive(Sticca
andPerren).Furtheraggressioncanleadtotheaccumulationofonlinefollowers.The
cyberbullysaudiencecaneasilyproliferate,asopposedtothetraditionalbullywhoseaudience
isonlythosephysicallypresentatthetime.Withtheclickofabutton,theworldhasbecomethe
audience,leavingthevictimhumiliated,emotionallyscarred,andviolated.
TodaysyouthhavebecomesoattachedtotheInternetandtheircellphonesthatthey
haveputthemselvesandothersatriskforcyberbullying.Studiesshowthatonlyoneinthree
teensthatwerevictimsofcyberbullyingmentionedtheharassmenttotheirparentsorguardians.

ThislowreportingcouldbebecausethechildrenareafraidtheywillfacereducedInternetand
cellphoneprivilegesorotherpunishments(DavisonandStein).Theseadolescentswouldrather
sufferdailyabusefromtheirbeloveddevicesthanhavetosurrenderthemainsourceoftheir
problems.Asaresult,theyarefurtherinstigatingtheproblemandallowingthecyberbullyto
abusethemwithoutconsequences.
Theyoutharemotivatedbyfactorsthatcausethemnottoseekhelpwhenbeingharassed
online.Therefore,agreatersystemofauthoritymustbeenforcedtoterminatecyberbullying.In
2008,CongresspassedtheProtectingChildreninthe21stCenturylegislation,whichamongother
issues,addressescyberbullying(Snakenborg,VanAcker,andGable).InMissouri,
cyberbullyingisacrimethatcanresultinjailtime,fines,orboth(Snakenborg,VanAcker,and
Gable).Additionally,countlessprogramshavebeencreatedtoreachouttostudentsofallages
andinformthemofthedangersassociatedwithcyberbullying.Forexample,theCyber
Bullying:APreventionCurriculumhelpsstudentsunderstandtheconceptofcyberbullying,
theconsequencesforparticipatinginthisbehavior,andwaystoresistandintervenein
cyberbullying(Snakenborg,VanAcker,andGable).Evidently,byeducatingchildren,teens,
andadultsoftheseonlinethreats,cyberbullyingcanbepreventedandbroughttoanend.
Cyberbullyinghasbecomeamajorconcernofthisgeneration.Ithasopenednewdoors
forabusethatvictimsoftraditionalbullyingdidnothavetoworryabout.Withinminutes,
victimsofcyberbullyingcanbethreatenedalloversocialmedia.Unfortunately,notallvictims
ofcyberbullyingchosetoseekhelpfromtheirparentsorhigherauthoritybecausetheydonot
wanttofacethepunishmenttheirsituationmightbring.Asaresult,legislationandcyberbullying
preventionprogramshavebeenorganizedtokeeptheyouthsafefromonlinedangers.

WorksCited

Davison,ChristopherB.,andCarlH.Stein."TheDangersof
Cyberbullying."NorthAmericanJournalofPsychology16.3(2014):n.pag.Web.21
Jan.2015.
Roumeliotis,Paul,HuguesSampasaKanyinga,andHaoXu."Associations
betweenCyberbullyingandSchoolBullyingVictimizationandSuicidalIdeation."
(2014):110.Web.21Jan.2015.
Siegle,Del."CyberbullyingandSexting:TechnologyAbusesofthe21st
Century."PrufrockPressInc.(2010):14.Web.21Jan.2015.
Snakenborg,John,RichardVanAcker,andRobertA.Gable.
"Cyberbullying:PreventionandInterventiontoProtectOurChildrenandYouth."
PreventingSchoolFailure55.2(2011):n.pag.Web.21Jan.2015.
Sticca,Fabio,andSonjaPerren."IsCyberbullyingWorsethanTraditional
Bullying?ExaminingtheDifferentialRolesofMedium,Publicity,andAnonymityforthe
PerceivedSeverityofBullying."JournalofYouthandAdolescence42.5(2013):73950.
Web.21Jan.2015.