Tyler Fix, Keonya, Karla and Tiffany Ms.

Camille Clark Pre 101 19 November, 2012 Cyber-bullying a True American Society Problem Its said that more than 97% of youth in the United States are connected to the internet in some way. Weve now struck an era where using technology such as computers, cell phones, the internet, TV, social media etc. are now considered a norm. A new era of interaction and entertainment has been created in the use of the internet creating a social epidemic throughout the world. The new era that is surrounding the younger generation of America and citizens everywhere has allowed what began as the stereotypical face to face bullying to evolve into a coldhearted distanced demoralized version of bullying that is via the internet, such a distanced way of bullying leads to many downfalls with detrimental effects on not only victims but society as a whole. To fully understand this widespread epidemic that America has fallen victim to we must first understand the true meaning of cyber-bullying. According to Websters online dictionary cyber-bullying is defined as the act of harassing someone online by sending or posting mean messages, usually anonymously. An act meant to harass and tear someone down in a mental way typically anonymously opens up the opportunities for ways victims can be bullied and cyber-bullies can bully their victims. These opportunities can include posting pictures or statuses

degrading their victim, posting statuses under a false name, sending text messages and many more. The possible ways for cyber-bullies to attack their victims doesnt limit the possibilities for cyber-bullies, they show the wide array of possibilities they now have to attack their potential victims. Cyber stalking, degradation, harassment, impersonation, flaming, text messaging, password theft, web sites, the use of images or photos, PC attack and proxy attacks are all ways someone can cyber-bully their victims. Whereas in person or old school bullying can most commonly be described as physical attacks, degradation, harassment, impersonation, flaming and using images or photos to attack their victims. According to the article Cyber Bullying Statistics by Jared Skye 6% of children reported being sent hurtful messages online this fact shows that verbal abuse can now be reported as the most common type of bullying. But why does cyber-bullying occur and for what reason is verbal abuse via messaging the most common form of bullying? Education.com divides the motives for cyber-bullying into 4 most common categories peer acceptance and Jealousy, revenge, entertainment and a need for resources and Dominance, self-esteem, venting personal problems and attention getting. Peer acceptance and Jealousy was the category which was most commonly reported as the reasons cyber-bullies bully their victims. They also reported that 70% of cyber-bullies had bullied in real life whereas the other 30% of cyber-bullies bullied only in the cyber-world. The reason that cyber-bullying is such a widespread epidemic and the new most common form of bullying is because it allows the past bullies which typically bullied in real a new outlet and option to bully when theyre not close or face to face to their victim while also allowing other people who wouldnt of bullied in real life the ability to now bully without facing the possibility of coming face to face with their victims.

Now that we can understand how cyber-bullying occurs and who bullies their victims via technology we must analyze the victims being bullied. John W Sheridan the author of Types of Cyber Bullying & Examples of Cyber Bullying reports that 1 out of every 3 children are victims of some type of cyber-bullying. As of December 2010 a study conducted by The Annenberg Public Policy Center of The University of Pennsylvania 15.8% of people 22% of women and 9.6% of men between the ages of 18-22 that were polled reported being a victim to cyber-bullying. Of the 97% of Americas youth connected to the internet in some way 39% of all people using social networking sites like Facebook will experience some form of cyberbullying. This makes social networking sites the most common place for victims to be cyberbullied. Not only can any user be bullied via technology but a study posted on safety.lovetoknow.com conducted by Julie Luming illustrates that children who are overweight or obese are 63% more likely to be bullied. In all 26% of respondents said yes to knowing somebody close to them which they believed were experiencing cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying is an epidemic overrunning Americas young adults and children. With so many people falling victim to cyber-bullying the question cant help but be posed what effects does cyber-bullying have on its victims and Americas society? Cyber-bullying can have many detrimental effects to the people who have fallen victim to this horrific crime. According to the article All about Cyberbullies: Who They Are and What They Do often time the victims are sometimes scared to block their cyberbully as it can have consequences for their real life interactions with them. Victims of cyber-bullying are often time sensing a feeling of being scared or mental anguish of what might happen if they turn their bully in or face their bully to try to stick up for themselves. In fact the London School of Economics and Political Science conducted a study finding that roughly 25% of children in the study had been bullied online

without telling anyone about it. The feeling as if they cant turn in their bully often times leads to negative side effects. The article Cyber Bullying Statistics reported that according to the CDC bullying victims are 2 to 9 times more likely to commit suicide or attempt it than those who do not experience bullying. An astounding 56% of students said they felt significantly upset over cyber bullying events. Over half of the victims of cyber-bullying admitted to having continued negative thoughts due to their events of being bullied. In 2010 a study was done illustrating that over 62% of victims to cyber-bullying felt Sad or Hopeless. With such an enormously high amount of people being victimized by cyber-bullies, with many having negative effects of those attacks we can only assume the effects that would have on our society as a whole. For victims to believe they are hopeless or to be 2 to 9 times more likely to commit suicide cyber-bullying is changing the way many people look at themselves often times reducing creativity and the belief they are capable to do great things. With an epidemic such as cyber-bullying not only occurring against young adults but also many young children to its vital to find a way to solve this problem before it continues to worsen. To adequately solve this epidemic schools throughout the nation must implement programs to stop bullying both in person and also via technology if they have not already done so. Social Media websites such as Facebook and Twitter must begin to be monitored by school officials and parents to check for warning signs against children being cyber-bullied and lastly parents must talk to their children to not only create a positive environment for their children to believe they are living in but also explain correct ways to use technology and the internet to ensure that children are not using such a positive resource for a negative act. In an era where technology and the internet play such a vital role the worry is that this resource is being used in a negative way. Cyber-bully is an epidemic and major problem that

affects a vast majority of Americas children and young adults. With so many people being targeted by such a vicious and cold hearted crime we must worry about their safety and futures. Cyber-bullying is proven to lead to depression, sad thoughts due to the negative stigma surrounding such attacks against their victims mentality and even suicide. We as a nation can work together to attempt to solve this epidemic to help out our children and young adults to stop the negative side effects not only against the victims but help cure the negative stigma surrounding social media as it is too often used in a negative way to hurt one another when it could be used as such a helpful and positive resource.