While technology has done wonders for our society, but unfortunately it also makes bullying easier, more anonymous, more permanent, and often also deadlier.
With the internet and the devices that connects to it become common, cyberbullying has become a common word that is somehow synonymous to the web. People are finding out that cyberbullying provides loopholes that often make victims to end up in tragic headlines.
Cyberbullying is one sort of bullying that takes place using electronic technology that includes devices such as mobile phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites.
Examples of cyberbullying includes, and not limited to: mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social media, revenge porn, posts of embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles.
What makes cyberbullying different than other type of bullying is that it happens 24/7. It can reach children even when they are alone. It can happen at any time of the day or night.
And what makes it extremely dangerous is that it can be anonymously and distributed quickly to a very wide audience. It can also be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source. Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts, and pictures is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent. And at some points, somehow next to impossible.
Who Is To Blame? What Can Happen?
Computers, mobile devices and other gadgets themselves cannot be blamed for cyberbullying. The internet itself, as well as the whole World Wide Web has given many positive results in communication, e-commerce, information transaction, news delivery and many more.
Social media goes the same as it can be used for positive activities like connecting people with family and colleagues, as well as helping children in school and entertaining them.
But the thing is, technology has a side-effect. A byproduct that can be used to hurt the feelings of other people. Motives for cyberbullying vary widely and can include boredom, misplaced anger, or even sadistic pleasure in harming others.
When there is cyberbullying, there is also cyber harassment. The main difference between the two, is age. When both bully and the bullied are minors, it is considered cyberbullying. Meanwhile, if either the harasser or the harassed are adults, it is considered cyber harassment.
People who are are cyberbullied or cyber harassed are more likely to:
- Use alcohol and/or drugs.
- Skip school and/or withdraw from the community where he/she lives.
- Experience in-person bullying/harassment.
- Unwilling to attend social activities.
- Receive poor grades or bad performance at work.
- Have lower self-esteem.
- Have more health problems.
- Etc..
While bullying and harassing others have been around like forever, technology has given bullies and harassers just another medium to perform their actions. No longer they do things physically as they can hurt others without even knowing their victims from across the globe.
Fight! Don't Be Reluctant To Come Forward
Children that were bullied on the web, rarely tell their parents or their guardians. The number apparently gets smaller as the victim gets older. Adults that experienced online harassment for example, only 40 percent of them took steps to respond.
Children are prone to cyberbullying because they starve for identity and they want to "exist" and be seen. As a result, they use technology a lot differently than most adults: they're playing games online and sending texts on their mobile devices at an early age; they share personal things to strangers; and depend on gadgets more than the people of the previous generations.
In short, they are constantly connected to the internet.
But kids' cyberworld is just like their real world. Parents need to protect them from its dangers. As awareness of cyberbullying has grown, parents have learned more about how to deal with it as this type of modern bullying has become part of the internet itself
And their children are the most vulnerable to it.
One of the largest issues in dealing with cyberbullying is how widespread it is through society. Victims are advised to never stand alone, and always ask for help from family, friends, colleagues, social media friends.
Because anything on the internet can last forever and can be seen by "someone else" regardless what privacy option you set it into, you need to rethink before you post anything. This is because for bullies/harassers out there, there is no stopping them from eyeing on you if they see you fit.
You may block them from ever contacting you, and never reply to that message, or to never visit that place again. These will offer you at least a little peace of mind.
But the thing is, cyberbullying and online harassment won't just go away if you ignore them like those in real life. So when bullied or harassed, you need to push back; you need to react and confront to those bullies. You need to stand up and speak out.
More than too often, news show tragic headlines about cyberbullying that could have been prevented that ended in tragedy. There were also stories about women being harassed online to the point they fear for their safety. Cyberbullying and online harassment have severe long term consequences.
Police and school officials can also help when bullying and harassment take place. Even if the laws that govern this hasn't take place in all countries, police and many schools have policies to deal with these situations.
Be aware that cyberbullies are more likely to be those that the victim knows well. Children are 7x more likely to be cyberbullied by current or former friends or romantic interests than just some random stranger.
However, almost the opposite is true for adults who are cyber harassed. More than a third are harassed by people they don’t know at all, and just under a third are harassed by people who are concealing their identities.
But for both cases, females are more likely to be bullied/harassed than their male counterpart.