Causes
and Effects of Cyber Bullying
Bullying is repeated behavior which
someone does and says hurtful things to another person on purpose. With modern
technologies such as internet, cyber bullying has become an issue.
Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that using electronic media such as mobile
phones or computers and over the internet to bully other people. Cyberbullying
includes spreading rumors or untrue statements about a person via social media,
sending texts that make a person feel unsafe, posting hurtful things about
someone and sharing embarrassing picture with others. There are many reasons
that causes cyber bullying and many ways affect a person (The Children’s
Society, 2018). It
has many negative outcomes like impacts on mental health and many more.
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Pinterest
According
to Patchin et al. 2019, “When students were asked about the specific types of
cyberbullying they had experienced, mean and hurtful comments (25%) and rumors
spread online (22%) were the most commonly-cited”. So, there are two ways in
which cyberbullying takes place namely, direct attack where messages are sent
directly to the victim and by proxy where someone else is used to cyber bully a
victim knowingly or unknowingly. One of the causes is the anonymous nature of
the internet, so it can make the identity of the bullies are anonymously. With
that, the bullies can attack aggressively because no one can even find out who
or where they are. The victims can be hurt badly because it is worse than harm
someone physically. With the internet, information can be spread quickly and
it’s hard to really remove things on the internet. According to S. Indramalar
(2017) from Dr. Vimala’s study about 43% of the respondents feel that
cyberbullying happen because people view it as a form of entertainment. In some
cases, the bullies do for entertainment purpose without thinking the impact.
Moreover, Centers for Disease Control (2019) claims that the reports of
cyberbullying are highest among middle school students, followed by highschool
students, and then primary school students. So, the cause which have been
identified that result in cyberbullying among students is revenge. Some
students with negative feelings may even use same way as they’ve treated by taking
those feelings out on other peers.
The
bullies are usually ignorant about the effects of their actions. Even though,
the effects can harm the victim and the bully such as experience mental health
problems. Karin & Laura (2019) claims that youths involved in
cyberbullying, as victims and bullies are at increased risk for anxiety and
depressive symptoms. The victims are feeling sadness, nervousness, depression
and self-harm in some cases. Cyberbullying increases the risk of suicide; the
victims may even begin to feel hopeless so they try to indulging in harmful
activities like drugs and alcohol. This occurs because of the harassment or
intimidation on the internet to the victims by the perpetrators. The victims
will experience lower self-esteem and self control which means they will become
afraid to interact with the others. This can affect their performance and
attendance at school or public places. Therefore, prevention of cyberbullying
must be highly considered.
In
conclusion, cyberbullying is a serious issue and it can be a cause of chaos in
society. Cyber bullying affect everyone those who are bullied, those who bully,
and those who are watching. Parents and teens can do some things that help
reduce the cyberbullying such as using the social media wisely. The parents can
explaining to their child that cyberbullying is wrong and can have serious
consequences.
References :
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control (2019). Preventing bullying.
Retrieved
from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/yv/bullying-factsheet508.pdf
Karin
H., & Laura, L. 2019. Cyberbullying and Psychological Well-being in
Young adolescence: The Potential Protective Mediation Effects of Social Support
from Family, Friends, and Teachers. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health.
Patchin,
J. W., & Hinduja, S. 2019. Cyberbullying Data. Cyberbullying Research
Center. Retrieved from https://cyberbullying.org/2019-cyberbullying-data
The Children’s Society, (2018). Cyberbullying’s impact on young people’s mental health. 2018
