Online Cyber Bullying

1.0: Introduction about the Phenomenon

As of the contemporary society, a lot has changed, with most of the changes being either

beneficial or detrimental. Specifically, the internet is one of the many births that have helped

revitalize the society and its way of functioning. That is, the internet has managed to shift the

social paradigm of how people interact with each other. For some reasons, other than being

beneficial based on enhanced communication, the internet has also led to the birth of subcultures

such as cyber bullying. Cyber bullying may be viewed as new age form of terrorism that

involves the use of the internet by specific individuals to bully others (Brody & Vangelisti,

2016). Cyber bullying may be different from traditional bullying, but they both have some

similarities.

Traditional Bullying

First, traditional bullying, like the name suggests, is archaic since it did not involve any

electronic form of bullying (Brody & Vangelisti, 2016). With the inexistence of electronic

means, traditional bullying needed physical interactions between individuals for it to be

successful. As such, traditional bullying was categorized as physical bullying, verbal bullying, or

social bullying. Each of these modes of bullying was primarily some form of harassment that

was directed to causing particular harm. Physical bullying, the most common one, was some

form of harassment where the aggressor inflicted bodily attacks on the victims (Wang, Nansel, &

Iannotti, 2011). For them to cause bodily harm, the attackers could either act by kicking, striking,

punching, or using any other form of physical aggression. The outcomes of physical bullying

included causing bodily pain or individual humiliation.

an individual either indirectly or directly (Wang, Nansel, & Iannotti, 2011). Direct verbal

bullying involved a face-to-face exchange of words between the bully and their victims. In cases

of direct verbal bullying, the bully could intimidate the victim by issuing threats, name-calling,

or make hurtful comments. Indirect verbal harassing did not involve a face-to-face exchange

between the bully and the victim. Instead, the form of bullying used in this context involved

making hurtful comments about a given person to other people.

The final traditional is the social bullying, which happens to be somehow similar to

indirect verbal harassment. In social bullying, the aggressor acts in a manner that they

manipulate the victim’s social settings, which can be done by either spreading rumors about the

victim to the pertinent peer groups (Wang, Nansel, & Iannotti, 2011). Based on the anonymity of

this form of bullying, the victims hardly get the chance to identify their particular bully.

Cyber bullying

As mentioned above, bullying is categorically a process that involves aggressiveness

from the provoker to the victims. From such a situation, the clear fact is that cyber bullying may

somehow overlap with traditional bullying, but there is a great difference between the two. The

very basic aspect of cyber bullying is that it uses electronic devices to deliver the aggressiveness,

hence breaking the limitations of physical presence. Because of the elimination of physical

existence in cyber bullying, physical strength is considerably not an option. As a result, success

in cyber bullying is said to be instigated by technological skills as well as individual’s

anonymity. With all the characteristics and incidents of cyber bullying, it is considered to have

its unique manner, and this replicates in its definition. That is, cyber bullying is described as the

use of electronic devices such as cell phones and computers by a given individual or group of
individuals to repetitively communicate hostile messages such as rumors and embarrassing

pictures that happen to be spread across various social media sites, text messages, or emails with

the intent of causing discomfort or inflicting pain (Brody & Vangelisti, 2016).

2.0: Different Kind Of Online Cyber Bullying With Their Definition

When individuals discuss or complain about cyber bullying, they are actually referring to

different circumstances typically because there are different kinds of cyber bullying. The very

common type of cyber bullying is harassment (Slonje & Smith, 2008). In this, the bully sends

insulting, offensive, and rude messages to their victims. For them to achieve their desired goal of

humiliation, the bullies do so by posting the nasty things on the victim’s posts or pictures in

given chart rooms or gaming sites. The second form of cyber bullying is denigration. The

bullying, in this case, involves an individual sending some false information about a given

person with the intentions of ridiculing them or spreading fake gossips (Slonje & Smith, 2008).

Apparently, this is done by intentionally altering a picture in a manner that it will attract some

humiliation. Flaming as a form of cyber bullying is actually a situation where an individual uses

extremely vulgar language to start fights or arguments, knowing very well that they will get

specific people distressed. Impersonation is quite common since it involves hacking into another

person’s account and posting some vicious or embarrassing posts (Slonje & Smith, 2008). Cyber

stalking is a form of cyber bullying that involves sending of threatening or intimidating messages

that make the other person fear for their safety. Finally, outing and trickery is another form of

cyber bullying where an individual trick another to reveal private information about them and

after that spreading and revealing these secrets to others.

From a personal understanding and based on the research about cyber bullying, its

effects, incidences, and professional advice towards its mitigation, the society needs to be

educated on this topic. Therefore, the reason I created this website attributes to the fact that I

wanted the society to understand why social media may be catastrophic; more so, with the

amplified cases of cyber bullying among social media users. In fact, other than educating the

society on cyber bullying issues based on assumptions, the information in this website is quite

informative since it does not only use cases in illustration but also relies on reviewed

information, making the statistical expression quite accurate. In conclusion, if the readers get to

understand the overall issue of bullying; specifically, cyber bullying, there is the surety that they

will not only understand its effects but will also have the chance to deal with it accordingly;

hence, reduced devastating outcomes.

4.0: Researches Talk about the Same Issue

The Effects of Cyber Bullying

For a fact, it should not be ignored or assumed that cyber bullying is less harmful than

traditional bullying. In fact, cyber bullying is more catastrophic compared to traditional

harassment. The claim is clear with the fact that cyber bullying affects people of all walks of life

and ages, which include both teens and adults. If a person does not need to be physically present

for them to terrorize their victims, it makes everybody a victim to such form of harassment

(Gebhart, 2012). For instance, the teenagers are renowned for their involvement in various forms

of bullying, but the indubitable fact is that if private information of a given adult is disclosed,

regardless of their age they will in one way or the other be affected. In the described situation,
irrespective of the involved individual, the common situation is that the victims will be

embarrassed and totally overwhelmed. The teenagers are the most affected individuals since they

find it hard to confide with the adults on shameful matters; moreover, for fear of being judged or

rebuked.

With the indication of how cyber bullying can be devastating among the victims, the

most common question is what the prevalent effects of cyber bullying are? The very basic

effect of cyber bullying is that individuals feel overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed arises

from the fact that the target individuals find it crushing if a specific group of people is out

to terrorize them. With only a group of individuals terrorizing the victim, there is the

tendency to think that the world now knows about their suffering, which makes them

snap and believe that the situation is way out of their league and hard to handle

(Gebhart, 2012).

Secondly, victims of cyber bullying feel powerless and vulnerable. This feeling is

initiated by the understanding that technology is everywhere and the target individuals

have nowhere to hide. Specifically, a bully may invade them at any given time using

either their phones or computers. Also, because cyber bullying is successful based on

anonymity, the victims may fail to identify their victims, which creates even more fear.

Victims of cyber bullying may also be affected in a way that they feel dissatisfied with

their identity. The clear fact about this occurrence is evident with the fact that most of the

cyber bullying preys are exploited based on their vulnerabilities (Gebhart, 2012). As an

individual who might be having issue with their body weight because of being obese, if

the situation is not smashed on their face, they will always find their sense of self-worth.
 However, if a cyber bully decides to abuse them based on such an issue, they begin to

doubt their value and worth.

Another common effect of cyber bullying is the victims’ disinterest in life. Being the

center of ridicule, the cyber bullying preys tend to interact with the world around them

ideally, with the hopes of being perfect. However, despite this, most individuals feel

meaningless and hopeless, and the outcomes are that they start losing interest in things

around them (Gebhart, 2012). If fast actions are not taken, these individuals may be

depressed, which leads to loneliness and isolation, the next effect of cyber bullying.

Victims of cyber bullying may experience isolation and loneliness. The reason for such

an occurrence attributes to the fact that if being in social interactions makes them the

victims, they better maintain the exclusion from these social settings. What these

individuals fail to understand is that by being excluded from social interactions they

make themselves even more vulnerable, considering that they do not have friends to help

them deal with the bullying issue.

With each of the effects as mentioned above, if the right actions are not taken, depression

kicks in and the ultimate stage is always suicidal (Gebhart, 2012). By being depressed

and lacking a friend to talk to, the indubitable fact is that these individuals hopeless,

which is the worst feeling ever since the pertinent people feel worthless. To escape the

pain of being worthless and ‘allowing the world to be better without them,’ they end up

committing suicide.

Statistical Analysis

The effects are quite disastrous imagining what individuals have to put up with, all in the

name of social interactions. For lucidity and a clear understanding, statistics may help to express
the actual ugliness of cyber bullying and its effects on the victims. The statistics are relatively

shocking bearing in mind that an approximate 43% of students have been victims of situations

that are described as cyber bullying. A clearer picture into this occurrence shows that an

approximate 50% of youngsters, below 18 years, have in one way or the other dealt with digitally

abuse behaviors, while those aged between 18-24 account for 47 percent and gender-wise the

female victims are 53% compared to the males 42% (Combat Cyber Bullying & Peer Pressure

Tips Safe Smart Social Summit, 2014). Based on the various types of cyber bullying, 45% of the

young people are reported to be bystanders since they see other individuals being mean and

abusive on social media sites. From the discussed effects, one might tend to ask the question of

how these individuals are withdrawn from social settings. The answer is that with the schooling

individuals, especially children, 20 percent are reluctant to attend school for fear of cyber bullies.

The other question is how the society, in general, is affected by cyber bullying. Statistical

evidence in such an occurrence shows that 83 percent of cyber bullying victims undergo self-

esteem hurting (Combat Cyber Bullying & Peer Pressure Tips Safe Smart Social Summit, 2014).

Also, 30 percent of the cyber bullying victims have resulted into self-harming behaviors, which

are argued to be as a result of dissatisfaction with self-identity. Finally, 30 percent of the cyber

bully victims; in particular children have tried committing suicide, and because the incidences

keep on increasing mark the need for the adoption of necessary actions to mitigate cyber

bullying.

5.0: Popular Incident Happen Because Of the Online Cyber Bullying

Theories and more hypotheses may spark specific actions or lead to ignorance, but real

life experiences are sure to capture the target audience attention. As such, there is the need to

discuss cyber bullying effects and its mitigation strategy based on a real life experience, and in
this case, Megan Meier’s cyber bullying incidence is such a good illustration. Apparently,

Meier’s case was quite shocking and a call for action among most Americans. Megan was only a

thirteen-year-old girl who had attention deficit disorder and also suffered depression following

her struggles with weight (Pokin, 2007). Unfortunately, five weeks before her demise, a boy by

the name Josh Evans requested Megan’s friendship on MySpace. In reflection to her attention

deficit disorder and depression, Megan thought this was her best option to interact with a person

she considered to like her. Despite the fact that they never met in person or even talked on the

phone, Megan was happy to have met a boy who would love her irrespective of her self-esteem

and weight issues.

What Megan failed to know is that the newly found boyfriend Josh was a hoax created by

her friends to humiliate her. As a result, when Josh expressed the feeling that he no longer

wanted to be friends with Megan, she was quite devastated and did not have the strength to

withstand this humiliation, and this was the reason she took her life (Pokin, 2007). In fact,

according to Megan’s mother Tina Meier, the founder of a nonprofit organization, Megan Meier

Foundation, she said that it was only 20 minutes after the daughter left her computer that she

realized that she had committed suicide. From such a story, it is quite clear that social media sites

are quite an issue when it comes to cyber bullying. In particular, with the present day and age,

most people depend on them for interaction; more so, because they do not necessarily require a

physical meeting. However, these sites are catastrophic because anonymity opens room for

exploitation, in this case, cyber bullying, which led to Megan’s suicidal death.

6.0: Advices from Experts

Considering that cyber bullying may even cost an individual’s life, the society remains to

ask the question of what needs to be done to reduce or eliminate this problem once and forever.
There are various pieces of advice from experts on how to deal with cyber bullying, and the

guaranteed fact is that they might be of immediate help as well as be foundational operational

platforms to given support groups. For a fact, the society understands too well that social media

is a preferable means of interaction among individuals, which is categorically the main reason

for increased cyber bullying cases. As a society, the basic question should be who is responsible

for ensuring cyber bullying activities are reduced. The answer is quite clear since as a society,

the parents, teachers, and other individuals, as well as organizations, are obliged to make sure

they help the teenagers as well as other victims of cyber bullying (Wennekes, 2015). By doing

so, there is the guarantee that there will be guidelines outlining what needs to be done in

handling cyber bullying as well as making sure the victims have the necessary support to

overcome this predicament.

 First, the victims of cyber bullying need to desist from responding. Though it is hard to

refrain from reacting to some untrue information about you, it is advisable to try and not

respond or retaliate. The cautionary aspect of this situation is that by responding, the

victims may be empowering the bullies and giving them the power of themselves

(Wennekes, 2015). Consequently, ignoring the text or failing to retaliate breaks the

possibility of creating a bullying chain of reaction.

 The individuals should make copies of the cyber bullying incidences through screenshots

or print media. Instinctively, the people’s first reaction is to delete the post, and these

remove evidence for such an occurrence. But with a record of the post or comments,

there is enough proof to prosecute the offender.

 Individuals should report to the necessary authorities. For example, if it is in workplaces,

individuals should report to human resource, and if it is a school setting, the victims
 should report to the principal or school counselor. Such course of action is necessary for

administering immediate help because the relevant authorities take the initiative to

intervene and eliminate the threat.

 In case of social media bullying, the cyber bully victims should report to the pertinent

social media host as well as the Internet Service Provider. For example, for a site like

Facebook, there is the option to report abuse or posting of a comment or a picture that

may be hurtful to others. In such an occurrence, if an individual reports a cyber bullying

incidence, these sites have the power to bring down such a post and take the necessary

course of actions (Wennekes, 2015). In particular, with the social sites investigative

ability, even when the abuser is anonymous, with the help of ISP and the police, there is

the surety that the culprit will be hunted down and brought to book.

 Some forms of cyber bullying are quite disastrous, and they require immediate reporting

to the police officers. If a bully issues death threats or physical violence, the victim is

obliged to report to the police and let them take immediate actions. Moreover, even if the

bullying is not life threatening, but it is persistent based on religion or other

discrimination grounds, reporting to the police helps deal with the prevailing incidents.

 Finally, cyber bullying is a threat because of the existence of electronics and technology

everywhere individuals have nowhere to hide. Hence, the best option to deal with such an

occurrence is cutting off all communications (Combat Cyber Bullying & Peer Pressure

Tips Safe Smart Social Summit, 2014). By cutting communication, it means closing

down specific social media pages and opening others, getting an unlisted phone, or

blocking the bullies from making any communication.

Brody, N., & Vangelisti, A. L. (2016). Bystander intervention in cyberbullying. Communication

Monographs, 83(1), 94-119.

Combat Cyber Bullying & Peer Pressure Tips Safe Smart Social Summit. (2014). Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb63KxWZ7RY

Gebhart, G. (2012). School A to Z : Tips for dealing with cyberbullying. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PShg0Cm3nmg

Pokin, S. (2007). Megan Meier Foundation | The Story of Megan Meier. Retrieved from

https://www.meganmeierfoundation.org/megans-story.html

Slonje, R., & Smith, P. K. (2008). Cyberbullying: Another main type of bullying?. Scandinavian

journal of psychology, 49(2), 147-154.

Wang, J., Nansel, T. R., & Iannotti, R. J. (2011). Cyber and traditional bullying: Differential

association with depression. Journal of adolescent health, 48(4), 415-417.

Wennekes, K. (2015). Dr. Ryan Broll - Dealing with Cyberbullying. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_H_8-YJWVk