What happened to bullying? No one is stuffed in lockers, has their lunch money stolen, or is beaten up in between periods. This is because the bullying location has shifted from the sandbox to cyberspace.
Cyber-bullying is nothing like the bullying that generations before us were accustomed to – the stereotypical bullying of the biggest kid in the class picking on the smallest. This form of bullying is defined as “someone who repeatedly and on purpose says or does mean and hurtful things to another person who has a hard time defending himself or herself,” according to The Olweus Prevention Program. 53 percent of kids today admit they have said something mean to another person on the web because that it is “easier” to type than to say it in person.
In the past, bullies could only reach relatively small groups of students. Bullying also had to take place in person. However, through use of the Internet, predators can reach massive online audiences and avoid direct human confrontation. Teens as a result have become more insecure and vulnerable than ever.
This is one of the many unintended negative consequences of technology.
From Facebook to Twitter, and Instagram to Tumblr, our youth has a collection of bullying playgrounds to participate in. Stompoutbullying.org says, “Contrary to popular opinion, and contrary to the thesis of some anti-bullying programs, bullying is not about anger or conflict. It is about contempt – a powerful feeling of dislike toward someone considered to be worthless, inferior, or undeserving of respect.” 97 percent of middle schoolers are bullied while online claims one 2013 statistic. Because of this high bullying rate on the web, Stompoutbullying.org says “160,000 students refrain from going to school on any given day because they are afraid to face the bully/bullied kids in school.” These outrageous numbers prove that bullying still exists, but it now takes place in a different form.
Cyber-bullying, defined as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices,” is an extremely prevalent problem among modern adolescents. Recently, the public heard about Amanda Todd, a Canadian girl who, after a topless photo of her was released on Facebook against her will, attempted suicide at least twice. During her time of difficulty, her classmates left disturbing posts on her Facebook page, saying things like, “I hope she dies this time and isn’t so stupid.” Unfortunately their wishes became true.
Starting as young as age five, according to “StopOutBullying.org,” kids log onto social networking sites oblivious to those sites’ potential for bullying. Because bullying is no longer face to face, the bully feels more secure and protected, behind the screen, to say more vicious things. The incessant nature of cyber-bullying is particularly harmful. In the past, students had to face their aggressors only in school. Now, Facebook and Twitter make it possible to for bullies to reach their victims virtually anywhere, anyplace, and at any time.
Many parents are blocked from their child’s social interactions. Stompthebullying.org says, “Only 1 out of 10 victims of cyber bullying tell parents about the incident.” Cyber-bullies are also tougher to stop than traditional tormentors, as they face little to no adult presence within the deep world of cyberspace. The cyber world gives aggressors a sense of privacy which causes them to torment their victims no longer in front of the school flagpole, but in front of the entire world.