Cyber bullying in general terms is bullying through the means of communication media which may commonly include harassment, spreading false and negative content of someone and verbal abuse (StopBullying.gov, 2019). Cyber bullying has been spreading rapidly throughout the world nowadays because of the increasing use of social medias like facebook, instagram etc. (Bullying.co.uk, 2019) reported that 56% of the total youngsters active on social media have seen others being bullied and 42% of the youngsters feel unsafe while using these communication platforms. This problem seems to be rising with every passing day and since this problem has just begun to spread stern laws are yet to be implemented against in many parts of the world.
Cyber bullying is very different from traditional face to face bullying. (End Bullying, 2019) differentiates cyber bullying from traditional bullying saying that there is no escape from cyber bullying because messages can be sent via internet 24 hours a day and 7 days a week when compared to the traditional bullying where the victim could get away from the bully by escaping outside the school premises and it also states other differences like in cyber bullying the bully is often unrevealed and uses a fake identity to carry out his deeds whereas the case isn’t so in traditional face to face bullying.
Cyber bullying according to (Anon, 2019) is mainly caused by the anonymity that internet provides to the cyber bullies. The bullies carry out their acts hiding behind a screen which can be pretty difficult to track down and this boosts up their confidence in carrying out such activities. Other than this hatred, revengeful feelings, frustration, entertainment might be some reasons that give rise to the problem of cyber bullying.
Cyber bullying on social media is linked to depression in teenagers, according to new research that analyzed multiple studies of the online phenomenon. Cyber bullying has received high level of inspection because of series of high-profile suicides of teenagers that were bullied across various social sites daily (Verywell Family, 2019). . In 2013, for example, a bunch of suicides were associated to the social network Ask.fm, which is a site where users can ask questions anonymously. The deaths of teens who had been subject to abuse on the site prompted Ask.fm (which was acquired by Ask.com in 2014) to launch new safety efforts. The long term effects of cyber bullying on the victim are drug abuse, depression and unstable mental condition which might later lead to various health issues. The effects of cyber bullying tend to be even more vicious then traditional bullying as they seem to be more long lasting and the victims of cyber bullying cant easily escape from the clutches of their bullies (US Represented, 2019). Cyber bullying has been linked to multiple maladaptive emotional, psychological, and behavioral outcomes. The physical and metal effects of cyber bullying vary depending on the victim, but the consequences include low self esteem, anxiety, feeling sad, being scared, feeling embarrassed, depression, anger, truancy, decreased academic achievement, an increased tendency to violate others, school violence, and suicide (Gunderson, 2019). Sampasa-Kanyinga(2014) noted a relationship between Internet harassment and depressive symptoms shown by the victims of cyber bullying, with targets of online harassment reporting more frequent cases than the non-targets.
Solution to stop Cyber bullying
Dig in deep to identify the main cause. Bullies in some cases start out as a friend, an ex, or someone who is well known to the victim. If it is possible to have a conversation with the person, than ask him or her to stop. Having the conversation in person would be more effective rather than over text or email.
Ignore the messages sent by the bully. If asking him or her to stop wont work then ignore the messages, emails or attachments that you receive from the bully. Bullies want to squeeze out a reaction from their targets, so replying back to a text from them will most likely only make things worse than they already are.
Block the bully. Immediately put an end to the bully’s most invasive threats by blocking that person from direct communication with you. Once you’ve made sure all prior messages have been saved.
Update your account settings. Prevent the person from finding a new way to contact you by limiting the amount of personal information you make available online (Usa.kaspersky.com, 2019).
Don’t wait for long to get help from others while facing these kind of situations. The bully might feel he is undetectable or no one can find him if you take too long to respond. Hence, patience is not an option at least for this condition.
Various service providers have rules implied upon bullies so you should carefully review the policies of your service provider and report the bully to them.In some cases help against cyber bullying can also be taken from law enforcements. If the condition gets worse and breaks the rules of the school premises of any other rights then the best option would be to get help from the local police department.
Conclusion
Cyber bullying is a tremendously large problem amongst the teens nowadays. It not only effects the victims but its consequences have an higher reach which can affect the loved ones and the peers of the victim. Cyber bullying may be a far greater threat to the youngsters than we consider it to be. The data I found on the web from the experts concludes that every 1 in 3 teens are cyber bullied.
Parents, law enforcement and teachers all need to take prevention with watching over children in order to prevent cyber bullying. If everyone comes together including educators, law enforcement and the biggest role, the parents, then cyber bulling can be stopped. The next time these 12 to 17 year olds log onto the internet, maybe they won’t be affected by cyber bullying if everyone begins to work together.
