The Problem of Cyberbullying - Essay Example

The internet has significantly influenced the way young people interact with each other in the world today. It has made children have access not only to in-depth knowledge, but also tools that enable them express their creativity. Despite offering fascinating ways of connecting with the world, the internet results in new risks such as cyber-bullying. According to the article “National Center for Missing & Exploited Children”, cyber bullying is a kind of bullying that is practiced through internet applications as well as technologies like messaging, and social networking via aid of phones. This type of bullying often starts as a rumor, a photo or sometimes a forwarded message which spiral out of control. Cyber-bullying affects people at any place and at any time (National Center Missing & Exploited Children 2015). There are diverse forms of bullying, however, the most common are flaming and trolling which involves posting hostile messages with the intention of inflaming the emotions of other people and happy-slapping which involves recording a person being harassed physically then posting the video online. Other forms of cyber bullying include identity theft that involves stealing someone’s password and hijacking their online accounts to post humiliating pictures or information, photo-shopping, physical threats and rumor spreading. In relation to this, Amanda Todd expounds on how she became a victim of cyber bullying (The Amanda Todd Story 2014). In her story, she links he emotional discomfort with her interaction with an unknown person who ended up posting her naked photo in Facebook. It is through the rapid spread of the photo in the social media that she became an enemy to all people including her close friends. Victims of cyberbullying often portray specific signs. For instance, a child being bullied may avoid a computer, cell phone, as well as technological devices associated with receiving messages and emails. Other children may withdraw themselves from family or friends, avoid conversations associated with computers, or exhibit not only signs of low esteem, but also depression and fear. In addition to having poor grades, others develop poor eating and sleeping habits. In her video, Amanda Todd also expounds on the effects of cyber-bullying to her well being. The loneliness she had as a result of losing close friends made her feel depressed to a level that she started using drugs in order to forget about her experiences (How to Change Children from by Standing to Upstanding 2014). Apart from secluding herself from people, Amanda also changed schools I with the intention of trying to forget her past. Her shift from one school to another did not protect her in any way from cyber-bullying, the extensive spread of information about her in social media made her a common figure in every place she tried to hide herself. From Amanda’s video story, it is apparent that cyber-bullying can result to loss of life. The death of Amanda might have been as a result of her inability to cope up with the challenges she used to face in every environment that she interacted with; ranging from schools to her immediate society. In tandem with the above assertion, it is apparent that bullying can result in personality disorder referred to as impulse control disorder (ICD). For instance, the video of about Amanda expounds on how she started using drugs in order to away with the thoughts about her experience in school. Additionally, the cutting of her hand with a pocket knife is as a result of her losing the sense of oneself. The extensive confrontation from the social media made her unable to resist her impulse reactions. Amanda lost control of her behaviors and actions; she hooked up with a different man who exposes her to more her harm than what she had undergone in her first relationship (Impulse Control Disorder and Bullying 2015). Despite most people thinking of cyberbullying as unfortunate occurrence, it is evident that it can be protected. This is in relation to the fact that it detriment social, physical, emotional well-being of a child if it is not protected. Some of the things that need to be done in order to protect a child from cyberbullying include telling children not to respond to e-mails, messages, and comments that appear to be rude. Apart from requesting the internet provider to remove any web page that can contribute to child bullying, it is crucial for parents to block sites and chat rooms that are associated with harassment. Apart from changing the phone number of a child and requesting him or her to share the new number with specific persons, it is crucial for the parent to ensure that the school in which the child is schooling is involved in the protection of bullying practices by coming up with stance against all types of bullying. In relation to protection against cyber-bullying, the article “How to Conduct a Bullying Survey” asserts that it is crucial to address the problem in time. Some of the things that need to be done in addressing the problem include students and teachers raising awareness on anti-bullying campaigns via conducting surveys on bullying (How to Conduct a Bullying Survey 2015). Bullying survey aids in identifying the problem associated with bullying and encouraging students to air out their views openly and honestly. The answers given by children to a bullying survey enables teachers, students and parents to find out the areas that need to be addressed so as to eliminate bullying. In tandem with the above discussion about the essence of conducting a bullying survey, the article “How to Conduct a Bullying Survey”, claims that survey is the best method of getting information about the detrimental effects of bullying. This is in relation to the fact that anonymous survey enables students to share their experience about bullying more openly. In addition to this, it is apparent that the use of bullying surveys enables children to learn more on how to stop bullying. In conclusion, cyber-bullying is a type of bullying that is enhanced by the use of online media and other technological devices such as mobile phones. There are many types of bullying in the current society. The most common type of bullying is the online bullying through social media sites such as Facebook. Protection of a child from bullying requires the involvement of parents, teachers, and children. Creation of awareness about bullying is also very essential in protecting children from cyber-bullying. Works Cited How to Change Children from by Standing to Upstanding. NoBullying.com 30 Oct. 2014. Web. 11 May 2015. http://nobullying.com/upstanding/ National Center Missing & Exploited Children. 2015. Web. 11 May 2015. http://www.netsmartz.org/Cyberbullying The Amanda Todd Story. NoBullying.com 09 Dec. 2014. Web. 11 May 2015. http://nobullying.com/amanda-todd-story/ Impulse Control Disorder and Bullying. NoBullying.com 31 January 2015. Web. 11 May 2015. http://nobullying.com/impulse-control-disorder/ How to Conduct a Bullying Survey. NoBullying.com 09 May 2015. Web. 11 May 2015. http://nobullying.com/bullying-survey/ Read More