Bullying and Cyberbullying among High School Students - Research Paper Example

Social hierarchy at schools is very special; there are always popular students who are loved by everybody and there are also outsiders who become scape goats and cannot get rid of this role till the very end of their school. This hierarchy and power inequality leads to repetitive aggression towards the weak which is defined as bullying. Despite the fact that all people have witnessed the act of bullying at school at least once in their life, not all of them understand the consequences of this aggression for bullies and their victims. This essay will focus on bullying and cyberbullying among high school students outlining main features and outcomes of this social phenomenon. According to Dooley, Pyżalski, and Cross, «bullying is usually defined as aggression that is intentionally carried out by one or more individuals and repeatedly targeted toward a person who cannot easily defend him- or herself» (182). Bullying is more dangerous than aggression because it consists of intentional repeated and hurtful actions done by a person with greater power and influence to a weaker one. It starts at elementary school where children can be openly aggressive to each other and does not disappear during high school years where the quest for popularity is the most important thing in life of every teenager. Social networks make it easier for people to stay in touch; at the same time, they serve as a new tool used by bullies to reach their victims. It may seem that offences in cyber space are less dangerous than cases of traditional bullying; however, Bauman, Toomey and Walker state that victims of cyberbullying tend to be more suicidal. Contrary to them, Dooley, Pyżalski, and Cross find out that even though cyberbullying and traditional bullying have the same core elements in definition presented by hurtfulness, repetitiveness, aggression and intention, they should not be equated. These common features suggest that both phenomena need to be treated seriously because they can lead to unwanted consequences. It is true that not all cyberbullying actions can have the same effect as traditional bullying. For instance, if a person receives a threatening text message, he or she will be less frightened than in the case of face-to-face threat. At the same time, Schneider et al. argues that cyberbullying has several unique characteristics such as ability to stay anonymous and reach wide audience at a time. Despite all ongoing discussion in scientific circles, people should remember that episodes of cyberbullying are often followed by traditional bullying and vice versa. According to Schneider et al., 59.7% of cyberbullied students are also bullied offline. The article by Dooley, Pyżalski, and Cross shows that the cases of traditional bullying are more common than cyberbullying; the majority of students bullied at school are not bullied online. Yet the number of students who become victims of cyber bullying and traditional bullying simultaneously is growing steadily. According to Chapell et al., the frequency of bullying is alarming. Bullying is the most common in elementary school as 14% participants of the sample reported being bullied; it decreases in the high school where only 2% of students are victims of bullies. Moreover, those students who have been bullied in their elementary school tend to be bullied during high school and university years. Another study by Schneider et al. shows that the frequency of cyberbullying varies in different sources from 9% up to 40%. Overall, the frequency of bullying can differ in various samples but it leads to serious consequences in any way. Since 92% of teenagers are active users of the internet and mobile devices, cyberbullying is very common in their peer group (Schneider et al.). Traditional bullying at high schools is presented by humiliating actions, physical violence and aggression; it is a common behavior at high school to create nicknames for outsiders and make everything possible to make them feel rejected in the group. Cyberbullying can be presented by threatening messages, posting photo or video content or leaving offensive comments on the web (Hinduja and Patchin). Boys are more likely to become victims of traditional bullying (Chapell et al.); the situation with cyberbullying is different because most of the studies show that there are no consistent gender differences (Schneider et al.). Males are 3 times more likely to become cyberbullies and 2.46 to bully others in real life (Bauman et al.). These gender differences help school counselors to identify the groups of increased risk in regard to bullying. However, there is no way they can protect students online when they are away from school. Many studies concentrate on the consequences of bullying and cyberbullying for victims. Generally, researchers note that the victims of bullying tend to suffer from anxiety and psychological distress. In extreme cases of bullying, victims can experience suicidal thoughts, resort to self-harm or suicide. The article by Bauman et al. finds out that 13.2% of all bullied students have suicidal thoughts and 6.2% have attempted to commit suicide at least once. According to Bauman et al., female students are more likely to have suicidal thoughts and report their suicidal plan than males. Also, Hispanic students report higher depression rates compared to other groups in the sample. Generally, consequences of bullying are very harmful for its victims; they cause psychological trauma which is really difficult to treat. Summing up, both bullying and cyberbullying are extremely dangerous for students psychological and even physical well-being at school. Children can be very cruel to each other and it is not a secret that childhood traumas have numerous consequences for people in their adult years. Depression and suicide rates among bullying victims are really high and people should find a way to address them effectively. Male students tend to be bullied or become bullies more than females; however, the rates of suicide and depression among female students are higher. This research shows that there is a significant gap in consistent data about outcomes of cyberbullying because it is a relatively new phenomenon in teenage peer group. There is a need to find an effective intervention for addressing cyberbullying and preventing its cases that cause serious harm to its victims. Works Cited Bauman, Sheri, Russell B. Toomey, and Jenny L. Walker. "Associations among bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide in high school students." Journal of adolescence 36.2 (2013): 341-350. Chapell, Mark S., et al. "Bullying in elementary school, high school, and college." Adolescence 41.164 (2005): 633-648. Dooley, Julian J., Jacek Pyżalski, and Donna Cross. "Cyberbullying versus face-to-face bullying." Zeitschrift für Psychologie/Journal of Psychology 217.4 (2009): 182-188. Hinduja, Sameer, and Justin W. Patchin. "Bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide."Archives of Suicide Research 14.3 (2010): 206-221. Schneider, Shari Kessel, et al. "Cyberbullying, school bullying, and psychological distress: A regional census of high school students." American Journal of Public Health 102.1 (2012): 171-177. Read More