Cyber Bullying: The Impact and Cause

Cyber Bullying: The Impact and Cause

               What do you think of when you imagine a case of bullying? Many people think of bullying as physical, face-to-face harassment, one-on-one. However, bullying is found in many different, more severe forms; one of them being cyber bullying. Cyber bullying can range from sending rude messages to a person to stealing their entire identity and persona. I find it absolutely unfathomable how a person could do such a thing, as some of the forms of cyber bullying can be very serious. No matter the form it takes, cyber bullying has a saddening, disastrous effect on the victim. This harassment can grow to a point where a victim can attempt to take their own life in an effort to end the suffering they endure online. This highlights the impact that this can have on a person. I am utterly mind blown at the fact that a person could have the audacity to do these things to others, and I am baffled at how people struggle with this torture everyday. If a person is targeted on a social medium, it becomes very personal and can follow them forever. As Carrie Brower-Breitwieser from Sanford Health puts it, "It's one of those things that kids can't escape. They can go home at three o-clock, but Facebook is there twenty-four hours a day. It's much more challenging for kids." Insults such as "You're ugly", "Nobody likes you", "Go die" and more can impact the receiver deeply and make them feel horrible about themselves. It makes me feel so forlorn to think about how I would feel if these vile phrases were being directed toward me. 

               Fifty years ago, the world was not nearly as technologically-advanced as it is today. Though this increase in technology can be a positive matter, especially for education, it is often abused by users to hurt others. This spike in electronic activity has introduced an entirely new platform of social interaction with our generation, and this interaction can include bullying. In fact, 91% of people own a cellphone of some sort in the world at present. Furthermore, over one-third of the earth's population has access to the Internet on some avenue. With this amount of usage, cyber bullying has become an extreme problem in society today, as opposed to years ago.