At some point in time, we’ve been there; bullying has been around the school culture for decades upon decades, and only recently have school administrators realized the harm that bullying does to children who are still developing. Bullying is not the answer in any scenario, and it’s important for school admins and staff members to recognize the signs that someone is being bullied by another student. Unfortunately, there has been an uptick in a new type of bullying due to the technological innovations of the day: cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is bullying that happens on the internet, and it is intended to shame and embarrass someone through mediums such as social media, mostly Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Cyberbullying has seen an increasing amount of attention because of all the harm it’s caused. Recently, police charged two 12 year old students of cyberbullying another student, which resulted in that student taking her life (Lynch 1). Unfortunately, these instances are all the more widespread in today’s social media playground. It only takes a click of the button for someone to be bullied now, rather than being shamed in person.
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"Effect of Cyberbullying on Teens".
People often view bullying, or many types of bullying, as having a cult-like mob mentality attached to it. The same holds true for cyberbullying; for example, if Susan posted naked pictures of Jessica, people may see it as funny. The bystanders would then either like or comment on the post, thus adding fuel to the fire. This would eventually go on to be seen by their own friends and the friends of their friends. Social media has given us a lot of great things, but this mob mentality aspect of it, where unwanted pictures surface and go viral within minutes, is one of its negative side effects that we have yet to be able to deal with (Wingate 1).
Now, let’s look at the effects that cyberbullying has on teenagers. Teenagers are developing still, and their brain is often confused due to hormonal imbalances that occur. Already dealing with weird smells, acne, and other bodily changes, teenagers’ self-esteem is at risk while they are undergoing these hormonal imbalances. Cyberbullying someone like this would only add fuel to the fire and lower their self-esteem further by publicly shaming them on their body. It doesn’t even have to be their body, as cyberbullying can target people who may have mental disorders or a bad living situation. Fat shaming has often gone viral on social media, and this is a type of cyberbullying. Fat shaming is one of the worst types of cyberbullying because you are judging someone for their looks rather than their demeanor and personality.
Side effects on victims who are teenagers may be them not wanting to go out in public often or go to school. This is rather damaging to these children, as they will not be able to take in information from their classes and will most likely suffer, grade-wise, due to cyberbullying and not wanting to go out in public. The teen may also exhibit side effects such as not wanting to explore their own interests and pick up new hobbies. As one can see, cyberbullying is mentally damaging to people but especially teens, and it is just a way for the bully to torment his or her victim even when they are away from them.
Laws have been passed to deal with cyberbullying, but a lot of people are worried that this may interfere with first amendment rights. We need to find a balance to solve the cyberbullying epidemic while preserving people’s unalienable rights to free speech and the right to express one’s opinion.
- King, Alison Virginia. “Constitutionality of cyberbullying laws: Keeping the online playground safe for both teens and free speech.” Vand. L. Rev. 63 (2010): 845.
- Lynch, Jamiel. “Police Charge Two Students in Suicide of Classmate, 12.” CNN, Cable News Network, 24 Jan. 2018, www.cnn.com/
- Tokunaga, Robert S. “Following you home from school: A critical review and synthesis of research on cyberbullying victimization.” Computers in human behavior 26.3 (2010): 277-287.
- Wingate, V. Skye, Jessy A. Minney, and Rosanna E. Guadagno. “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but words will always hurt you: A review of cyberbullying.” Social Influence 8.2-3 (2013): 87-106.
