Social network has been a popular tool for the past twenty
years or so, connecting people. With its easy communication and instantaneous
posting online, people are losing touch with the conventional ways of
communication. However, along with the many benefits, social media has brought
some negative impacts. While the Internet has become a great source of
entertainment and research materials, it has also created a virtual platform
for people to fight verbally without being identified easily. Bullying is no
longer isolated to classrooms or playgrounds but rather has widespread to
harassments through mobile phones and social media sites. This is known as
cyber-bullying. The essay will describe on cyber-bullying in United States of
America (USA) and address the existing and potential solutions.
Cyber-bullying is a form of verbal harassment, which occurs
through social networking sites or by any form of online communication mean (No
Bullying, America, 2014). Unlike traditional bullies, cyber-bullies use the
Internet to defend and protect their identity giving them the power to defame
and harass others on social sites. Such cases have been rather prevalent in the
United States with an alarming result of 52 percent of students reported being
bullied online (Ibid). Sunburn (2014) states in his article that suicide is the
third main cause of death among youths and teenagers with many cases being
associated to cyber-bullying. One such case that took place in Lakeland,
Florida that has gathered national or even global attention, is the Rebecca
Sedwick’s case. According to Wallace (2014), Sedwick was a victim of bullying, be it online or offline. She had
received messages from two Florida teens inciting her to “drink bleach and
die”. On top of that, according to the
sheriff’s department, they also physically attacked Sedwick. Just a month after Sedwick’s death, the two
teens were reportedly being charged
with aggravated stalking and accused of being the main culprits that led to the
death of Sedwick (Ibid). Sadly, but it is a fact that cyber-bullying has been a
real problem that can cause substantial damage to victims of it.
Many states in the United States have implemented federal
and state legislation that criminalizes any forms of harassments, be it in or
out of the cyber space to diminish the frequency and severity of cyber-bullying
(Wired Safety, 2011). Theoretically, victims would not need to be afraid since
they are now protected and covered by the law. Although some states have
successfully pass laws that protect children from bullying and harassment, but the
resulting legal actions taken against the bullies failed to apprehend the
cyber-bullies let alone address the issue of cyber-bullying. Referring back to
Sedwick’s case as mentioned earlier, the two teens that were being charged, was
released just a month after their arrest, due to a lack in concrete evidence to
convict them (Wallace, 2014). This clearly shows that the laws imposed did not
truly help in alleviating the problem. The government should have imposed laws
that specifically address cyber-bullying. With specific laws towards
cyber-bullying, it would force cyber-bullies to be more cautious of their words
online and possibly remove past cyber-bullying content. The main challenge
however is the detection of cyber-bullying where high percentages of cases are
left unnoticed. According to No Bullying (2013), a survey conducted by Trolled
Nation in 2013, an estimated number of 37 percent of cyber-bullying cases are
left unreported. The fact that many of such acts are still occurring online, left
undetected, shows that laws lack proper reach and proper effectiveness to solve
the problem. Since most cases occur mainly in teenagers, the first step to
detection and deterrence of cyber-bullying should start with school compounds.
In order to address the problem more efficiently, there are
a few things schools can do. Firstly, schools should enforce clear guidelines
and policies to ban the use of technology within school compounds to bully
others. Schools could install blocking technology on all school computers
restricting the usage for educational purposes only (Langhorst, 2012). Not only
would such restriction destroy the playgrounds where cyber-bullies commit their
acts during school hours, but would also promote the use of computers in an
educational manner. Secondly, schools can engage anti cyber-bullying speakers
who can then educate staff and students by disseminating informational
materials to explain cyber-bullying, how to use the internet safely and
providing information as to where they would be able to find help should anyone
of them become victims. Finally, schools can also establish schemes or methods
for reporting of cyber-bullying cases, whether you are a victim or suspect of
someone being victimized, with relevant counseling and responses to help (Ibid).
With these steps taken in school compounds around United States, the detection
of cyber-bullying cases would greatly increase and counselors could then
stretch out their helping hands to the victims.
Cyber-bullying is a socially unacceptable behavior. There
can never be a comprehensive “remedy” to cyber-bullying. However, with
continuous effort and commitment, not only cyber-bullying, but also all forms
of bullying can be successfully identified and addressed, minimizing number of
victims that falls into the hands of bullies. With the combined effort from legislators,
schools, teachers, parents and children to work towards creating a cyber-bully
free society, the vision of having a cyberspace free from bullies may no longer
be a distant reality.
876 words
Reference:
Langhorst, P. (2012, October 1). Cyberbullying: How Technology Can Be Used to
Battle Its Effects. Retrieved from
http://www.cyberbullyhotline.com/10-01-12-edtech-digest.html
No Bullying. (2013, April 28). Bullying Statistics, The Ultimate Guide! |NoBullying|.
Retrieved from http://nobullying.com/bullying-statistics/
No Bullying, America. (2013, April
21). Cyber Bullying in America.
Retrieved from http://nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-in-america/
Sanburn, J. (2013, October 16). A Florida Tragedy Illustrates Rising Concern
About Cyber-Bullying Suicides | TIME.com. Retrieved from
http://nation.time.com/2013/10/16/a-florida-tragedy-illustrates-rising-concern-about-cyber-bullying-suicides/
Wallace, K. (2014, April 21). Rebecca Sedwick suicide: Police file raises questions about bullying
- CNN.com. Retrieved from
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/18/living/rebecca-sedwick-bullying-suicide-follow-parents/
WiredSafety. (2011).
Cyberbullying/Harassment/Stalking Federal
and State Legislation. Retrieved from https://www.wiredsafety.org/toolkitmedia/files/file/Articles/Cyberbullying-Harassment-Stalking_State_Legislation.pdf
