According to Dooley " Cross (2009), cyberbullying is a deliberate act of repeated aggression against an individual using some form of technology.
Belsey (2004) defines cyberbullying as "the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group that is intended to harm others."
There is a misconception that face to face bullying is more hostile than cyberbullying; this is not the case, and this can be attributed to the anonymous nature of cyberbullying. As such, this type of harassment is relentless and has the potential of causing more psychological damage to the victim compared to conventional bullying. Dooley " Cross (2009) state that "the anonymity afforded to perpetrators is an important issue."
This option of remaining anonymous has increasingly emboldened bullies to conduct their acts of harassment, unfortunately leading to the increase in the popularity of cyberbullying. Since the perpetrator is able to remain anonymous, victims often develop fear and feelings of hopelessness because they are unaware of the bully's identity. Sometimes the messages can use harsh language and include threats, leading the victims to feel unsafe and insecure. This paper seeks to describe the origin of this type of harassment, explain why bullies select it, outline strategies bullies use to torment victims, its effects, and awareness among teenagers.
When Did Cyberbullying start and why do Bullies Choose it?
The origin of cyberbullying can be traced back to the advent of technology. It did not exist until technology in the form of the internet, social media, mobile phones, text messaging, etc was introduced into the society. Bullies use these digital devices to torment their victims. This has made it particularly difficult to deal with the menace. Since it has not been an issue for long, there is still much to learn about the factors that prompt peope to take part in cyberbullying (Dooley" Cross, 2009). It is well-known that many of those who engage in cyberbullying are teenagers and young adults who usually attend school together (Dooley" Cross, 2009).
Some of the reasons that cause individuals to participate in this type of harassment include the need to get revenge, and differences in race, beliefs, or sexual preference. In addition, teenagers may choose to participate in cyberbullying as opposed to face to face bullying because they have the option of remaining anonymous. Until professionals become better equipped to identify the reasons that drive people to take part in this form of maltreatment, there will always be challenges in trying to come up with plans to mitigate the incidences of cyberbullying in the society.
How do Bullies Torment Victims?
As previously mentioned, bullies use different forms of technology to harass their victims. For instance, they may create a website plastered with negative phrases about the victim that many people can visit and comment on (Dooley " Cross, 2009). They may upload unflattering or revealing photos of victims as well. There have also been instances where bullies have sent out group texts gossiping about the victim, giving others the opportunity to chime in. Dooley and Cross (2009) report that they noted a male participant (17 years old) in a focus group, who encouraged his peers to send threatening phone text messages from many unknown numbers in their study.
What are the Effects on Victims?
Cyberbullying has resulted in the suicide of some victims. Boyd " Marwick, (2011) state that an essay written in the New York Times in 2011 narrates the story of a 14-year-old boy, Jamey Rodemeyer, who committed suicide after being a victim of cyberbullying. According to the story, Jamey was targeted by bullies because of his sexual preference. Unlike many teenagers who are victimized and remain silent, Jamey reached out for help. It is important to point out that the adults' perceptions of cyberbullying are being heavily influenced by the teenagers' perception of the issue. This makes it difficult for the adults to realize the severity of the matter and offer the help that is so desperately needed (Boyd " Marwick, 2011). Recently, cyberbullying has been gaining the attention of more adults because of the increase in civil and criminal cases associated with this form of harassment (Dooley " Cross, 2009). In cases where victim's lives end in suicide, the bullies can be charged with murder.
Cyberbullying negatively affects the psychological well-being of individuals as well. In their study, Dooley and Cross (2009) interviewed a victim of cyberbullying. The victim was a girl who had received a series of multiple threatening anonymous messages where she was severely criticized. "She reported that the content of the messages did not bother her; instead, she found the anonymity of the author to be the most threatening aspect of the harassment" (Dooley " Cross, 2009, p. 184). From this example, it is evident that cyberbullying victims, who are in fear and feel threatened, are likely to suffer psychologically. Moreover, their grades may be affected negatively. This could be due to an inability to concentrate in school or at home, or fear that a classmate around them could be the one responsible for the bullying.
Awareness among Teenagers
While conducting their research, Boyd and Marwick (2011) came to the shocking realization that teens do not even comprehend the severity of cyberbullying within their schools. As they interviewed teenagers throughout multiple schools, they repeatedly told them "bullying was something that happened only in elementary or middle school" (Boyd " Marwick, 2011, p. 320). Teens continuously minimized the issue by describing it as silly "drama" (Boyd " Marwick, 2011, p. 320). This is a cause for concern; if they are unwilling to recognize the problem, it is unlikely that they will put forth much effort to find a solution to the issue.
Conclusion
There is still so much to learn about cyberbullying. What drives bullies? What are the short and long-term effects on the victims? Until professionals are better equipped to answer these questions, it will be difficult to properly implement possible interventions for bullies or counseling for victims. Boyd and Marwick (2011) stated that "Antibullying efforts cannot be successful if they make teenagers feel victimized without providing them the support to go from a position of victimization to one of empowerment." (p. 321). Finding and implementing a successful way to do this, could be extremely instrumental in creating an effective way to combat the consequences of cyberbullying.
Revising and Finalizing
During the revising of this essay I was sure to analyze that my writing was effective for the academic audience of my paper. I also analyzed my spelling and grammar and noticed a few mistakes where I had added unnecessary commas and apostrophes, so I removed these. In the unit 5 discussion, I received feedback that I should explain more clearly why people participate in cyberbullying. Since it is still so new, it is not completely known by professionals why people are partaking in this form of bullying, but I edited the title of a section to go more in depth on this and included all the information on possible motives from my chosen textbook article and scholarly article that I could find to better clarify this.
Revision statement
After completing my initial draft on this essay, I received some feedback from my colleagues and instructor, which informed the final changes I made in this paper. For one, many of my colleagues cited the clarity and flow of ideas in the essay was wanting. As such, I modified the essay by restructuring several sentences to make the paper understandable to my audience. I also changed the way I expressed some ideas in the essay thus making it more comprehensible. There were concerns regarding some overused words; therefore, I replaced these words with their synonyms. Initially, the essay did not have a purpose statement; I have incorporated this in the final draft. When I re-read the initial draft, I noted that some full stops, commas and semicolons were missing in some sentences; therefore, I added them. I found some misspelled words as well, which I corrected. I am comfortable with the quoted and paraphrased information from my sources throughout the essay as they served to strengthen my ideas by supporting them with evidence.
References
Boyd, D., Marwick, A., (2011) Bullying as true drama. The New York Times
Dooley, J. J., Pyżalski, J., " Cross, D. (2009). Cyberbullying versus face-to-face bullying: A theoretical and conceptual review. Zeitschrift Für Psychologie/Journal Of Psychology, 217(4), 182-188. doi:10.1027/0044-3409.217.4.182
