Cyber Bullying

This is a message that was sent by a bully

Cyberbullying is becoming a new way for bullies to target others without bullying them face to face.  For some bullies it is easier to bully another person on the internet because they do not have to confront the person face to face.  Cyberbullying is a way for a bully to harass, humiliate, threaten, or torment others by using the internet and social networking sites such as facebook and twitter.  This new form of bullying has led to many teen suicides because of the comments that bullies have made about these teens.  Cyberbullying is usually not a one time communication, in most cases, the threats and nasty comments made by bullies over the internet occur over an extended period of time.  Cyberbullying includes but is not limited to just the internet and social networking site, it can also occur between cell phones by txt messages or also by email.  Many schools have tried to prevent the cyberbullying that occurs outside of school hours, but have been sued for exceeding their authority and violating the freedom of speech right that all students have.  This problem makes the end of cyberbullying difficult and it is up to the parents to stop this problem.  

The affects of cyberbullying can change a persons life

There are two different types of cyberbullying.  Direct cyberbullying is when a bully directly sends messages to the person they are bullying without involving other people.  The second type of cyberbullying is cyberbullying by proxy, which means using other people to help bully somebody.  Cyberbullying by proxy can occur with or without the other person knowing about it.  Bullies who cyberbully are often motivated by anger, rage, or frustration.  Sometimes bullies begin to cyberbully just for their own personal entertainment.  Also cyberbullying can be done by accident, by sending a message to the wrong person.  This is a growing problem that is only getting worse.  As more and more people join social networking sites they are subject to cyberbullying.  In my opinion, we need to stop cyberbullying at the source, which is the social networking sites that it occurs on.  These social networking sites should be banning those who bully others.  Also parents need to take action to make sure that their children are not being cyberbullied and are not cyberbullying others.  


Information for this post was found on the following websites: 
~ http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html
~ http://kidshealth.org/parent/positive/talk/cyberbullying.html