Cyberbullying and Harassment

What is the impact of cyberbullying on the youth? Cyberbullying can be described as a use of internet or any other means of electronic communication to harass a person by sending intimidating messages or pictures. Cyberbullying and harassment have various causes that can lead to catastrophic results.

Cyberbullying happens for the same reasons as that of any other type of bullying, but it has more harmful effects as it is done anonymously. Insecurity and lack of confidence can be considered as one of the causes of cyberbullying. Basically, there are two types of people who are indulged in this activity: socially active people and socially inactive people. Both kinds of people have the same reasons for cyberbullying. It makes them feel powerful to belittle other people and to point out their weaknesses and insecurities. Moreover, another major reason for cyberbullying can be frustration and revenge. When children are cyberbullied, they take revenge instead of coping with the situation in better ways. Additionally, lack of parental control and an increase in the generation gap have predisposed the lack of sympathy amongst the adolescents. One of the other reasons of cyberbullying can be the lack of empathy; cyberbullies do not feel any sort of compassion towards the victims. Attention seeking tendencies can lead to cyberbullying, and unhappy individuals are more likely to become cyber bullies. Furthermore, research has shown that “81 percent young people” (Woda) think they can get away with cyberbullying more easily than bullying in person. However, one of the other causes of cyberbullying can be early exposure to the Internet, without appropriate knowledge about its advantages and disadvantages. Lack of acceptance amongst the children about their sexual orientation, cultural differences (Dearing 2017) can also be considered one of the main causes of cyberbullying. “58 percent” (Woda) children admit someone has said something offensive to them online. “More than 4 out of 10 say it has happened more than twice” (Woda).

Cyberbullying may not harm anyone physically on a bigger scale, but it causes a great deal of mental harm. People who are bullied are more likely to commit suicides. Research has shown that victims are “two to nine times” (Woda) more likely to commit suicide in the near future. Increase in the tendencies to indulge in self-harm can also be considered one of the reasons that make cyberbullying victims more prone to commit suicide. Sometimes children who are bullied are prone to stop going to school or avoid going to school more often. Victims face behavioural difficulties, emotional problems, and self-esteem issues. The person who is bullied is subjected to deal with the repercussions of nosediving self-esteem. A change in the personality, depression can be considered as the major effects of cyberbullying. Weight loss, loneliness, and withdrawal from the society are other effects of cyberbullying. In this age of hacking, the information is not safe on a social media platform. Leakage of this information and private pictures of people, especially for women has lead to destructive consequences. Sexting, considered as one form of cyberbullying, has lead many teens exposed to inappropriate information. Apart from mental pain, the stress due to cyberbullying can cause stress-related physical problems such as headaches, skin problems etc. Sleep problems are one of the other effects of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is a great danger to the society. It not only causes a great distress in the lives of victims but also causes a plenty of despair amongst the friends and families of the victims. There is lack of trust amongst the individuals which disrupts the peace of the society.

Cyberbullying is a worldwide issue that causes various problems for society. Parental involvement, the inclusion of cyberbullying and harassment in academics are few ways to reduce its impact.

Work Cited 1. Woda, Tim. “Digital Parenting: 11 Facts About Cyberbullying.” UKnowKids.com, resources.uknowkids.com/blog/11-facts-about-cyberbullying. 2. Dearing, Ruth. “The Root Cause of Cyberbullying.” Children and technology, 14 Sept. 2017, fundforcivility.org/cyberbullying-effects/. 3. Campbell, Dennis. “Mental health of children and young people ‘at risk in digital age’.” The Guardian, 5 Nov. 2014,www.theguardian.com/society/2014/nov/05/children- cyberbullying-self-harm-gaming-mps-concern.