Mercyllia Harmon...Cyberbulling

Cyberbullying

            It has come to my attention that not many people know what cyberbulling is even though it is a nationwide problem. Cyberbulling is when a person harasses another person over the internet or some other technology device. Although kids and adults have been known to participate in this act, teens are causing the most uproar in the media. Cyberbulling is not a new issue, but it is  how modern society does their dirty work. In the past children would complain about their local bullies stealing their lunch money or threaten to beat them up after an event. But now there is a difference. Cyberbulling consist of threatening messages that usually is dissatisfying emotionally and or mentally instead of physically. These actions usually take place over social networks such as Facebook or chat rooms. Society needs to understand the seriousness of why doses it happen, how it works, how it affects others.

Cyberbulling happens because the bully is feeling hurt, frustrated, or angry, and is taking it out on other people. Sometimes the person they are directing their hostility toward is in the mist of the person. But even though this person could be in the mist it couldn’t even be that person fault. The bully feels the need to get back at a target that is gullable enough to feel the impact of what the bully has to dish out. Therefore the bully has satisfied his/her need to harm another person.

            Cyberbullying usually starts off in the community although we often hear about kids getting harassed at school then the bullying following them into their personal lives. A student doesn’t like another student and one of the students starts harassing the other one. Then it goes as far the student harassing in public and this causes public humiliation. I don’t know if every teenager felt this way but public humiation as an adolescent was the worst thing in school. It could ruin your life eventhough life hasn’t even started yet. And when teens have problems they usually seek a way to relieve their stress through expressing how they feel. This could be a personal personal journal they write in or a explanation to their trusted peers, or even a update on their social network. And this this is when  cyberbulling comes into play. Someone gets ahold of that person “stress reliever” and slanders it until it gets to the enemy. Now the enemy can do whatever they want with that personal information including cause harm to that person through technology.

Thousands of teenagers across the country suffer torment from their peers indirectly. It is known that teens go into life treating emotional states. Cyberbullying has even been known to cause death. For example a 13 year old girl committed suicide because a cute boy she met online befriended her and then sent her mean emails. CNN said “Someone using Josh's account was sending cruel messages and Megan called her mother, saying electronic bulletins were being posted about her, saying things like, "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat”. Her mom and dad are now getting a divorce. Also her mom still doesn’t understand how someone could get into another person mind over the internet.

Cyberbulling is a big problem that could be prevented. We as a society should be concerned because it could have been one of us that were tormented. It could have even been one of our close family members like a child or sibling. This type of bulling is out of control and we need to be aware of how it works why doses it happen, how it works, how it affects others. By being aware, we as a nation can pull together to make the lives of the people who hold our future worth fighting for.