Bullying has been a problem for decades and just seems to get worse as each day goes by. Bullying can have so many different meanings and be done in many different ways. Bullying was known as “give me your lunch money” or “hey four eyes,” but now it has mutated into much more serious matters. The bullying described before has now advanced into something much more serious and sometimes dangerous. This form of bullying is cyberbullying. Cyber bullying is one of the most common ways to bully between teenagers in this day in age.
Back in the day bullying was done by writing notes, but has now dvanced to computers and cellphones that are more capable of being used to secretly bully someone. There are so many social media apps where teens have the ability to view what their peers are doing, and can be easily accessed by a click or a swipe of a button or screen. A lot of personal information of others are easily available to most teens to view and criticize. That is why cyberbullying is such a common way of bullying these days.
For example, the after-school app is a form of cyberbullying because other people will be more likely to join in on bullying and also it is anonymous, so they will say things ehind a phone screen they typically would not say in person. This is more dangerous than it can sound. Teenagers can be very violent behind a screen and will not hold back. This app, as well as many others are becoming a gateway for cyberbullying to enter the lives of teens all around. Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.
Cyberbullying is also any harassment that occurs on the Internet. Threatening posts, name calling online, posting fake profiles on websites, and mean or cruel messages re all ways of cyberbullying. (Hardcastle). Cyberbullying can include making threats, sending slurs, and bashing the victim with “totem pole”. T- typing inappropriate words to the victim, O- ongoing harassment towards the victim, T- threatening the victim , E- exposing others, M- making others join in with the bullying, and “p. 0. l. e”- picking on less educated. Cyberbullying is wrong and needs to be stopped.
Cyberbullying is becoming even more of a problem as time goes on. Since technology is improving day by day, communication through mobile devices have grown rapidly in the past years. By this happening, people have more of an easier advantage to bully others anonymously. Bullying is very common today in the teenage world, especially through the use of technology. That is why cyber bullying is becoming a bigger issue. More and more children and teenagers are given the privileges of internet access which gives them time to do things such as cyber bully.
An example would be the “After-School App” which is an anonymous way of students discussing things about their school. However, this app has taken a wrong turn and has began to show strong signs of threats, slurs, and “totem pole”. This app allows more bullies than normal to come forth and say things since they can hide behind a screen. “From Yik Yak to Fleek, there’s no shortage of anonymous social media apps on the market. According to today’s teenagers, one of the most popular is an app called After School, which touts itself as a “private message board for your school. (Kircher). The after school app is anonymous which gives everyone access to reveal how they feel about one another without anybody knowing who’s typing what. Because this app is electronic, it is the easiest way to do it. People are being shamed and exposed with personal information and photos all over the app. advantage of having an anonymous identity when bashing the Bullies have an victim online, because it is not a face to face interaction between the two.
The bully gains a lot of power when held anonymous, because if no one knows his/her identity, then no one is able to get the blame for the harm created by their online posts about or to the victim. Although the Internet has opened many doors to new opportunities, it has unfortunately taken bullying to another level. As the article, “Cyber Bullying Facts” tates, “as the number of households with Internet access approaches saturation and cell phone ownership expands to the 100 million mark, so do the ways kids bully each other” (Ross).
It is all done anonymously creating a huge variety of ways to bully other people without anyone knowing who did it. This is why cyberbullying is not only a form of bullying but also a crime. Teenagers can be convicted if they take cyberbullying too seriously. The after school app is threatening. Students will post anonymous yet scary posts that make other students feel unsafe to go out to any public place where they would feel argeted, including their own school. They are also scared that the person has targeted them to humiliate them not only online, but in person.
Cyberbullying has become a huge problem along the younger people in the U. S.. Ann Frisen in the article, “Cyber-bullying: A Growing Problem” states, “This type of bullying can be more serious than conventional bullying. At least with conventional bullying the victim is left alone on evenings and weekends” (ScienceDaily). For some people, it can be an ongoing non stop issue that creates a bigger issue than normal bullying would. Cyber-bullies target students, coworkers, neighbors, and even friends.
Lately, there have even been many reports of suicides related to bullying. This is why cyberbullying is so serious. It can lead to much more than just tears and loss of your lunch money. Cyberbullying is bullying; however, it is taken much farther than ‘normal’ bullying goes. A simple picture or saying about someone can be posted on to the Internet to where millions of people could potentially see and make fun of them. Cyberbullying can be so detrimental to where it can drive someone to hating themselves and even taking their own life.
This is why cyberbullying is such a serious form of bullying. Not only is the after school app an electronic anonymous way to bully others, it is also intimidating. It is intimidating because it is anonymous and unexpected. When you open the app you may see something about yourself on the feed that you would have never expected to see before on social media about yourself. The worst part is that you don’t know who’s is posting it to make it stop and It is an ongoing thing that people find amusing to do. It creates an issue of breaking privacy.
People that are on this pp will get on one day and be fine, but the next day have something terrible that could possibly ruin their reputation all over everyone’s feed, it’s humiliating and sad. In conclusion, with the massive growth of the Internet, social media, and technology, cyber-bullying has become more common and more severe than your average bullying with face to face confrontation. Due to cyberbullies, kids are killing themselves over photos, web posts, and videos posted by bullies using the Internet. Cyber-bullying is technology powered and will only get worse as technology becomes more widespread.
