“Stand Up Against Cyber Bully”
Technology such as internet and cellphones makes communication easier, and allows immediate access to information, that makes our lives even better and also bitter! Bitter because it has also provided some people with the means to exploit the innocent, commit crimes, and inflict injury on others especially to the teenagers! Because teenagers nowadays makes frequent use of computer for school activity, research for school assignments and communicating with others. It is also stated that teenagers nowadays have internet access at home or even at school and that it represents the rapid increase of internet use over the past decades. Most have high-speed Internet access, which they use to send instant messages to their friends, create blogs, and online videos, keep personal profiles on social networking websites, share photos, and more, that also increases the use of social networking sites like Facebook, twitter, Instagram, Skype, Myspace, Yahoo and a lot more! Which allows this technology to transport school campus bullying into cyberspace.
Base on the article about the cyberbully, cyber bullying can be flaming (Online fights using electronic message with angry and vulgar language), harassment and stalking (repeatedly sending cruel, vicious, and/or threatening messages), denigration (sending or posting gossip or rumors about a person to damage his/her reputation or friendships) impersonation (breaking into someone’s e-mail account and using it to send vicious or embarrassing materials to others), Outing and trickery (engaging someone in instant messaging, tricking him/her into revealing sensitive information, and forwarding that information to others) and exclusion (intentionally excluding someone from an online group).
It is also stated that forty-three percent of teens have been victims of cyberbullying in the last year. And there are eighty-one percent of youth said that others cyberbully because they think it’s funny. Some also says that they themselves have been bullied that’s why they bully others just to fit in. Others also says they bully others because they have poor role models like the book of Jay McGraw in titled The Life Strategies for Dealing with Bullies says: “Many times young bullies treat other people . . . the way they see their Parents, older brothers and sisters, or other family members treat others,” And some says they act as if they are superior-and yet they’re insecure. Moreover, research also says that almost 80 percent of teens said that they either did not have parental rules about Internet use or found ways around the rules. And nearly 30 percent of teens wanted to seek revenge on those who cyberbullied them. And what’s sad to know is that there are only 11 percent of teens talked to parents about incidents of cyberbullying. And over 70 percent of teens said that being able to block cyberbullies was the most effective method of prevention.
Unlike face-to-face bullying, cyberbullying targets emotional harm its target is the victim’s dignity as a human because the hurtful information is often available to the public 24 hours a day, and what’s sad to know is that the assailant are often anonymous, the persecution is continuous and inescapable, and since it is often difficult to remove the posted material, the information could be shown around the world for a long time. And because of trauma, teens may be disinclined to tell adults about the abuse that is happening to them, and think as if it is their fault, they may feel fear retribution, or worry that their online activities or cellphone use will be limited. As a result, youth may commit suicide and externalized violence.
But committing suicide isn’t the best way to stop cyberbully neither retaliate the bully. Ending up like that won’t have reasonable justice. As a concern youth, I believe that we can stop cyberbully! In what ways? Here are some. First, I believe that consulting the parents about the abuse that is happening to the victim can help her/him to calm down, because parents can gave them significant advice. According to an article about cyberbully, the second best thing to do is to calmly and strongly tell the cyberbully to stop the harassing behavior and remove any offensive material from future communication. Third, is to ignore or block the communication. Fourth is to make a hard copy of the material the cyberbully has posted and send it to the cyber bully’s parents to solicit their help in ceasing this problematic behavior. Fifth is to clean up the messaging buddy list to help reduce the number of other people who have access to the victims email location. Sixth is to file a complaint with the website, internet service provider (ISP), or cell phone company. Seventh is to enlist the help of the school psychologist, school counselor, and principal or school/police liaison officer. Eight is to contact an attorney if less drastic steps are ineffective. And lastly, contact the police if the cyberbullying includes threats of harm.
Cyberbully is a serious problem so we should not let it win! Before it happens to us, it’s vital to know what to do. How to cope up from it, and what steps you need to take to stop the bullies. And if you have already experienced cyberbullying, now you know just what to do. But always remember, committing suicide isn’t the best way to stop the bullies neither retaliate them will do. The best way that you can do to save yourself from the bullies is to stand up against it!
