The internet has brought many things to the world we live in. There are positives and negatives to being connected, the same way there are positives and negatives to most things in life. One of the most threatening negatives of the internet is cyber bullying. Bullying has been an issue for a very long time. Computers and cell phones are not what began bullying, but they have aided the progression of it tremendously. The most concerning part of cyberbullying is the age group of the offenders and victims. Kids not even ten years old are calling each other names and putting each other down. DoSomething.org has a page that goes through 11 facts about cyber bullying and the statistics are eye opening. 80% of teens use a phone daily, which increases the probablity of harrassing messages. 81% of kids think it is easier to bully somebody online than it is in person. This makes sense as it is easier to be mean when nobody can see you and when you can't see your victim. The scariest fact that I saw was that victims of bullying were 2 to 9 times more likely to think about killing theirself. These statistics are for kids and teens! To think that they could be brought to a place dark enough to want to end their life is heartbreaking. I know that bullying has and will always be around, and that while we can build awareness we can not stop it completely I do think there are ways to stop it before it starts. It begins in the home. A child needs to be given positive support at home. There needs to be more focus on being respectful and caring, and less focus on the actual bullying. If a child is surrounded with positivity and respect that is what they will spread when they go out in the world. As parents, we can't stop something that we are causing. Adults need to be more aware of what we are instilling into our future generations or the cyberbullying will only continue.
http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying#
I strongly agree with your argument that cyber bullying is the darkest side of new media. I can see how the increased use and availability of new media devices have made it easier for children to bully each other. The scariest thing about this is that cyberbullying has a 24/7 schedule and the fact that when they send these messages via text or the computer their guilt can be equated to them torturing a voodoo doll where they feel there are no limits on how far they can go in tormenting their victims. On the victims side, the younger they are the less they are able to stand up to verbal harassment and shake it off. just a simple thing like “no one likes you” can take a devastating turn in the victims life. I think the idea of parents teaching their children good values is a good start but the sad truth is not every parent is caring enough to take the time to teach their kids these good values and you need to make sure that your also teaching them to stand up for themselves when someone bullies them.
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