Cyberbullying

Everyone is unique in their own way and have their own way of making a living. But in no way it should be a cause to bully someone; wether the bullying is physical one-on-one person or online. The online form of bullying is known as cyberbullying. "Cyberbullying occurs when someone uses technology to demean, inflict harm, or cause pain to another person" (Abramson, 2022). "It involves the sharing or posting of private, hurtful, harmful, humiliating, or false information about a person" (Lockett, 2022).

This form of bullying is as worse as the bullying that occurs face-to-face and causes the victim to develop a series of mental health issues as a result of this bullying. But it is not addressed much either, which causes even more problems to the ones suffering and the bullying increases with time; it increases to a point where the victim ends up committing suicide. The term used for this way of committing suicide is known as "bullycide".

34 percent of American kids between the ages of 12 and 17 who participated in a recent poll conducted by the Cyberbullying Research Center reported experiencing cyberbullying. Along with that, the following paragraph addresses the impact of bullying on people, its types, its negative effect, and what should be done to get over it and stop the bullying.

The types of cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is a catch-all phrase for numerous forms of digital or virtual bullying. There are many different sorts of cyberbullying, which can take many different forms. The different types would include:

1. Harassment - this form of online bullying is defined as sending a victim repeated harsh, insulting, or threatening communications. Harassment includes a wide range of different forms of cyberbullying.
2. Cyberstalking - this is form is a more extreme form of cyberbullying, incorporates online stalking actions, such as observing, following, or monitoring, as well as physical stalker behaviors on occasion. However, whether stalking is solely online or includes physical contact, it is still unlawful and subject to legal penalties.
3. Outing/doxing - these are a dangerous form of cyberbullying termed outing, often known as doxing or doxxing, involves exposing private information about a target online. Doxing may put people in risk if private information, such an address, is disclosed without permission.
4. Masquerading - it is a form of online harassment when a bully establishes a phony social media profile or account to abuse a victim in secret. Catfishing, a form of masquerading, is the deliberate use of a false online identity to entice someone into a romantic connection.
5. Trickery - this is another kind of cyberbullying that resembles the former, begins when a bully actively wins over a target's trust. Once they've earned their trust, the bully will go back and divulge intimate or delicate information that they were given.
6. Denigration/dissing - this is where bullies target someone's reputation online engages in denigration, this is often known as "dissing." Dissing frequently entails activities like online publishing, sharing, or the propagation of negative rumors about a target.

Causes and effects

Causes

1. Revenge - cyberbully's desire to hurt people online is motivated, in part, by a desire for revenge. It follows that they have the same experience. Cyberbullies may have experienced bullying in the past. This pain that they suffered probably due to past bullying causes them to find another victim to take a revenge on. They tend to believe that the victim deserves the pain inflicted upon them.
2. Lack of empathy - cyberbullies could believe their actions is okay since they don't experience the same emotions as their victims. In other words, the suffering they cause others is justifiable. They therefore don't feel sorrow for what they did.
3. Boredom - boredom is another factor in cyberbullying. Boredom tends to make people seek delight. Online entertainment is something they frequently do. The only issue is that their pleasure comes is at the price of other people's happiness.

Effects

Research has shown that there are many negative effects of cyberbullying, which often leads to severe cases of mental health issues. Self-harm and suicide thoughts, acts, or behaviors are twice as common in persons who encounter cyberbullying as they are in people who do not. Some of the other examples of the negative effects include:

• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Sleeping habits are changed.
• Difficulties with academic performance.
• Feelings of loneliness and isolation.
• High levels of stress.

How to stop cyberbullying

Though it may be a little difficult to put a stop from bullying to take place online, but there are a few options that could help the kids from taking a blow to the mentality due to the bullying. If a kid is suffering by cyberbullying, the best thing to do is to avoid and don't take heed of the words; but if this doesn't help then it's best to report to a parent or guardian.

Other options include:

• Keep evidence - any copies of the cyberbullying, including postings, texts, and emails, should be saved and kept in case you need to report the abuse if it gets out of hand.
• Block - it can also be a good option to block the bully from contacting you on social media platforms as well as through text messages.
• Using privacy tools and settings - no matter what the teen does online, always should always make sure the child is aware of the privacy options and resources that a website or service provider provides. Each social networking site, almost all of them, has privacy options, including Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and TikTok. This may prevent the bully from contacting the victim; along with that other people may have to require permission to send pictures or share information.
• Refusing to respond - there are cases where the bullies will want the victim to respond to the bullying through emotions - which may give the bully some sort of satisfaction. If the victim doesn't respond at all, they are left with one-sided bullying and conversations, then later on stop the bullying themselves due to boredom.

Summary

Though cyberbullying may be a journey that is never-ending for the victim, it is never too late to take action and report the bullying. It is best to strategize what is important and what is not when it comes to the internet as it is vast and so many things to do there. Educating the children and the parents of the risks of the internet and cyberbullying is really important.

No matter what the bully is going through or has gone through, it is never good to bully someone else for something that happened to them. If, however, the bully is going through some mental health issues or they themselves gone through bullying, it is best to seek professional help.

Restraining the child from the technology and internet is not a good idea either. Instead, teaching the child of the potential dangers and using it responsibly will help them overcome the bullying and not be the victim. Teaching the kids to stand for themselves and others will help them be confident and may not be able to fall victim to others.

References:

Gordon, S. (2022). 10 Tips for Preventing Cyberbullying in Your Teen’s Life. [online] Verywell Family. Available at: https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-to-prevent-cyberbullying-5113808 [Accessed: 19 Jun. 2023].

Psych Lens (2018). The Causes and Effects of Cyberbullying. [online] Psych Lens. Available at: https://psychlens.com/causes-and-effects-of-cyberbullying/ [Accessed: 19 Jun. 2023].

Lewinsky, M. (2023). Cyberbullying | Special Feature. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/cyberbullying [Accessed: 19 Jun. 2023].

Abramson, A. (2022). Cyberbullying: What is it and how can you stop it? [online] Apa.org. Available at: https://www.apa.org/topics/bullying/cyberbullying-online-social-media [Accessed: 19 Jun. 2023].

Lockett, E. (2022). What Does Cyberbullying Look Like? [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/health/mental-health/cyberbullying#takeaway [Accessed: 19 Jun. 2023].

Bottaro, A. (2022). Cyberbullying: Negative Effects and How You Can Stop It. [online] Verywell Health. Available at: https://www.verywellhealth.com/cyberbullying-effects-and-what-to-do-5220584 [Accessed: 19 Jun. 2023].