The Effects Of Cyberbullying Revised

Bullying is an age-old thing where someone decides to find a victim and torment them for no underlying reasons. In today's society, a new form of bully has emerged, called cyberbullying or cyberstalking. The internet has allowed access to people's lives that you may have never encountered, but what causes a person to bully another online? Many believe that since you cannot see a person, it's not bullying, so maybe a lack of empathy, and some feel that people deserve it. It may seem that the internet is a boring place that can cause this behavior, giving the bully a type of thrill or kick out of targeting a person.

Like a dull, grey, endless hallway, victims of cyberbullying may not know where to turn when online stalkers torment them. An adult or child may develop feelings of anxiety, being overwhelmed or powerless. A sense of humiliation and feeling a lack of self-worth and ultimately like the victims pictured here, victims may choose to end their lives. The effects of cyberbullying, which are something that can take a toll on not only the victim and their family but also if the bully is charged with a crime, it can cause pain to their own family for which the act could have been avoided.

The consequences of cyberbullying are vast. When a person is bullied face to face, only a small amount of people witness it. Online, the audience is infinite, and the bully knows this. The ultimate goal for the bully is to get attention, and via the internet, attention can be gained anywhere. The issue with cyberbullying is that people can spread a rumor with the touch of a button. The victim has nowhere to turn, and as their self-esteem is lowered, they sometimes will, unfortunately, commit suicide because they are blocked at every corner online and feel that there is no way out.

Although each of the States in our country confronts bullying in different ways, many states are now looking at different types of laws to try and combat cyberbullying and cyberstalking. Although there currently are no laws at the federal level, it may seem in the future that because of the severity of issues, both mentally and physically, such as anxiety disorders and suicide, the government may step in and pass harsh punishments on the grounds of harassment or hate crimes, towards individuals who partake in cyberbullying. It comes down to thinking before you act; someone's life may be impacted negatively just for you participating. Be kind to one another. We only have one life, so let's make the best of it.

While everything I have written about remains true, one thing I did not touch many bases on was the Mental health aspect of Cyberbullying both for the victim and the Victimizer. Some people have a means for revenge or a power struggle, and some cyberbully because they are mentally ill. These include no feeling of empathy or remorse in which they feel that it is something fun to do and do not actually see that they are harming an individual. This could be sociopathic or other types of mental illnesses. Some people bully online because they are too afraid to do something mean or hurtful to another in public or passive-aggressive in which they do not like confrontation themselves. Yet, they have no problem being harmful to people online.

I think that most people that cyberbully are the type I call the "keyboard warrior." Online, there persona or avatar is a type of shield to their identity, so they do not care what they type or text to an individual. Mainly, they can be as mean as they want online and even can be a great person outside of the internet, yet these bullies can pass off the behavior as if it wasn't them doing the act, but there online persona. As for justification of this behavior, there isn't any. These online psychopaths need to be contained, and victims of cyberbullying need some type of justice. This is not any different from the schoolyard bully; it is just the bully that can now reach a vast audience of fellow douchebags at the click of a button.

If we are to get justice for these kids who have been affected by cyber harassment, we need to raise awareness and report harassment types to social media companies until legislation is solid enough to get a conviction on these individuals. I do not think it is fair for someone to push another to commit suicide or any other harmful thing without significant punishment. I personally do not see this any differently than manslaughter. If people who are out there bullying start to see individuals standing up to this behavior and laws are enacted to combat these acts, I hope we would see a significant decrease in cyberbullying and cyberstalking.