How Does Cyberbullying Influence in Children

Considering that social media has become the most common way to communicate, cyberbullying is the most common method of bullying. It is important to delete cyberbullying because it is plaguing every user, including our next generation. This generation of children is becoming more computer literate than their parents. According to a poll on TopTen.com, 93% of teens use social media. This use of social media in our youth also brings in the chance of cyber bullies attacking them.

Cyberbullies, also called “Trolls”, can cause a harmful effect on children. Seeing hateful comments pop up on their screen after they have posted something can eventually affect their self-esteem. When someone is constantly told they are ugly, they begin to believe it. Anonymous comments may seem irrelevant but these comments can impact a child and how they view the world. Also, these comments can come from their peers as well. This could transfer into how people at school view each other. Many people can’t determine if a rumor is simply a rumor or if it is fact. So, if a child posts a rumor about another one on a social media website for everyone to see, this could lead to rumors that develop outside the internet and in the real world. Things on the internet do not always stay on the internet. For example, an investigation of a twitter “roast” page was conducted a few weeks ago in the Banks County High School. The twitter page’s name, BCHS Gossip and Roast. This page was dedicated to making fun of the students of Banks County High School and after numerous complaints were addressed to the principle. Principle Goodrow then interviewed students and when he came up empty handed he called the police to track the IP address of the twitter account. Formal charges of assault will be presented to the bully when they are caught. As you can see, this ‘harmless’ rumor page will have caused the victim's heartache and the bully a real life criminal record.

Next, bullies can target their prey on the internet much easier than face to face confrontation. Face to face bullying means that the bully might have to fight if the person they are bullying decides that they have had enough of what they are saying. The old stereotype of weaker children being picked on is now becoming a thing of the past. To further, a male student who is not as strong as the average male can now bully other via the internet and he never worries about being assaulted by the bigger children because he never sees their face. Also, being able to be anonymous allows bullies to post and not have to worry about being judged. People dislike anyone who wants to start drama but everyone loves to hear about drama. No one wants to be the one that started the rumors because you will be labeled as someone who starts rumors. When a student is branded with ‘drama starter’, no one will be their friend because they can never be trusted. Why would someone trust a person if they were known for spreading secrets?

In children who are being bullied, this development of low self-esteem and a harsh view of the world can change how a teenager will grow up to be an adult. A child exposed to negativity of unknown people or their peers can lead to the belief that everyone hates them, or they have no one to turn to for help. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non-victims, according to studies by Yale University. A recent event of cyber bullying that made headlines in North America: The Amanda Todd case. Amanda Todd used social medias, such as video chatting to meet new people. One new man she met convinced her to show him explicit parts of her body. The man leaked these photos on Internet. Her reputation crumbled and classmate assaulted her physically and verbally. Her assault did not stop at school but followed her home. Her classmates even created a webpage dedicated to slandering Amanda. She moved schools in hopes of leaving her past in the past but wherever she went the photos somehow followed her. Amanda Todd was fifteen years old when she committed suicide in 2012. Amanda Todd’s story reveals how easily cyberbullies can destroy lives and her story is one of many. We need to delete cyberbullying once and for all because we cannot afford to lose any more of our youth.

The fact that cyberbullies can affect children to the point of ending their lives is enough to make anyone want to stop cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is being coming an issue because it is not harmless. It’s important to delete cyberbullying because no one should have to worry about what others will say on the internet. Bullying in the real world is hard enough.