Cyberbullying is becoming a big dilemma in today’s society . I believe that if people are not held accountable for their actions, they will keep on bullying others. People will only stop when someone is held accountable for a person committing suicide or being murdered. In this generation a lot of people are just getting a slap on the wrist and not being punished. If a person is sentenced for his/her actions they could put an end to Cyberbullying. Once they have put an example of punishment no one will want to risk losing everything over a few harsh words behind a screen.
Today cyberbullying has become a huge epidemic. There has been an escalate in victims committing suicide to escape their tormentors. A person who is being bullied may start to have an increase in absenteeism, a decrease on grades, or suffer from depression. A parent whose child committed suicide said, “the bully murdered my son using the keyboard as his weapon, just as surely if he had crawled through a broken window and choked the life from him with his bare hands.” Some schools are starting zero-tolerance policy mandating school administrators to impose a specific punishment, generally suspension or expulsion, regardless of the circumstances surrounding the offense.
The internet has unleashed its dark side that adolescent use to spite and vengeance of others. It is the bathroom wall moved into everybody’s bedroom. This practice even has a name: Cyber-Bullying. A shove in the playground might be a little more refreshing in this new world. Instead hitting the “send” button to broadcast malice worldwide teens prefer to post anonymous insults and harassing messages. The online audience keeps growing rapidly with teens being the main audience, which AOL launched a teen version called RED in February. Experts have said the way to attack online bullying is by attacking bullying in general.
The internet is another way how a person can be cruel to another person using cell phones or other technologies. The main targets of cyberbullying appears to be those who are not at the so call standards of others as being acceptable or cool. The school system has blocked websites that are not school appropriate to help stop cyberbullying, but children are still finding a way to bully others at home through their cell phones or computers. In the bullying role there are three distinct roles the bully, the target, and the bystander. At times young adults do not like to tattle so they just sit back and let the person be bullied. From the research I have done I have seen that many children have not had to deal with any consequences for mentally hurting another person. There have been many fatalities amongst young adults in this world recently. I would like for the adults around these children to help them and not let others tear them down. They should be able to monitor them more when they are able to.
References:
Brunecz, Sydney L. “More Harm Than Good? Why Schools Who Take A Zero-Tolerance Stance on Cyberbullying Cause More Problems Than Solutions.” Journal of Law, Technology & the Internet. Vol 6 Issue 1. p 13-42. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://kidd.blinn.edu:2093/ehost/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=28115791-972b-4685-889d-7817b217941b%40sessionmgr102&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#AN=119542918&db=a9h
Cooper, Candy J. “Cyber-bullies Staking the online Playground.” The Record (Hackensack, NJ), 2004, SIRS Issues Researcher, https://kidd.blinn.edu:2066/webapp/article?artno=0000185128&type=ART#cite
