It was a normal day. I groggily got out of bed, did my hair and makeup, brushed my teeth, put on new clothes, and ate some breakfast. I then realized I had some time left over before I had to be someplace, and logged on my computer. I checked a few of my favorite sites, and was instantly bombarded with y-mails and chat logs filled with links to a certain website. They said it was the new burn book. I clicked the link, and saw something that was shocking: me
But see, it wasn't just me - it was my friends too. The worst part of the whole situation was it wasn't just your normal "burn book". This website had actual pictures of me, my friends, and other Whyvillians. I hated seeing my picture on a site that wasn't Facebook, and it made me feel uncomfortable. I didn't like having my picture out there for anyone to see; that's why I made sure my Facebook settings were for friends only. That's when I realized something: the Internet can be a scary place.
Not only did this "burn book" have pictures, but it had horrible things said about people. Insults that were very untrue were written, and feelings were hurt. This burn book was a classic case of Cyber Bullying. For those of you who don't know what Cyber Bullying is, here are two definitions.
Cyber Bullying:
- Bullying which uses e-technology as a means of victimizing others. It is the use of an Internet service or mobile technologies - such as e-mail, chat room discussion groups, instant messaging, web pages or SMS (text messaging) - with the intention of harming another person.
- Involves the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others.
Cyber Bullying is very real, and can shatter someone's self esteem. According to NCPC (National Crime Prevention Council,) 43% of teens were Cyber Bullied in the last year.
Burn books aren't the only way people can be Cyber Bullied. Personal bullying one-on-one happens all the time over electronics. Text messaging, (and hateful chain mail,) is a big way that people get hurt by words through technology. There are also other ways that people are Cyber Bullied, like through email, Facebook, and Chat Rooms.
According to this quote taken from a debate about Cyber Bullying, "The suicide rates have increased for ages 10 to19 and cyber bullying is a big part of the problem."
I was talking with a close friend of mine earlier this week, and we started talking about Cyber Bulling. She had recently been a victim of continuous bullying through her Facebook account, and had ended up getting her parents involved. The end result of this Cyber Bullying was expulsion of the bullies from school, (they had been bullying by posting things to their Facebook pages on mobile devices in school hours,) and were probably in even hotter water with their parents. When I was conversing with this friend, I asked her how she felt when she was bullying. Though theses weren't her exact words, she basically said:
"I felt really alone. I didn't want to get on Facebook ever again, but I didn't know how to delete it and I still kind of wanted to have the account. I would dread getting on after school because I knew that during school and before I came home they would have posted terrible things about me. People would then like their statuses or laugh at them. It would make me feel even worse about myself. I ended up deleting all my pictures and never posted any statuses again. I knew they would just make fun of them. I couldn't just block them, because then I wouldn't be able to see what they said about me. I felt as if I couldn't win."
Other teens out there feel the same way my friend did. Cyber Bullying is very real and it continues to hurt people day in and day out. Cyber Bulling Awareness groups are trying very hard to end this hateful form of abuse. Though Cyber Bullying still continues to happen, it IS lessening by informing as many people as possible about this abuse. Informing others can help prevent further generations from participating in this life altering and torturous tormenting.
For a list of places to get help for Cyber Bullying, and for more words about this abuse, I highly suggest reading article 7787.
Author's Note: Sources:
http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html
http://www.debate.org/debates/Should-cyber-bullying-be-a-crime/1/
http://www.ncpc.org/resources/files/pdf/bullying/cyberbullying.pdf
