
Bullying has been a societal issue for decades, but as modern technology increases so does bullying.  Children have numerous more ways to bully each other and often face no consequences.  Cyberbullies attack their victims over text, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.  The endless supply of social media sites and ever increasing technology use in the younger generations has created jaw dropping statistics of bullying occurring in society today. In fact, cyberbullying incidents have quadrupled in the past five years (Cyberbullying Rampant on the Internet).  Previously, bullying was always on the playground, but with such technological advances in society today bullying has made a large presence in specifically the lives of the youth. Every time you turn on the news there is another bullying story or another suicide related to bullying being reported. By looking at the expansion of communication technologies we can see the ways bullies can get in contact with their victims is increasing and as a result cyberbullying has become an epidemic problem in the United States.  

There are multiple types of bullying present in society today but cyberbullying over time has become the biggest issue in the younger generations.  Cyberbullying is, “The intent is to inflict online social cruelty on victims by threatening, harming, humiliating, and engendering fear and helplessness in the victim through the use of electronic and communication technologies” (Miller 108).  Cyberbullying can also be classified as indirect or direct.  For example, direct bullying would be threating or insulting someone out of cruelty as where indirect bullying would be starting rumors.  In the movie “Cyberbully” Taylor experiences indirect cyberbullying when students online start rumors about her and experiences direct bullying when people write harmful things on her profile.  As a result of being bullied online, Taylor soon experiences verbal bullying as well, therefore cyberbullying stems other types of bullying. “Cyberbully” accurately depicts the various types of bullying taking place today while incorporating the cause and effects of cyberbullying specifically.  Meanwhile advances in technology are being made and children are being given technology at a younger age, cyberbullying has increased. The average age of a child getting their first smartphone is 10 years old (Miller 108).  This comes with many responsibilities because now children have access to an unlimited and uncensored amount of information. “Cyberbully” portrays this statistic through Taylor getting her first laptop.  This provides her the ability to use the internet freely and in the comfort of her own privacy. Therefore, with this opportunity comes the ability to, at any time or any place, cyberbully or become the victim of cyberbullying.  One of the biggest disconnects between adults and the younger generations in fact is social media and therefore cyberbullying in this case specifically refers to youth.  This is not to say cyberbullying does not occur among adults.  Cyberbullying is prevalent between adults as well, but occurs more often than many want to admit.  In fact, 75% of American adults have witnessed cyberbullying while an additional 40% have been victims of cyberbullying.  Although cyberbullying can happen to people of any age, it is more frequently seen in youth.      

Victims of cyberbullying are susceptible to a range of severe consequences such as a negative self-concept, depression or suicidal thoughts.  In fact, 20% of children cyberbullied think about suicide while one in ten attempt it (Cyberbullying Rampant on the Interne9).  These long term effects begin a cycle that affects the victim’s life and result in poor social relationships and poor academic performance in the long run. In a recent study 20% of children surveyed indicated fear of cyberbullies made them reluctant to go to school (Hinduja).  In “Cyberbully” Taylor tries to commit suicide by overdosing on pain killers and is brought to the hospital. The doctor explains to her mother that cyberbullying “Is very traumatic and makes the victim feel trapped and unable to escape from it” (Cyberbully).  “Cyberbully” portrays a common, realistic way many children try to end the cyberbullying.  Children have access to medicine such as Tylenol or Advil and therefore it is an easy way, in their minds, for them to escape the pain.   This is important because many victims feel the need to hide the fact they are being bullied rather than tell someone because they are afraid of further bullying. When the victim feels they need to hide the fact they are being bullied, this acts as a large burden on them resulting in an overwhelming amount of pressure.  Some common signs a victim of cyberbullying might display are low self-esteem, withdrawal from social activities, weight loss/gain and a change in personality. To avoid these effects some youth decided it is easier to live in accordance with the “norm” rather than deviate from it and be themselves. As a society we shouldn’t be encouraging this behavior.  We shouldn’t have to change ourselves due to the fear of being bullied.  During the past decade social media has swept the world, and consequently during the past decade the suicide rate has increased.  Therefore, researchers are now interested in social media’s role in suicidal behavior and if it should be considered a public health problem.  Organizations that work to end cyberbullying have begun support groups for those who have been victims of cyberbullying.  In “Cyberbully” Taylor’s mom encourages her to attend a support group where she learns cyberbullying is more common than she thought, specifically in her school system and community. The tension between Taylor and her mother increases as the bullying increases, therefore not only does the victim suffer consequences but the relationship between the family is strained as well. Support groups have become beneficial to many victims of cyberbullying because it teaches children how to deal with cyberbullies, how to discuss the problem with authority figures and how to move on from the pain they have endured.  Cyberbullying does not only have consequences in the short run, but in the long run as well.  Victims of cyberbullying are twice as likely to need help from a mental health professional and three times more likely to drop out of school (Miller 107).  Therefore, cyberbullying can have a significant impact on someone for the rest of their life and society needs to work together to prevent this issue from growing.  

People have questioned why bullying exists and why we can’t coexist and accept our differences. “When a person cannot be readily understood or identified, there may be a psychological need to minimize hurt of make the person disappear together” (Miller 107). Some common targets are those not a part of the dominant ethnicity, whose size/weight aren’t in alignment with the “norm” and who might be considered poor class. When one deviates from the norm they are subjected to bullying which results in the consequences previously mentioned. Cyberbullying is a way for an attacker to harm a victim anytime and anyplace while hiding behind a screen.  In a recent survey of 14-24 year olds, 76% of them said cyberbullying is a serious problem for people their age, but when asked why cyberbullying specifically is such an issue 81% of them said because it is easier to get away with (Hinduja).  Therefore, cyberbullying is a way for an attacker to harm a victim anytime and anyplace while hiding behind a screen, also allowing the cyberbully to potentially keep their identity a secret. Recently, cyberbullying has occurred from anonymous accounts. This means, the bully creates a fake profile to harass and bully the victim all while keeping their identity a secret to avoid any consequences.  In “Cyberbully”, Kahleb, a gay teenager, demonstrates a perfect example of deviating from the “norm”.  Kahleb is openly gay and as a result he has been cyberbullied for it.  Anonymous accounts write cruel things on his profile such as “Too gay to live.” Here we see the influence of technology specifically when Kahleb says,“The worst is when the bullying goes home with you.”  This is one downside to the abuse of technology.  Youth are taking advantage of it to point out others differences and ostracize them for it. This is not what social media was created for.  Somehow in the younger generations children have developed this idea of the “norm” and the natural reaction to judge others if they deviate from it. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific origin of the “norm” but this is not to say there is no correlation between the history of the norm and technology. Technology has changed our perception of the “norm”.  For example, many children now idolize celebrities. Celebrities have begun to develop a new “norm” of our generation such as, Kylie Jenner’s lips or Kim Kardashian’s butt.  This is what the younger generations are growing up to follow.  While children are developing and do not fit in with this “norm” they are called out for it.  What happened to embracing one another’s differences? Society has begun to put such a high value on technology that it has become such a constant in our lives that we cannot imagine to live without. Of course technology has its perks like online shopping or for educational purposes but it also has its downsides such as cyberbullying.  This epidemic problem in the United States needs to begin by putting an end to the “norm”.  

The misuse of technology has become a major issue and underlying cause of cyberbullying.  The first social media site, Six Degrees, begun in 1997, and since then social media has boomed (Hinduja).  The purpose of social media is to allow people and companies to interact by creating, sharing and exchanging information, but as a result children have begun to broadcast information about themselves to a potentially large audience. Now with increasing technology the freedom that young children have online has increased.  One major issue with the increase of technology and social media is that it is not monitored.  Children feel as if they have no boundaries online and that the things they say go without consequence.  This is somewhat true.  With the ever growing advances in smartphones parents have begun to lose control over their children’s actions, especially online.  In previous generations cyberbullying was not an issue do due the limited or non-existent technology. Therefore, parents are slowly becoming unaware of what their children are doing. But, the blame also should not be put on the parents.  Although the parent gave the child a form of electronic communication, this does not give them permission to abuse the privilege and act how they please. Bullying in modern times happens less face-to face and more behind the scenes.  This does not mean bullying is occurring less, it simply means it is happening more but we see less and less of it due to the evolution of technology.  This idea that bullying is seen less in person as opposed to online is portrayed in “Cyberbully”.  Taylor becomes the victim of bullying on a social media site soon after receiving a laptop for her birthday that she uses in privacy.  Taylor doesn’t tell her mom because she knows her mom will either take away her laptop or force her to delete her social media account.  In modern times, this is how many other children act as well.  Children are not willing to admit to being bullied due to the unjust punishment they receive. Technology is a helpful tool that supplies us with knowledge, but it needs restrictions.  Facebook, a widespread popular social media site, requires all users to be over the age of thirteen years old. In fact, the Washington Post reported, nine out of ten teen Facebook users have witnessed bullying on this site, and 54% of these teenagers claimed to have personally experienced bullying on this site (Tempkin).    Therefore, without the combination of the abuse and the manipulation of such communication technologies this type of bullying would not be as prevelant.  

So now, what happens when cyberbullying is ignored?  The more bullying is legitimated the more powerful it becomes which results in the more difficult it is to be terminated.   When bullying is left unchallenged it enables an environment that reinforces bullying and allows it to grow.  This results in the attacker to continue moving on to new victims, creating an environment where they believe they have the right to say and treat others online as they please.  If society keeps allowing this cycle to happen, cyberbullying will never end.  Some authority figures say to just block the bully, however just because this option is at our disposal doesn’t mean it will solve the problem.  For example, the bully can just make a new account or move onto their next victim.  Cyberbullying is a complex action to stop.  There is no one way to end it, but there are ways in which youth can try to prevent it.  One way is parents need to implement ways to be watchful of their children’s online activity.  In the beginning of “Cyberbully” Taylor’s mom doesn’t allow her to have her own laptop that way she is able to keep an eye on her when she uses the family computer.  This was a good technique but as children get older they want more privacy.  Therefore, parents should discuss with their children the importance of online safety.  When Taylor first gets her own laptop her mother tells her, “No inappropriate sites and no giving out personal information” (Cyberbully).  Parents need to enforce rules on technology and in the long run this will increase youth awareness about the dangers of being online.  Children need to be reminded that once they post online it is out of their control who saves or forwards this information.  For example, Taylor’s mom printed off the hurtful things people posted on her profile and went to the principle.  This introduces another discrepancy with how to stop cyberbullies.  Different school systems have different policies on uses of technology.  In Taylor’s case, her school had no policies in place and when her mom spoke to the principle he said “What the students do at home online is out of our control.”  Schools have been encouraged to emphasize that bullying, whether it occurs in school or online, can still result in punishment.  Therefore, limitations set by both parents and school systems can contribute to decreasing the cyberbullying rate.   

Unfortunately, no federal law specifically applies to cyberbullying or even bullying in general.  In some cases, when bullying is caused by race, sex, disability or religion, bullying overlaps with harassment and therefore by law the school is obligated to address it.  Between 2005 and 2011 a significant number of new or revised state bullying laws were enacted, but there was no improvement in rates of bulling between these years. The reason for this is there is no mechanism to ensure schools and districts follow through with these laws, therefore the anti-bullying laws essentially do nothing to help prevent bullying.  Once again, bullying is left unchallenged which enables an environment for bullying to grow.  Arne Duncan, former United States Secretary of Education, wrote “Anti-bullying laws and polices serve to send a message that all incidents of bullying must be addressed immediately and effectively, and such behavior will not be tolerated” (Tempkin).  This means legislature recognizes bullying as a serious societal issue but the laws do not and cannot serve as the mechanism to make sure the behavior is being addressed appropriately.  Therefore, this gap in the system allows for room for cyberbullies to continue without punishment. Anti-bullying laws are not perfectly clear thus making it even harder to address cyberbullying that happens off school grounds.  Anti-bullying laws were non-existent approximately fifteen years ago, but once again the correlation between advances in technology and bullying have resulted in all fifty states requiring some type of policy. Organizations made up of parents and authority figures have come together to try and find a solution to the issue that will actually put an end to bullying but as previously mentioned the problem lies within the government. The policies stablished only control bullying in the short term and do not eliminate bullying completely.  Taylor’s mom demonstrates this when she goes to the mayor of the town and presents to him the serious bullying occurring online in their town.  The mayor is uninterested and says he has bigger problems. Therefore, one obstacle that is enabling cyberbullying to occur is lawmakers are refusing to deal with the issue.  If those with more authority do not take part in finding a way to eliminate cyberbullying, attacks will have no consequence for their actions.  

Bullying, or more recently, Cyberbullying, has become engrained in American culture as a result of the abuse and manipulation of technology.  Cyberbullying can occur at any time in which the attacker can contact its victim, nonetheless making it even more dangerous.  The consequences victims of cyberbullying face can be severe, ranging from mental health disorders such as depression or anxiety to suicidal thoughts.  Bullying in general is a result of deviating from the “norm”, but with the increase in social media sites like Instagram and Facebook, bullies have become more motivated to harass their victim. Therefore, face-face interactions have become limited, allowing cyberbullying to occur in privacy.  Cyberbullying is not soley the fault of technology, lack of parental restrictions, or lack of government involvement but the combination of these things.  
