The issue of cyber-bullying is something I have always been against. I never liked the idea of people taking advantage of other people through the use of the internet. This topic interests me because I like helping people who are hurt or depressed. It makes me feel good inside knowing I am helping someone. I have never experienced cyber-bullying myself because I stay away from social media. 

My personal experience of being bullied in school has left me afraid to join social media. All throughout elementary and middle school I was severely bullied and too afraid to stand up for myself. I had some friends but they didn't truly understand what I was going through to help me. It wasn't until high school that the bullying stopped. That is when I made many new friends who stood up for me if anything went wrong. I finally gained the confidence to stand up for myself and for my friends. 

I am qualified to discuss about this topic because I have experienced bullying for most of my life. My Teacher Cadet class discussed this issue at length and took psychological approaches when discussing. My school was very conscious and aware of cases of bullying and took good care of teaching the negative effects of bullying. 

The article "When bullying goes high-tech" by Elizabeth Landau starts off by describing an example of cyber-bullying in real life. Landau's article for CNN describes a 6th grade boy named Brandon Turley who experienced cyber-bullying. When Turley browsed on MySpace "he saw that someone from school had posted a bulletin  ...  declaring that Turley was a 'fag'." (Landau 1) Turley was threatened by kids on the bulletin when he asked why kids would say such awful things about him. The next topic presented by the article is statistics about the frequency of cyber-bullying. One of the statistics was that 10% of middle and high school students who took the survey had experienced cyber-bullying in the past 30 days. The participation in the survey was over 15,000 students across the U.S. The article was designed to get the reader emotionally attached by introducing an actual case of cyber-bullying and then hammering home the statistics. This article plays with people's emotions so it can elicit a response to the issue. The author is very credible because she has written numerous articles on major topics about science and psychology. She does a good job of limiting bias by presenting the story and facts more than giving personal input. 

The article "Social Media Cyber Bullying Linked to Teen Depression" by Stephanie Pappas starts with a claim and introduces the idea that teen depression is directly linked to cyber-bullying. An example Pappas used was "In 2013  ...  a spate of suicides was linked to the social network Ask.fm." The victims could chat to people anonymously but still felt the pressure of bullying and took their own lives because of it. The article also brings up that that teens frequently use social media, so they are more exposed to bad stuff. Bringing up suicide is very controversial as it is a very terrible act and people will respond to suicide in a number of ways. Social networking sites responded to the outcry by changing policies and banning any harmful comments directed in a negative way towards a person. Pappas is a very credible writer because she has also written numerous articles on psychological and neurological issues. She posted articles for Scientific American. 

The Article "Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray" by Jan Hoffman for the NY Times starts in a similar manner to the first article by presenting an actual case of cyber-bullying. The case is about a girl who received sexually explicit threats from a 12-year-old boy. The school system would not intervene initially in the matter since the threats were sent over the weekend and off-school grounds. Hoffman then goes on to talk about the impact of cyber-bullying in the school system. He mentions debatable topics such as is the school system allowed to intervene and can the situation be taken to the police. Parents seek the school system for justice even though teachers are not judges themselves. Many problems can and will rise because of the controversy of taking issues to the school system. If the school system is unwilling to intervene, kids can get hurt if the bullying continues. If the school does intervene some of the parents would look at intervention as a way of disciplining their kids. Hoffman does have some bias in the form of assumptions. He assumes certain things based on the information he is given to write about.

The research question specifies how cyber-bullying can affect a person's life. The first article presents statistics and tips on how to prevent cyber-bullying and how to report a cyber-bully. The second article looks at the relationship between cyber-bullying and depression. The third article looks at the impact of cyber-bullying in the school system. All three sources regard cyber-bullying as a really bad activity and an act that can cause confusion and pain. Each source relates back to the research question by showing the impact cyber-bullying can have on a person. 

