Cyber-Bullying Has Increased the Bullying Rate to New Heights free essay sample

Cyber-bullying has increase the bullying rate to new heights A seventeen-year old high school student called Rachael Neblett from Kentucky began receiving threatening emails through her MySpace account. The emails were brought to the attention of the principal of her high school. The emails included details of her movements during class and after school activities. Due to the context found in the emails, they were certain that the bully was another student at the school. Rachael received an email stating â€Å"I am not going to put you in the hospital; I am going to put you in the morgue†. Because of the email, Rachael did not want to see her friends or go to school. Shortly after receiving the threatening email, she committed suicide (â€Å"Rachael Neblett†). As you can see with this story, bullying has intensified in the context of social media. What has emerged is the creation of cyber-bullying which is the action of inflicting harm such as: harassing, humiliating, or threatening someone through the Internet or interactive technology. Bullying has been a constant social issue present in daily life and it has intensified to yet larger dimensions due to the creation of the social media. Gone are the days when children, teens, and even adults felt safe at home away from neighborhood bullies. The social media, that is, the Internet has become the new â€Å"playground† for people who bully others. Cyber-bullying has been created by high tech people who have taken over the Internet to harass their peers. The increase popularity of e-mail, text messaging, blogging, instant messaging, and web pages has developed a rise in the vulnerability of people as potential targets. The electronic bullies have the ability to preserve their anonymity by formulation temporary e-mail accounts and pseudonyms in chat rooms, instant messaging programs, and other Internet venues. The individuals who bully using the cyberspace have the ability to hide behind a measure of anonymity. The effects of bullying on those who are targeted are divided into three parts: emotional, physical and verbal. Depression and  anxiety, increased feelings of sadness and loneliness are just some examples of the emotional effects bullying has. The person who is being bullied also may start to have thoughts of suicide because the attacks are too much for them to handle. The person also becomes more reserved and may not want to leave the house or go to school because they do not want to have to continue being bullied by others. Health disorders and complaints are also very common effects that happen to the ones being bullied. They lose their appetite or stress may also create a sense of weakness and tiredness in their body. Another effect we can see is the lowered efficiency in school. Their academic achievement and school participation might decrease. They are more vulnerable to miss or drop out of school. In order to portray the seriousness of this issue, statistics of cyber-bullying in the United States have been made. About 66% of teens who have witnessed online cruelty have also witnessed others joining. Another statistic found is that about 95% of social media-using teens who have witnessed cruel behavior on social networking sites say they have seen others ignoring the mean behavior and 55% witness this frequently (â€Å"Cyber Bullying Statistics†). Cyber-bullying is a serious problem which makes most of its victims think that the best way to end with it is by taking their own life. To counteract this social issue, different solutions have been proposed and formulated in the hopes of ending cyber-bullying. One of the solutions that will best attack the problem is to integrate within schools a special program that teaches children the seriousness of this problem and how to protect themselves against it. Another method that could also be use is the creation of yet more technology to provide a safer environment while people explore the Internet. This solution can generate a system of blocking someone which will make them not be able to send you more threatening emails or chats. Many people only look at the advantages of the social media. They state that cyberspace has enabled people to meet new acquaintances and to communicate more easily with one another. Individuals are not aware that they are exposing themselves to complete strangers. Some people may state that this social issue is not a very serious one but the truth is that cyber-bullying is very prevalent and found around the US and the world. Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, and about the same number have engaged in cyber bullying. More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cyber threats online, and only 1 in 10 teens tell their parents if they have been a cyber-bully victim (â€Å"Cyber Bullying Statistics†). Bullying, especially cyber-bullying, is a problem which we have to quickly exterminate. It causes so much damage to children and even older people that did nothing to deserve such hateful acts towards them. The key is to work together to fight against it, and we will more likely be able to eliminate it. People need to be more conscience about the dangers found in the cyberspace. Parents as well as children need to be taught the dangers found in the different media devices. Make a decision now to be a part of a vast amount of people who are trying to stop the bullying issue. If we don’t put an end to it now, in a couple of more years this social issue will become a bigger problem. Work Cited Cyber Bullying Statistics.   Bullying Statistics. N. p. , 2009. Web. 16 May 2013. aaaaalt;http://www. bullyingstatistics. org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics. htmlgt;. Rachael Neblett.   Pure Sight Online Child Safety. Pure Sight, 2010. Web. 16 May 2013. aaaaalt;http://www. puresight. com/Real-Life-Stories/rachael-neblett. htmlgt;.