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Aiko L. Welch
Malory Klocke
ENGL 1010 – Argument Essay
February 13, 2012
Cyberbullying Argument Essay
Cyberbullying has become more and more prevalent on the internet over the past few
years. Ever since the World Wide Web was created, people have been creating ways for
everyone to talk to each other via the internet. Email was the first to be created and
implemented. After that, the development of the instant messaging system was brought into
focus. With it, people all over the world could send messages instantaneously in a little chat
box. People started being able to call each other and talk through a camera that shot live video
feed of themselves. With these new tools we are able to communicate as if the person were
right in front of you.
There are some problems with this new ability to communicate. Text does not convey
emotions very well. You now have to assume what the expression and the pitch in a person’s
voice are. It is very hard to tell if one is mad or sad or just being happy unless they are being
very descriptive on how they feel. Many people can pretend to be a certain way as well.
Anonymity on the internet is easy. It is hard to trace anyone back to where they are or who
they are. Anyone can be whoever they want.
Many people abuse the facelessness that everyone has while online. You can lead
anyone to believe something that isn’t true. For all anyone knows you could be a famous
celebrity but pose as a fifteen year old teenager or vice versa. It becomes difficult for us to
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figure out who is real and who is not. There is also the ability to take someone else’s identity
and pretend to be them. Through this we get identity taken from us and information of
ourselves gets leaked all over the web. Hacks and malicious codes are created to gather your
personal information. Anything and everything can be exploited beyond your control.
This is where cyberbullying comes in. Cyberbullying is bullying via the internet. Instead
of getting harassed face to face with the person, you have this unknown identity poking at
everything about you, even if it is not true. Cyberbullying can happen in many ways. Someone
could constantly insult you for something that is not even relevant or true. People who do that
are labeled as “Trolls.” Trolls are “internet users who send inflammatory or provocative
messages design to elicit negative responses or start a flame-war” (Dictionary.com). Others
steal your personal information that you want to keep secret and spread them everywhere. You
can find people like this everywhere you go online, whether it is on Facebook, chat rooms, or
even online games. It has become such a prominent act that people find it funny. This has
become a new form of entertainment for many. But is it really safe entertainment?
There are some people who do not believe these actions to be harmful. Unlike them, I
believe it can be very harmful to people. In a movie called “Cyberbully”, a girl is being virtually
harassed by other kids at her school through a popular social networking site. She is constantly
bashed and false information is spread about her. All of this sends her over the edge and she
tries to commit suicide. A lot of people do not believe that cyberbullying can cause depression
or suicide, but statistics say otherwise. “In 2009, 50% of kids said they were victims of
cyberbullying. Three quarters of the group said it was a serious problem” (“Cyberbullying
Crackdown”).
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Is there a difference between the online and offline bullying prospect? I do not believe
that to be true. I believe that both are harmful. Just because you cannot see the other person
who is hurting you, doesn’t mean that it will not strike a nerve. Words, whatever they may be,
always have an impact on others. I have spent a good amount of time online to see people
being bullied by people who they have never met. Sometimes I was the one being bullied. I
know from experience that things that may not be true will still sting when said. These actions
bring out the worst in people as well. When being constantly verbally abused, people tend to
lash back any way possible. Some stoop down to the same level as the bully and try to make
them stop by throwing insults back at them. Such tactics don’t usually work or help anything.
Cyberbullying is just as important as any other type of bullying. The only problem is that
unlike the face-to-face bullying we get in public, cyberbullies are practically anonymous and can
get away with whatever they want. There are no real ways to “police” the internet. You can
report a user or even block them, but that does not stop them. Online, you can get away with
just about anything and not pay any consequences. Anyone can get around a ban or terminated
access to any sort of website. Punishment cannot really be given out. There are many ways to
circumnavigate the limitations put on you.
Although I believe that cyberbullying is a bad thing to do, I do not believe there should
be strict laws regarding it made by the government. I believe it is mostly up to the creators of
the social networking sites to stop the harassment. The government has enough to work on,
and monitoring a huge endless space like the internet cannot be controlled by one group. There
should be a general law against cyberbullying, but the companies have immediate responsibility
for the people’s actions on their turf. One nation cannot control this giant expanse of cyber
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space. One faction may have a different way of handling the bullying than the other. I believe it
should be up to them to decide what is to be done. There will just be more rebellion.
We cannot stop people from expressing themselves, no matter if they are harmful or
not. This is not a communist country nor is the internet just our problem. Other countries have
the right to use it. People should be educated on how to act both offline and online. The
censorship just creates more havoc than good. Perhaps we should talk with our children about
what is the correct way to behave online. I believe every child should go through a course that
teaches them netiquette. Education and awareness is the best hope on combatting
cyberbullying or any kind of bullying. Parents should talk to their kids about behaviors and what
you should and should not do online. If we can get children at a young age to understand and
realize that we should not abuse our rights to harm others, maybe there would be less issues
regarding depression and suicide. Maybe then we can live more peacefully than before without
worrying about being harassed in both worlds.
Anonymity does not mean we can do whatever we want. The internet is a wonderful
place. We can talk to anyone at any location around the world and create things, not to
mention play games together. It is a place we can relieve our stress and do just about anything
imaginable. Let’s not ruin it for everyone else for the sake of having a bit of “harmless” fun
because in the end, are we really not hurting someone?
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Works Cited
"Cyberbullying Crackdown." Current Events 111.5 (2011): 4-5. Academic Search Premier. Web.
14 Feb. 2012.
Poland, Scott. "The Phenomenon Known As Bullicide." District Administration 47.5 (2011): 92.
Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Feb. 2012.
Toppo, Greg. "Schools Add Lessons in Internet Etiquette and Safety." USA Today n.d.: Academic
Search Premier. Web. 31 Jan. 2012.
"Trolling For Your Soul." Economist 398.8727 (2011): 58. Academic Search Premier. Web. 31
Jan. 2012.