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Andrew Dibene
Professor Derohanessian
English 113B
16 February 2015
Project Web
With today’s technology moving at a rapid pace, our society is using the Internet more
than ever before. The Internet can be accessed through many ways thought to be ahead of its
time and is as easy as a simple click from one’s cell phone. Our cell phones have become almost
essential for our society for everyday life and for creating our personal egos. The Internet may
seem like the clear answer for many, but for some do not seem to understand the negative
impacts it has in the form of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is “the use of the Internet, cell
phones, or other electronic communication devices to spread harmful or embarrassing
information about another person… The term cyber bullying refers to the behavior when it is
targeted at minors.”(Cyberbullying). As a result of cyber bullying, many teens have become the
victim to public embarrassment, depression, and suicide. Cyber bullying is a significant issue
with today’s society and affects the grades of students who in the long run face the unfortunate
consequences in the future.
Firstly, bullying has existed for many years and was more of an in person personal issue
until the Internet was invented. When the Internet was invented, and social media began in the ea
rly 2000s so did cyber bullying. As of today, all it takes for a “cyber bully” to publically
humiliate someone is to post a photo, rumor, or video about him or her on social media where the
public has access, then it is almost impossible to remove or delete because it spreads like wildfir
e to thousands of people who forward it on their own social media where this process continues.
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Cyber bullying can affect students and how they perform in the classroom. It affects students in
school by making them lose focus in class, miss assignments, and ditching school because
they’re too afraid or embarrassed on what people have read or saw about them online. According
to National bullying statistics, everyday 160,000 students skip school due to bullying as of 2013.
This was two years ago and was everyday. Technology has only advanced and grows more and
more everyday. These numbers continue to grow as of today and aren’t decreasing (Revealed).
The National bullying statistics also states that, 56 percent of students have personally witnessed
some type of bullying while at school, one in seven students in grades K-12 is either a bully or a
victim of bullying, over 25 percent of adolescents and teens have been bullied continuously
through their cell phones or the Internet, 1 in 10 children or teens have had embarrassing or
damaging pictures taken of themselves without their permission, often using cell phone cameras,
and Over 80 percent of teens use a cell phone regularly throughout the day, making it the most
popular piece of technology and a common route for cyber bullying (Revealed). Well over half
of young people do not tell their parents when cyber bullying occurs. These statistics show how
significant this issue is and needs to be addressed with more caution because of these staggering
statistics. These statistics are saddening because they are showing us how much students are
being bullied through the internet with nobody stopping it.
In the article "Cyberbullying," it states that at the Cyberbullying Research, Center survey
ed students and twenty percent of their study said that they had been cyber bullied. These
students said to have and received threats by e-mail, have had humiliating photos or videos
posted on the Internet , had embarrassing rumors spread about him or her online, or had their
private e-mails or text messages forwarded to others/friends without their permission. “Victims
of cyberbullying, say researchers, have fewer friends than average and are more likely to feel
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lonely at school. Teenagers who share content online by creating blogs or websites, or by posting
information about themselves on social networking sites, such as MySpace or Facebook, are
more likely than others to experience cyberbullying”(Cyberbulling). With this research, it proves
how easy and quick it is for someone to publically harass with modern-day technology. An
example of public harassment is The Amanda Todd case. The Amanda Todd case was a video
posted on YouTube of Amanda Todd telling her story titled “My story: Struggling, bullying,
suicide, self-harm,” by telling the viewers her bullying experiences through the use of
flashcards. A month after the video was posted, Amanda committed suicide. Before she
posted the video on YouTube she was a victim of cyber bullying by someone who still
unknown and used to blackmail her by posting nude pictures of her on Facebook. Public
harassment from the use of cyber bullying is very dangerous and can even kill. Because of
cyber bullying Amanda is dead at the age of fifteen and cannot have a future in anything.
Although many may disagree and say cyber bullying isn’t illegal it is only a right we
have in our Bill of Rights, which is our freedom of speech. Sean Rose a published author for
Pulitzer, Inc. says, “But some legal analysts say despite its good intentions, Sanchez's bill is so
broad that it violates the First Amendment.” In the article, “Federal cyber bully bill gets new life
But opponents to measure named for Megan Meier cite First Amendment concerns.” The bill's
sponsor, Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., introduced a bill against cyber bullying and how it can be
a federal crime. However, even though many disagree with Sanchez and exclaim that this bill
violates our freedom of speech Sanchez states, "The intention with this bill is not to infringe on
people's freedom of speech but rather to protect people," she said. "Ranting on a blog or sending
a mean e-mail would not violate this law." Therefore, if this bill were to be passed in all over the
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United States many cyber bullies would be punished and think twice before harming someone on
the Internet.
All in all, cyber bullying is a widespread issue in our society that destroys the life and
future of many students around the world. If our society continues to ignore this issue without
taking action cyber bullying may be impossible to stop. Cyber bullying may never stop due to
the advancement of our technology but with the help of our society, we can slow it down and
decrease statistics over time with bills like Sanchez’s. Though if this struggle of cyber bullying
were to come to an end our society would be less depressing and a more comforting place to live
knowing you can browse the Internet without being harassed or cyber bullied in any way.
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Works Cited
"Cyberbullying." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection. Detroit: Gale, 2015. Opposing
Viewpoints in Context. Web. 15 Feb. 2015.
Clark, Noah. "Taking a Stand Against Bullying." Free Press / Jones PostSep 28
2013. ProQuest. Web. 16 Feb. 2015 .
Cohen, Tobi. "Cyber-Bullying Laws may Get Tougher; Justice Minister Vows to Fight
Exploitation." The GazetteJul 20 2013.ProQuest. Web. 16 Feb. 2015 .
Kristen E. Jacobsen and Sheri Bauman Professional School Counseling Vol. 11, No. 1
(OCTOBER 2007), pp. 1-9
I h8 u': findings from a five-year study of text and email bullying Ian Rivers and Nathalie
Noret
British Educational Research Journal, Vol. 36, No. 4 (August 2010), pp. 643-671
"Revealed: Shocking Bullying Statistics 2014!" NoBullyingBullying Cyber Bullying
Resources Advice. N.p., 09 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 May 2015.