Over the past decade, modern technology has played an important role in bringing about improvement in our lives. The Internet, for example, has greatly affected us in various ways that are both beneficial and adverse.
One of the most obvious effects of the savory high-technological tool is the increasing number of cases of cyber bullying reported. As referred to the article of Reader’s Digest, cyber bullying is simply “schoolyard bullying taken to the next level”. In the present day whereby most teenagers are bestowed with the latest mobile phone, advanced technological gadgets and in addition, the Internet, the number of cases of cyber bullying has increased greatly. Such devices will allow bullies to go all out to publicize a certain incident that will cause much embarrassment for the party involved, and as such, the student (s) became victim(s) of cyber bullying.
Besides that, aspects of online communication encourage people to act aggressively, prompting them to do things they wouldn’t dare to try in real life. This will include posting unkind and venomous comments about the cyber bullying victim- to- become on online forums, chatrooms, instant messaging to social networking websites. This will cause a huge impact on their lives. Also, the anonymity of the bullies is said to “amplify bullying’s negative effect on the victim.
Besides the embarrassment, he or she will be likely to be deeply traumatized by the entire incident. The mockery that they will have to withstand against might be too much for them to take. It will cause permanent injuries to the heart, mind and soul of the victim. As the article in Reader’s Digest has mentioned, “it would be bad enough to be cyber bullied by one kid when nobody else knew about it, but a video seen by hundreds or thousands of your peers could be devastating”--- the Internet just does that. Such an incident may lead to death for some; and take for example, Ryan Halligan, who committed suicide after one of his classmates pretended to be his friend only to mock him behind his back. His classmates also spread rumors that he was gay.
As such, I think that there is a serious need to curb the problem of cyber bullying.
Firstly, I feel that schools should take a step further in educating their students to put on the right behavior when they are on the Internet, instead of just ensuring that they are well informed about cyber safety. They should be taught to respect fellow Internet users and not condemn or mock them. Anything they post on the Internet should not contain any materials that are offensive and discriminates against others. There is also a need for schools to conduct counseling sessions to counsel the students who had been victimized by the treacherous trend of cyber bullying.
Secondly, family members should step in and keep a lookout for any unusually reclusive behavior from their child. Had they been victims of cyber bullying, parents should show them all the care and support they will need to tide over this period. Counseling is also another option. They should also report the matter to the school board so that necessary actions can be taken against the bullies.
Lastly, to nip the problem in the bud, I feel that as users of the Internet, teens should be considerate and kind in whatever they say or do in the virtual cyber world, as well as in real life. If they try putting themselves in the shoes’ of the victim, they will probably know how it feels to be in the wrong limelight.As such, I feel that everyone should do their part and putting a halt to cyber bullying.
Done by: Tay Wan Ling (26)
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