The Bane Of Technology- What Is Cyber Bullying?

By Arshiya Mediratta:

In this advanced, fast-paced and dangerously progressive generation, getting your hands on internet facilities is not tough. Almost every social networking website out there provides you with immense freedom and disguises to hide your real identity and use it adversely. With merry-go-rounds, video games and jungle gyms in the parks being replaced with laptops, smart phones and tablets- it’s not a surprise that the rate of cyber crime, cyber bullying, and cyber stalking is on an all time high.

Who knows why people do what they do? However, most of the time the harassment, torment and humiliation that comes through this specific kind of bullying is for entertainment purposes. There is no denying that sometimes there is a very serious vengeance that surfaces as a cause, but in most cases, cyber bullying is a byproduct of jealousy, frustration and personal insecurities. From calling someone ‘fat’, to online breakups and death threats- the internet is no longer a space safe for the weak hearted. 90% of the children have an idea of who is bullying them, yet only 10% of them tell their parents. This leads us to one of the prevention strategies of cyber bullying- DO NOT BE AFRAID TO SPEAK OUT. It’s true that bullies feed off the attention, but it’s also true that your voice of revolt can help someone else voice theirs. Due to residential addresses and personal details of young teens being posted online, there are numerous accounts of suicides and self harm. It is impractical to cut off the internet access of children; however it is important that parents and schools take out the time to address this rising tide of crimes.

People have killed themselves, and families have had to move houses because of online stalking/harassment. Surveys have concluded that actual physical bullying has reduced a great amount and cyber bullying has taken over. Most of us adults can testify that we have witnessed these coercers at some point in our “internet life.”

Online safety is a mature choice that many of us fail to practice. Being certain of our mailing addresses, the photos we post on our various profiles and the amount of trust and time we invest in “strangers” could all influence our wellbeing on the internet. It’s a shame that we are no longer safe in locked houses and it’s absolutely flabbergasting how much power a “sign in” command can give us.