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Richard Ram
Mrs. Stegner
ERWC Period 0
21 February 2016
Cyberbullying on a Rise
In this age of technology, different ways of bullying are beginning to surface. One of the
most threatening kinds is found through social media and other online services. This is known as
cyberbullying, the use of electronic communication to send threatening and or intimidating
messages to another person. This horrible form of bullying has been on the rise since the
widespread use of the internet and social media forms, and has turned into one of the worst types
of bullying out there in this day and age. This type of bullying is almost impossible to stop
because of how easy it is to access social media, and the millions of people that use different
social media outlets daily. To learn more about cyberbullying, look at the effects it has on both
the kids that are bullied and the ones that bully them, as well as the ways that parents and peers
can prevent or negate cyberbullying all together.
The first thing to take into account is the effects that cyberbullying has on the kids that
are being bullied. Elizabeth Landau, a writer for CNN News, wrote an article called When
Bullying Goes High-tech, where she talks about facts and stories about people who have been
affected by cyberbullying. After extensive research she found that about one-fourth of the
students who are bullied online had thoughts about or skipped school the day of a bullying
incident. This is a more significant percentage than the fact that only one-fifth of students
skipped because of physical bullying (Landau). She shows that students are affected more by
online bullying and harassment than they are with physical bullying because online bullying can

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be anonymous and almost untraceable, and physical bullying can be stopped and resolved in
person. This causes students that are bullied online to be embarrassed to go back to school after
an incident. Showing that this type of bullying will put more problems on the children in the
future. Stephannie Pappas is a writer for LiveScience.com and she focuses on psychology and
neuroscience and she found that, students that have been cyber bullied [and or had] consistent...
exposure to cyberbullying [had an] increased likelihood of depression (Pappas). The most
known effect that bullying has on people is depression because it causes people to either retaliate
or take out their anger in other ways. Depression can eventually lead to a lot worst acts, such as
suicide. Jan Hoffman is a writer for the New York Times and she wrote in an artcle Online
Bullies Pull Schools Into The Fray, and talks about the problems that online bullies put on the
schools and the parents of the kids that are being bullied. She talks about how since suicide has
been becoming a bigger problem with bullying parents are [also beginning to] frantic with
worry, alarmed by recent adolescent suicides linked to bullying (Hoffman). Parents are
beginning to worry about their children in this new age of cyberbullying after learning about the
links of suicide to cyberbullying. Another concern is that suicide, may be a big problem but it is
not the only known side effect of cyberbullying. In a book, Bullying at Schools and Online,
written by the American Association of Schools Administrators, they talk about many factors
about cyberbullying. Suicides may be a big problem but, victims of bullying [also] are at risk of
anxiety, loneliness, low self esteem, and depression as well (American 8). Kids that experience
bullying do not only get depressed but they have other life changing symptoms that should not be
found in young children especially. Because bullying has such a negative effect on kids it is
becoming more and more dangerous each year. A recent study can show that online harassment is
being found in as young as fourth grade students, which means by high school these students are

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already accustomed and familiar to this form of bullying (Hoffman). If this cruel form of contact
between students is already being found in the fourth grade how is it possible to stop
encouraging people to quit bullying. A CNN News article states that about 95 percent of students
use social media, and about one-fifth of those students have reported that they have been bullied
through the internet (Landau). This means that 20 percent of students who use the internet and
social media are being bullied online. This is a huge number, and will most likely continue to
grow overtime with the growth of social media and internet platforms. Cyberbullying has
become a huge problem in schools and in everyday life and needs to be controlled.
Not only are the kids that are being bullied developing problems, but the kids that are
perpetuating the bullying seem to have problems later on as well. A recent study shows that
about a two-thirds of the kids who bullied at a younger age have at least one criminal conviction
by the age of 24 (American 9). This proves to be a big problem as well. The student that bullies
other kids are learning at a young age to pick on the weak, and are using force to get what they
want. This can lead to them doing even worst acts when they are older. In Social Media
Cyberbullying Linked to Teen Depression, studies found that kids who are bullied also bully
others, and that about 12 percent of students that were being bullied also bullied others. If we
stop cyberbullying before others get affected, then in the long run bullying will come to a stop
because kids will not have to bully to make themselves feel better. Cyberbullying needs to be
stopped before more and more kids fall victim to becoming a bully or getting bullied by others in
society today.
Lastly, we need to look at ways that cyberbullying can be stopped or at least kept at a
minimal level. The best way to help the kids that are being bullied is through the parents. Parents
should support the bullied child in a way that allows him or her to regain self-control

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(American 19). I completely agree that the best way to stop bullying is to work with the parents
and help them help their child. Some examples of this would be talking to their kids about how
they are feeling in regards to the bullying, and reassuring them that because someone says
something about them that doesn't mean that it is true. Another way to help those teens who have
become depressed due to cyberbullying is to have the parents teach them internet safety and the
best ways to avoid being bullied online (Pappas). If the parents are unable to help the teens in
this area, then I believe it is the responsibility of the schools to hold seminars that teach kids how
to use the internet safely and how to avoid cyberbullying. If students are witnessing kids being
bullied, they should also be taught by their parents to stand up for their classmates against the
bully which in return can create friendships and also protect the kids as well (American 17). My
dad taught me to stand up for others, and not to treat others in a way you wouldn't want to be
treated. This is a valuable skill that I try and embody everyday. Another way that those who are
bullied can find help is through the power of the internet itself. Emily-Anne Rigal started a
nonprofit organization called WeStopHate.org that allows kids that have been bullied or are
being bullied to tell their story to other kids with similar problems around the world and
encourage them to talk and become better friends (Landau). This is a great way to help younger
kids gain their self esteem back because it shows them that they are not alone and they can make
more friends and not have to worry about being bullied. I believe that the best way to end
cyberbullying is to teach kids how to defend themselves and others and make friends that have
been bullied as well so you can talk and learn from each other mistakes or problems.
Cyberbullying is a growing problem in schools and has many effects on not just the
bullied but the bullies as well. The best way to avoid any future problems is to bite the bullet and
stop cyberbullying before it becomes an even bigger problem. Start teaching kids to defend

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themselves and others, and make new friends. The best way to learn about cyberbullying is to
learn about the effects it has and the ways to prevent it.

Works Cited
American Association of School Administrators. Bullying at School and Online.
Education.com. 2009. Web. 2 February 2016.
Hoffman, Jan. Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray. New York TImes. New York Times,
27 June 2010. Web. 5 February 2016
Pappas, Stephanie. Social Media Cyberbullying Linked to Teen Depression. Livescience.
Scientific America, 23 June 2105. Web. 5 February 2016.

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Landau, Elizabeth. When Bullying Goes High-Tech. CNN. CNN, 15 April 2013. Web. 5
February 2016