The Influence Of Media

Social media has made it easier for cyberbullying to become common. For those who don’t know what cyberbullying is, it is defined as a form of bullying or harassment electronically. Examples of cyberbullying include sending harassing texts, instant messages, or e-mails. With that being said, cyberbullying has become very common, especially among teenagers. The reason why cyberbullying is an important topic is that some people argue that it doesn’t exist and that it should be swept under the rug. However, that is not the case – there are many different claims and effects on cyberbullying. This essay will identify a specific topic such as cyberbullying and how it is influenced by characteristics or use of the media.

As stated before, there are many different claims and effects on cyberbullying. According to the article Voice of Bullying, some argue why and why not cyberbullying should be taken seriously. One of the comments that I seriously disagree with and rubbed me the wrong way was when someone stated, “cyberbullying doesn’t exist; it’s a way for people to get attention. Bullying is, in my opinion, often at the fault of the victim. People don’t just bully you for no reason. You have to give them a reason.”

First off, this is something a bully would state. Second, how is the fault of the victims for being bullied? This comment is very disgusting and rude- this is an example of stupidity and ignorance. It is nobodies fault for being treated unfairly – but the person who is doing the bullying, it is their fault. To back up my claim, there is a specific article on News Around that discusses why some people become bullies. In agreeance to the survey, a lot of people become bullies because of family issues, stress, and trauma.

“In the Annual Bullying Survey 2016, just over a third of people who bully said that they don’t spend much time with their parents or guardians. A similar number of bullies also said that there were arguments at home every day. Other things mentioned included stressful experiences like a big family fallout and the death of a pet. The survey by charity Ditch the Label spoke to 8,850 people aged 12 to 20 years old. 14% said they had bullied. The results also suggest that people who have been bullied are almost twice as likely to become bullies.”

With that information given from the survey- it is obvious that any type of bullying can be a domino effect known as a chain reaction.

Again- the reason why acknowledging cyberbullying is so important is because of what can come from it. From my personal experience, I had a death in the family over cyberbullying. That is why this media influenced topic is so important to me. The fact that I read two scholarly articles on cyberbullying mentioning the causes, effects, and remedies just goes to show that this is a life-threatening issue.

The first scholarly article was located on emerald insights. The paper reveals that cyberbullying emerges most commonly from relationship problems (break‐ups, envy, intolerance, and ganging up); victims experience powerfully negative effects (especially on their social well‐being); and the reactive behavior from schools and students is generally inappropriate, absent, or ineffective. In other words, there are multiple reasons and excuses for why cyberbullying is taking place.

Cyberbullying and bullying itself can relate to isolation, depression, illness, anger, and overall humiliation. Like the very well family site states, “If your child is being cyberbullied, do not dismiss their feelings. Be sure you communicate daily, take steps to help end the torment, and keep close tabs on changes in mood and behavior. Get your child evaluated by a health care professional if you notice any personality changes at all.”

The other scholarly article I found was high school students doing a study on internal and external motivations of cyberbullying. This particular article was unique; there was a specific chart made to express the differentials of cyberbullying motives, both internal and external. The chart will be published below this essay for visual perception/aspects.

To tell you the truth, there are lots of arguments to be made on cyberbullying on whether or not it is important or needs to be taken seriously. Did you know when reporting cyberbullying, you must call the non-emergency hotline? According to the Wikihow website, there are four ways to report cyberbullying.

Send a message telling the bully to stop. Make sure that the bully knows that what they have done is not appropriate.

This probably won’t stop the bullying, but it will help you make your case to the authorities. Make sure to save the message. Keep your message simple and direct. Write, “Please do not contact me again. I will report any emails, texts, calls, messages, or posts from you. Avoid profanity, name-calling, or using all caps.”

End communication with the bully after telling them to stop.

Even if you’ve asked the bully to stop, you might continue to receive messages. It’s normal to be tempted to respond and stick up for yourself but don’t. It might take some willpower, but you should refuse to engage. Put down your phone or walk away from your computer. Take a walk around the block to cool off if you need to.

Block the bully.

Change the settings on your email, cell phone, and social media accounts so that the bully can’t contact you. This will make it harder for the bully to contact you. If they still find a way to reach you, you’ll know that it is definitely time to talk to the authorities.

Make copies of contacts from the bully.

Do not delete messages or posts in hopes that the bullying will just stop. Instead, collect the evidence to use when you make a report to the authorities. If you have a printer, make copies of all emails, messages, and posts.

In my opinion, all steps are perfectly stated – the only issue is not being taken seriously. I mean, you have to provide all this documentation while making a report on cyberbullying – as if you aren’t already afraid. A simple statement to the authority should be enough to warn someone’s parents of their actions on being a bully. That just goes to show that the media is allowing cyberbullies to get away with misuse of the internet and to treat others unequally.

Cyberbullying is taking place on three main social media websites: Facebook, Instagram, and Ask.FM

Of course, cyberbullying is happening on Facebook, and despite the network’s recent decline in popularity among teens, millions still congregate there. One of the most common forms of bullying on Facebook is harsh commenting on users’ self-photos (selfies). It’s a vicious circle, really, as teens who post photos are often looking for positive affirmation and end up getting the opposite.
Mom’s Team on Facebook

An unfortunate byproduct of the rise of Instagram is the popularity of “rate me” posts or impromptu beauty contests. Teens, most frequently girls (but boys get into the act too), post pictures of themselves with a hashtag (#rateme, #hotornot) or referencing a contest (#custestteen) looking for likes or positive comments. Not surprisingly, many of the comments are anything but positive. Instagram users who set their accounts to private can avoid unwanted comments from strangers.
Mom’s Team on Instagram

From what Rich and Shobel have seen, the ratio of negative comments to positive ones is highest on Ask.fm, for a very straightforward reason. “Good” kids usually sign up for Ask.fm using their real name, but are not required to do so. Bullies are free to sign up for a fully anonymous account, and therefore can bully without fear of their real identity being uncovered. Ask.fm has been linked to 9 teen suicides in the past year.
Mom’s Team on Ask.FM

In conclusion, the only way to really stop cyberbullying is to report these bullies on social media websites right away. All social media websites have report buttons – they’re just not taken seriously. That leaves the question “who do I really tell?” the people that are being bullied have no strength when it comes to speaking up and telling – let’s face it cyberbullying is not important to society. So that is why social media has made it easier for cyberbullying. If we all as humans can pay attention more to our children, friends, and family members, we can then see and have a perception of what’s taking place and how to change the matter of the situation. Yes, some people may be over-sensitive – but that’s not the point.

If parents can teach their children self-defense or even show their children enough love maybe cyberbullying wouldn’t happen as much. Become an upstander there is a website called SB and it stands for “stop bullying”- When adults respond quickly and consistently to bullying behavior they send the message that it is not acceptable. Research shows this can stop bullying behavior over time.

Sources:

WHY CYBER BULLYING IS NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/36074395

https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/09578230910981107/full/html

Hoff, D. and Mitchell, S. (2009), “Cyberbullying: causes, effects, and remedies”, Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 47 No. 5, pp. 652-665. https://doi.org/10.1108/09578230910981107

https://www.verywellfamily.com/what-are-the-effects-of-cyberbullying-460558

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2941365/

LeCompte MD, Schensul JJ. Ethnographers’ toolkits, Book 5: Analyzing and interpreting ethnographic data. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press; 1999. [Google Scholar]

https://m.wikihow.com/Report-Cyberbullying

https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/cyberbullying-which-3-social-networks-are-worst

https://www.stopbullying.gov/