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Kameron Rickard
Professor Malcolm Campbell
UWRT 1103
22 April 2016
Cyber Bullying: The Takeover of The Online World

Comment [R1]: changed all "cyberbullying" to

Cyber bullying (2 words)

The world that young children and teens have grown up in today is much different than in
the past. The notorious taunter of the school used to reek wreck his havoc only in the hallways.
in the hallways and playgrounds. Unfortunately, as society has evolved, so has technology, and
so has bullying. With the evolution expansion of technology, social media is has been introduced

Comment [R2]: I felt like I said "evolved" or

"evolution" too many times

in the world. According to the nobullying.gov organization, more than 80 percent of teens
regularly use cell phones, making them a prominent form of technology. Therefore, cell phones
are a common medium for cyber bullying to occur. This opens a portal for bullies to spread
their torment to their victims outside of school. This online form of bullying is defined as cyber
bullying. Ignorance of this topic is evident as not many people know and are aware of what cyber
bullying truly is as well as what it's capable of. Stopbullying.gov defines it as, when a child,

Comment [R3]: just added something extra

preteen or teen is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted

by another child, preteen or teen using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile
phones. ." Todays generation uses technology, such as cell phones and laptops, as a way to

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survive. Most Many think electronics are a way to feel connected to your peers but some become

Comment [R5]: Makes most sense?

so consumed in their phones that they lose sight in of themselves. Disastrously, technology can
be used in very negative ways and is a battle ground for cyber bullying. The internet provides an
alias for bullies to say or act however they want with no consequence. I am here to raise

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awareness in an effort to decrease the emotional suffering that teens face day after day as a result
of cyber bullying..

Comment [R6]: added the line "as a result of

cyber bullying" as suggested

Bullying of any form can cause severe emotional, physical, or even psychological harm.
Although cyber bullying may appear to be harmless, things are not always as they seem.
According to stopbullying.gov, cyber bullying has very significant differences to conventional
bullying that can prove it to be more sinister. Before the advent of the internet, aA victim has a

Comment [R7]: added "Before the advent of the

internet" as suggested

sign of relief when he hears the final bell because his day of torture is finally over. Although the

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victim can no longer see his bully face to face, the internet haunts him as bullying can occur
anywhere and anytime.The only time he has to face his predator is his time in school and

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following sentence out

nowhere else. Unfortunately, for cyber bullying, the pain never stops. With cyber bullying, the
victim can always be reached by text message, social media, email, etc. The victim can
experience humiliation and pain at any part of the day. Consequently, since the victim can be
reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so can anyone and everyone else to share the humiliation
of the victim. The internet makes it very easy to post and spread information to a large body of
people to view. In addition, these posts can be submitted anonymously which makes it difficult
to trace the culprit. Finding who posted the anonymous post can feel like a small victory, but the
internet online world makes it very difficult for things to be permanently erased. Although the
post in itself is deleted, whoever views it can take screenshots or preserve their own copies
making it virtually impossible to truly erase it forever (What Is Cyber bullying).
A great example of cyber bullying in its entirety is ABC Family's "Cyberbully." This
film, based off numerous true stories, follows a seventeen year olds life and how she encounters
cyber bullying. Teen girl Taylor Hillridge, played by Emily Osment, grows up with a single
mother and younger brother. She isnt the most popular in school and is a little awkward around

Comment [R10]: I felt like I said internet too

much

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others, constantly getting picked on by popular student, Lindsay. When her mother gives her a
laptop for her seventeenth birthday, her world turns upside down. When she gets a chat from a
boy online, her two best friends assume he is fake. After beginning to develop a crush and
chatting for several weeks, he begins to spread rumors about her online. Because of these
rumors, Taylor gets severely verbally abused online by all her peers at school, which results in a
loss of two best friends. While sinking into depression, Taylor posts a video online telling her
classmates she is going to commit suicide. Attempting to overdose on pills, her mother catches
her and rushes her to the hospital. In the end, Taylor finds out the truth behind the online boy. It
was her best friend, Samantha, the entire time. Her mother goes to the school in hopes of
enforcing a law on cyber bullying. This movie is an eye opener to how relentless cyber bullying
can be and is a great example on how things posted on the internet can spread like wildfire.

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an example on cyber bullying

As technology continues to evolve, so do massive problems on the internet. Cyber

bullying is continuing to grow and teenagers victims self esteem is vastly decreasing. By

Comment [R12]: change "teenagers" to

"victims" as suggested

looking at nobullying.gov, over 52 percent of young people address that they are being cyber
bullied. This is over half of the young people population that report being bullied over the

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internet. Online harassment, rumors, and threatening is a major way to send young teens into a
world of depression and low self esteem. Adolescence is a time when you are still trying to
figure out who you are as a person. In this time of self discovery, you tend to erase the people
who make you feel bad about yourself. The worst part of cyber bullying is that the bully is not
seen, they are hidden behind their phone or computer, so the victim could have no idea who is
being so cruel and who is making them feel so terribly. This creates feelings of hurt and sheer
helplessness as it is hard to extinguish the flaming source of pain.too, when you know who the
bully is. Consequently, bullying and low self esteem seem to go hand in hand. Victims of

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bullying are known to have a much lower self esteem than non victims. Interestingly, bullies
have a higher self esteem because they get a rise out of what theyre doing (Patchin, Justin W.,
and Sameer Hinduja). When a young teen gets bullied they feel rejected and unwanted by the

Comment [R15]: took out first names

world and soon they start to believe everything the bully says. Clinical Psychologist Mary Lamia
says that bullies have a unique way of humiliating others. They are unaware of themselves and
don't know what they truly feel. This is why they choose victims with insecurities, so they can
take those and use them to attack. All the untrue, hurtful Hurtful things that they the victims have

Comment [R16]: provided commentary from a

Psychologist as suggested

been hearing sadly become a reality and can lead to some devastating consequences.
On July 15th, 2015, a story was posted on Fox News that caught the attention of
numerous parents and guardians. A few days before the news article was posted, a young, bright,
thirteen year old girl took her own life and her mother believes it was due to bullying. The way
her daughter commit suicide is left unsaid. Zoe Johnson was a young girl who was a part of the
cheer team at her middle school in Kenowa Hills. Being the tough girl she is, she eventually
reached her breaking point, her mother, Rebecca Abbott, states. According to Abbott, Zoe had
already been dealing with minor depression but as the taunting from her classmates became
worse, so did her depression. Her mother has decided to share a post that was from Facebook the
night before her daughter's death. It was a picture that had a caption "tag a bit** you don't like"
and had Zoe's name attached to it. Comments on the picture are still occurring, even after Zoe's
death. One comment reads "good ur gone." Fox17 says that according to the Association of
Suicidology, rates of suicide among ten to fourteen year old teens has grown 50 percent over the
past three decades. This story is a leading example of harassment that occurs online.

Comment [R17]: an added example of

harassment

Words can be just as hurtful, if not worse, than physical harm on someone. According to
Teen Ink, a website where teens write their own articles, words hit straight to the heart and can be

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very believable when its coming from someone online. With electronics just on the tips of our
fingers, bullies say anything and everything they can to hurt someone at any given time, and it
doesnt seem to be stopping. With the rise in popularity of cyber bullying, due to electronics,

Comment [R18]: support for "with the rise in

popularity of cyber bullying"

other much more deadly occurrences have risen all over the world. This increase has affected
young teens and all other victims of cyber bullying in the worst way possible; suicide. There are
many cases all over the country that have suicides directly related to cyber bullying (Spells).
For example, A a news article posted in 2013 on National Public Radio dealt with the
suicide of a twelve year old girl, Rebecca, because she had been severely bullied online. The two
girls that were arrested were of the ages twelve and fourteen, . Aastonishing right? Cyber
bullying has gotten so popular that kids as young as ten to twelve are beginning to take part in it.
One of the two girls said Yes, I bullied Rebecca, and she killed herself but I dont give a - and
you can add the last word yourself. National Public Radio states that the bullying began when
the suspect started dating Rebeccas ex boyfriend. After beginning to date her ex boyfriend, one
of the girls would initiate fights and convince others to join her. and after she Forcing Rebecca to
moved schools, it the bullying and harassment only got worse. The girls began to torture her
online even when she was in a different state. Threatening her through messages and harassing
her didn't seem to stop. Because Rebecca couldnt handle this horrific torture anymore, she
decided to end her life by jumping off a silo at an abandoned concrete factory. It is truly sad that
someone's words can cause someone to do something so catastrophic. What this world has come
to has my mouth dropping. This incident exemplifies just how deadly destructive cyber bullying
can be and is today.
Unfortunately, there are many cases of suicide around the world. Suicide is the third
leading cause of death around the world worldwide among adolescents. Suicide causes over

Comment [R19]: I thought this sounded better

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4,000 deaths a year and this is all a result of the monster, cyber bullying these can be seen as a
result of the monster, cyber bullying. A lot of adults dont think bullying online is as bad as it
really is, when it is in fact the worst kind. when it causes more complications than any other
kind. While some adults see physical bullying worse than online bullying, educator Scott Meech
tells all that cyber bullying is long lasting, enters the home, and can stick with a student all the
time. Cyber bullying is something that has ruined the world along with the destruction of

Comment [R20]: added another statement from

an educator

thousands of innocent lives. Thousands of students stay home from school in fear of being
bullied, they and are afraid to be face to face with someone who has been ruining their life over
the internet (N, Kallie). It is time to take a stand and fight to end this horrific action. More
parents and teachers need to be aware what is going on inside and outside the classroom in hopes
of decreasing what can ruin someone's life.

Comment [R21]: How we can take a stand and

fight to end this horrific action, acts as evidence

With the introduction of social media websites such as Twitter and Facebook, adolescents
hold on to these sites as a way of staying connected to the world. Cyber bullying has been a
growing trend ever since social media was introduced into the world and young teens have
become severely addicted to these websites. Twitter was created in March of 2006 as well as and
Facebook being was created in February of 2004, and these two social media sites have made an
impact in the world. According to Jenna Wortham, author of "Twitter Vs. Facebook", tThese two
popular social media sites have created a catastrophic and harmful world of cyber bullying
(Wortham). The reason Facebook is the go to cite site for someone to bully is because its the
easiest on which to make a fake account, which is what has begun to grow over the years. In the
past it used to be as easy as meeting your friends in the park to hangout and have fun but now all
you have to do is put a screen in your front of your face and you begin socializing a different
way.

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According to NoBullying.com, Facebook is one of the worst social media websites that

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deals with cyber bullying. To start off, seven in ten people are victims of cyber bullying. 54
percent of people that are bullied online are experiencing it through Facebook. Almost every day
there are mean appalling statuses or pictures posted online to expose, embarrass, and
someonehumiliate someone online. Once something is posted, its incredibly hard, if not
impossible, to get rid of it forever after so many people encounter it. The sad reality is that a lot
of victims begin to believe whatever the bully is telling them, they believe that they are someone
they arent and can have severe psychological problems. Bullies feel more powerful online
because they can hide behind their phones and say whatever they want to say. Facebook is a
playground for bullies and they go to vast extremes just to hurt someone, such as faking an
account and beginning to chat with someone online. This is where it all begins. A lot of
vulnerable adolescents are willing to chat with anybody that is down willing to give them
attention.
In the world of online networking, the issue of safety is constantly being brought up by
adults and teachers. Although there are a lot of negatives to Facebook and various ways in

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out intro sentence

which cyber bullying can occur, as well as a lot of links to cyber bullying, this social media
website has taken great action in hoping to decrease the amounts of cyber bullying and offer help
to people experiencing it. The actual Facebook website itself offers lots of ways to get help when
being bullied experiencing cyber bullying. For example, you can block the account or delete the
person totallycompletely. You can report abuse in hopes of getting the account deleted as well as
reporting the actual account. Another way in which victims can get help is by documenting and
saving any messages or signs of bullying. In addition, tThere is a Help Center on Facebook and a
Bullying Prevention Hub that was just launched to provide tips on how to get rid of someone

Comment [R24]: another way Facebook is trying

to decrease cyber bullying

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who is harassing you online. Facebook has tried its hardest and has succeded to in provide
providing different ways in raising awareness to what has been occurring (Zuckerberg, Mark).
On the website StopBullying.gov, there are many useful tips about what parents can do to

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become more involved in their childrens lives. Due to the increase upsurge of cyber bullying,
parents should begin monitoring their childrens access online and try to decrease the amount
they spend on websites. Parents and teachers should also monitor their child or student's behavior
because that can be a warning sign of being bullied. This organizational website offers many
warning signs of being bullied. For instance, frequent headaches or stomach aches, loss in
appetite, decreased self esteem, lowering in grades and difficulty sleeping are all signs someone
is being bullied. This website offers advice to parents that includes talking to your children
about the risks of bullying and overall making sure theyre involved in their childrens lives
online and offline. Talking to your children makes it a lot easier for them to come to you if they
do experience bullying. Parents should also always give their kids positive feedback and
comments to make sure their self-esteem is boosted and their confidence isnt decreasing. Its
very important to encourage children, teens and young adults to help others who need it.
With so much technology increasing in the world, cyber bullying has been an obvious
growing problem in many different ways. From threatening messages to online harassment,
cyber bullying has taken first place in being the worst form of bullying. Harassment, torture,
threatening, and exposure online are many forms of cyber bullying that have destroyed innocent
lives and even caused thousands of deaths. Cyber bullying will continue to be a threat to people
of all ages until preventative measures are taken. With the information, statistics, and real life
examples I have presented in this paper, many should be aware of the severity of cyber bullying.
The internet has begun to act as a complete playing field for bullies and victims are being sucked

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into their world that is full of hatred. that is happening online, different forms of cyber bullying,

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and how to raise awareness and hopefully help to make it end. With cyber bullying leading With
this form of bullying leading to depression, low self esteem and even suicide, parents and
teachers need to become more involved in helping to protect their children from online bullies
cyber bullying. .

Comment [R27]: I definitely say cyber bullying

too much throughout the paper

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Works Cited
Creston, Nicole. Girls Charged For Cyber bullying Girl Who Committed Suicide. National
Public Radio. National Public Radio, 16 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.
Cyber bullying on Facebook, How to Teach Teens About It? NoBullying.com. No Bullying.
Web. 5 Apr. 2016
N, Kallie. Bullying To Suicide. Teen Ink. Teen Ink. Web. 4 Apr. 2016.
Lamia, Mary C. "The Psychology of Bullying with Dr. Lamia." TeenSafe. TeenSafe, 26 Mar.
2015. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
Patchin, Justin W., and Sameer Hinduja. Cyber bullying and Self Esteem. Journal of School
Health 80.12 (2010): 614-621. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 5 Apr. 2016.
Sidorowicz, Josh. "Mom: Cyber Bully Killed My Daughter." Fox17. Fox News, 21 July 2015.
Web. 22 Apr. 2016.
Spells. Teen Depression and Suicide Due To Cyber Bullying. Teen Ink. Teen Ink. Web. 8 Apr.
2016.
What Is Cyber bullying? StopBullying.gov. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012.
Web. 6 Apr. 2016.
Wortham, Jenna. Twitter vs. Facebook: A Tale of Two Sites. The New York Times. Arthur
Ochs Sulzberger, The New York times.13 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2016.
Zuckerberg, Mark. Facebook. 4 Feb. 2004. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.