A Scary Scenario

Note: The next few weeks will feature a series of student essays on various topics. Students chose their own issues to investigate.

You come home from school and log on to the computer. You get on your Facebook page and find new message from one of your so-called friends. She’s calling you a bunch of mean names. This is a scenario that plays out every day in America. Cyberbullying is a big problem that needs to be stopped.

What is cyberbullying? According to stopcyberbullying.org, cyberbullying is when a child, 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. It is among the most common forms of bullying.

There are many horrors associated with cyberbullying. An article from how-to-stop-bullying.com recently stated that school bullying statistics and cyberbullying statistics are increasingly viewed as an important contributor to youth violence, including homicide and suicide. Case studies of the shooting at Columbine High School and other U.S schools have suggested that bullying was a factor in many of the incidents. Bullying is getting to the point where people are committing suicide and bringing guns to school, taking other people’s lives in the process. This is going too far. Furthermore, how-to-stop-bullying.com reports that one hundred and sixty thousand students miss school each day because of the fear of being bullied.

How can cyberbullying be stopped? For starters if you can’t say something nice about someone in an email, IM, chatroom, or anyone else on the Internet, then don’t say anything at all and bullying won’t be a problem. Also, safeteens.com urges teens not to retaliate. Getting back at the bully turns you into one, and reinforces the bully’s behavior.

The bottom line is that cyberbullying is a problem around the world and it has to be stopped. You can take action by confronting the bully and telling him/her to stop or by notifying an adult. Don’t be afraid to inform someone because the bullying will get worse. Tell someone before it goes to far.

-Sadie Thompson