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Why we Cyberbully


     Now with technology always at our disposal we practically have infinite ways to communicate online. As a society our face to face interactions are quickly diminishing and be replaced by communication via screens. Some ways we use technology are very beneficial, like how we can meet people, and make friends. But social media also allows for bullying. Everyone can picture the classic hallway scene, the one Hollywood drilled into our brains, small skinny kid being pushed up against the lockers while a buff football player towers over him. I, personally, have never seen anything even close to this in my high school experience. Instead, 90% of the bullying I see takes place online. Why though? The simple answer is that it's easy. But, there are many more factors at play that explain why people cyberbully.

    Unlike the Hollywood portrayal, size doesn't matter. Whether you're six foot four, or four foot six, when you're online you are only as big as you're username. The fact that people are able to hide behind a username leaves them thinking they can dish out insults without damaging their reputation at all. The anonymity aspect leads into the fact that it is extremely easy to ignore the effects of your actions. You could just be making a joke, and think you made a joke, but the other person might take it to heart. Their day could be ruined all while you had no malicious intent. By the same token, people who are trying to be mean never get taught a lesson or see the true effect of their words. They have nothing to learn from and therefore see no reason to stop. (click here for article)

     With dozens of social media platforms I'm sure we have all been the victim and the perpetrator of cyberbullying. Overall, I think everyone needs to keep in mind that they retain the ability to hurt someone's feelings, and be trying to be the person online that you are in real life.

Do you agree? Do you think cyberbullying is much more common than regular face to face? Can you think of ways that we can combat this, and spread positive energy rather than negative?

Comments

  1. Mr. LawlerOctober 4, 2018 at 8:31 AM

    Great post, Tyler. Are there cases where bullying is publicly shamed? Is this effective in combating bullying? (Stay tuned! We're going to explore this idea when we get to "The Crucible" 2nd quarter.)

    ReplyDelete

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