Cyberbullying: Ushering in a New Era of Harassment

“Boys will be boys” and “she would never do something like that” are common phrases parents in denial use to justify the actions of their beloved children; surely their progeny—their own flesh and blood—could NEVER be capable of something like bullying! These testimonials of a son or daughter’s character typically arise as a response to accusations or confrontations by other parents. Such allegations are often concerning traditional, real life bullying encounters involving fistfights or hurtful words. Encounters like this are slowly becoming a thing of the past, as a new method of aggravation and intimidation is coming out of the woodwork—cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has become more prevalent than traditional bullying due to increased Internet access, the anonymity of the Internet, and the online, limited-supervision environment that social media/networking fosters.

Cyberbullying is essentially traditional bullying gone high tech. Bullies have taken advantage of many new technologies such as cell phones, instant messaging, and social networking to ridicule or threaten others (Manor 1). Many of these recent “milestones” in cyberbullying can be attributed to the fact that Internet access is becoming more readily available to everyone. With such an increase in availability, it is no surprise that online technology “is fast becoming a preferred method of interacting” (Mishna 1). Tokunaga states, “More than 97% of youths in the United States are connected to the Internet in some way” (1). However, widespread connectivity such as this does have disadvantages. Increases in availability have led to a growing number of online harassers, unveiling the “dark side” of social media (Shannon 1). Wagner (1) suggests that a surge in cyberbullying is occurring, and notes that in 2006 “43% of U.S. teens surveyed by Harris Interactive reported having experienced some form of cyber- bullying in the past year”. Four years is a long time in the social networking world. Facebook was still in its infancy and Twitter did not even exist. If it was 43% four years ago, with the advent of many new social media and networking technologies, it is logical to conclude this statistic has escalated even higher. Juvonen and Elisheva (1) explain in their anonymous online survey of 450 12-17 year olds, “72% of respondents reported at least 1 online incident of bullying”. This number could escalate in a few years as social media/networking grows alongside the decreasing prices for Internet service and the increasing accessibility in cell phones and other multimedia devices. The ease of protecting one’s identity will increase as well.

Anonymity associated with many social networking/media sites provides users, who would not normally bully in a real life situation, with an outlet to express their true “feelings” in an online environment. They have the ability to operate under a protective veil that conceals their true identity. Wagner (1) reveals that out of the middle school participants who took part in a survey pertaining to cyberbullying, “41% did not know the identity of the perpetrators”. It is bad enough to be approached by a bully at school and deal with harsh insults or even violence that can be involved; however, in that situation the victim knows who they are dealing with.

Not knowing who wants to embarrass or hurt you, or their motive for it can be scarier and more traumatizing than an encounter on the school grounds. This nightmare became reality for 15-year-old Teagan Christodoulou from Sydney, Australia. Five weeks after setting up an account at FormSpring.Me, a site where users leave anonymous comments on people’s profiles, she started receiving malicious comments from a female user (ANI 11). When interviewed for the blog Simple Thoughts, she said, “It was upsetting. I always thought I was pretty much friends with everyone” (11). Anyone who says that “ignorance is bliss” evidently has not endured the pain and embarrassment that arises from anonymous cyberbullying.

The ability to hide behind a computer screen caters to bullies who would not engage in bullying in “real life”. Without the risk of physical retaliation from the victim or a bystander, online bullies are free to say or do whatever they please without any unexpected outcomes. Anonymity, as stated above, also allows the perpetrator to avoid unveiling his or her identity to their victim (Wagner 1). “Traditional” bullies must more or less fit a general description; strength, size, and/or a hurtful and aggressive demeanor all fit the bill (Dempsey 963). However, cyberbullies do not need to look or be considered as “tough”; as long as they have Internet access, they can use their keyboard as a weapon to inflict more damage than fists and pure muscle have the ability to.

By shifting from traditional to online methods of bullying, aggressors have the potential to increase their “popularity” online. A Pew and American Life Project study that indicates, “the risk of youth being bullied is higher for adolescents who have an active profile on social networking sites and participate in chat rooms” (Mesch 1). If the cyberbully so pleases, he or she can make the victimization of a person, and its desired effects, available to a wider audience than would be possible on the playground at recess or after school. Bystanders do not need to be physically present to witness such acts of bullying (Dempsey 963). All they need is Internet access to be able to view the embarrassing YouTube video or fake MySpace page the bully produced of the victim.

This widespread availability makes it harder for the suffering to escape online bullies. Victims of traditional bullying have the ability to temporarily get away from their aggressors when they return home from school everyday; for targets of cyberbullying, it is another story. Returning home from school is where it all begins; simply avoiding school or other gathering places does not cut it for victims of cyberbullying (Dempsey 963). Unless they completely avoid the Internet and get rid of their cell phone, there is always the possibility of a cyber-attack. Unfortunately, Ricky Alatorre discovered this truth from personal experience. Ricky had been bullied since kindergarten, so the frequent insults he endured where nothing new. However, things were elevated to a whole other level when words and pictures were posted to a fake MySpace page in his name (Kornblum 4). Ricky, a long time victim of bullies, was “completely devastated” by the embarrassing pictures and accusations of him being gay (he is not) on this fake MySpace page (Kornblum 2,5).

Limited adult supervision is another factor that fuels cyberbullying. Dempsey (963) explains, “Adults are rarely present to intervene when cyber victimization occurs, as suggested by the reported discrepancies between children’s and parents’ online monitoring activities”. On a playground, a fight picked by a bully can be easily thwarted by on looking teachers or classmates. However most of the time in an online setting, there is no backup. The same article goes on to explain that only 21% of victims of online bullying report their encounters in places such as chat rooms, which have the potential to be supervised by an administrator (963). Should I pick a fight in real life with the risk of getting in trouble with teachers, or should I easily attack someone anonymously online, with very little chance of getting in trouble? If I decided to become a bully, my choice of methods would be an easy one.

With increased Internet access, the anonymity of the Internet, and the online, limited-supervision environment that social media/networking fosters, it is no wonder that cyberbullying has become a threatening side effect of social networking/media. Cyberbullying takes the “best” that traditional bullying has to offer and eliminates almost all the risk associated with the old-fashioned method. With increasing numbers of users on social networking and media sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube, cyberbullies have seen an opportunity to take advantage of all these sites have to offer. As long as people hail this new technology for all the good it offers, there will be bullies there to take advantage of its dark side as well.