Cyberbullying and Social Media

As an adolescent it is necessary to responsibly manage internet use in order to avoid bullying one another. Technology has transformed the way we communicate in society. Today’s society has improved the speed and efficiency to communicate with one another yet it has created its own negative consequences. Cyberbullying has become a major problem in today’s society with regard to young adults.

Many young adults have tendency to ignore the powerful impact of language usage in communication. Especially it is very important to be adolescents become aware of the fact that words have an influence to manipulate feelings and damage self-esteem. As an adolescent it is necessary to responsibly manage internet use in order to avoid bullying one another.

Social networking sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram, have drastically changed the way we share information online and learn about one another, predominantly in the past five years. Facebook, the leader of these social networking sites, has grown immensely worldwide and  become the largest social networking site. These social networking sites have changed the way people communicate by enabling people across the globe to stay connected and exchange information more rapidly than earlier communication methods.

Today’s social media allows for a great way to communicate, it also can bring conflict between people by making it easy to cyber bully.  The effect of social media, especially on the psychological makeup and social skills of the youth, is where more investigation needs to be done. Social media gives the youth the false impression that the can post anything about their peers, which leads to  Violent behavior, substance use, and other self-consciousness. When people take to the keyboard or cell phone and craft messages of hate or malice about a specific person, cyber bullying is emerging. And unlike traditional bullying, it comes with a wide audience.

You can pass around a note to classmates making fun of a peer, and it stays in the room. But when you post that same note online, thousands can see it. The whole world becomes witness and is invited to participate. The web allows people to verbally attack each other and leave it out there for people to see and participate.

Cyberbullying became the use of information technology to harm and harass other people. This can be done verbally or by posting humiliating  images of others, which can affect their feelings. First, cyber bullying is intentional, deliberate behavior carried out repeatedly over time. Second, the target of cyberbullying experiences real, nontrivial pain (psychologically, emotionally, or relationally). Third, what distinguishes cyberbullying from traditional bullying is that the former is carried out using various electronic devices.

In short, cyberbullying involves using communication technology to harass, intimidate, threaten, or otherwise harm others. Common forms of cyberbullying include sending threatening text messages, posting libelous or malicious messages on social networking sites such as MySpace or Facebook, or uploading unflattering or humiliating pictures or videos to the  Internet without permission. Cyberbullying has become a problem to the point where it is happening repeatedly.

Our  technological invention has improved so much about our lives, however, we need to keep in mind the ‘dark side’ of it as well. In other words, parents, schools and organizations need to get involved in guide youths in how to manage internet use. Even though laws are being created to fight it, there still needs to be people who will manage the safety of internet.