It would appear that advances in technology are being made on a daily basis, as such, it is becoming easier and easier to ‘hide’ behind a computer and say whatever one wishes without many restrictions. Internet accessibility is being incorporated into almost everything being produced nowadays. Therefore, just about anyone has the ability to hop online, and create an anonymous account. This allows people to take part in cyber bullying which is becoming a serious concern in today’s society. With more and more people joining social media each day, it is inevitable that we will all one day join the millions already using these sites. Numerous celebrities, companies and the like are all encouraging us to “Follow” or “Like” them on social media.
With the ever growing populations of social media, the question then becomes whether or not cyber bullying is becoming a thing of the norm. Statistics from Time Magazine would indicate that “[r]ates of online bullying among youth showed an encouraging drop this year. . . [a]bout 49 percent of people. . . said they’ve experienced at least once some kind of electronic harassment, down from 56 percent in 2011” (Rayman, 2013). The sheer volume of people using social media would lead one to believe that the percentage of cyber bullying would be much higher or on the incline.
(CyberBullying)
So, what exactly is causing this decline in cyber bullying cases? According to Rayman, this may be attributed to “. . . greater awareness of the potential harm caused by cyberbullying” (Rayman, 2013). With this in mind, technology can be used to both inform, and deter people from taking part in cyber bullying. As previously mentioned, because so many of us are already “Following” and “Liking” celebrities, this can be used as an advantage. The social learning theory postulates that “. . . we learn new behaviors by observing and imitating others (e.g., role models) as well as by observing consequences of behaviors” (Schneider, Gruman, & Coutts, 2012, p. 76). If more and more celebrities and pop icons make posts about potential cyber bullying consequences this may help contribute to the decline in cases.
The last portion of the social learning theory points to another area of technology that can be used to deter cyber bullying: that of television. If news companies continuously report on stories of the effects of cyber bullying, it will eventually lead people to become more aware of the topic. This, in turn, may be enough to inform and change the opinions of anyone who may be considering doing such heinous acts. “The idea that the media can shape what issues we think about or what issues we think are important is referred to as agenda setting” (Schneider et al., 2012, p. 157).
Works Cited
CyberBullying. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hhpd.com/main/cyberbullying/
Rayman, N. (2013, October 24). Poll: cyberbullying less common, victims asking parents for help. Retrieved from Time Magazine: http://nation.time.com/2013/10/24/poll-cyberbullying-less-common-victims-asking-parents-for-help/
Schneider, F. W., Gruman, J. A., & Coutts, L. M. (2012). Applied Social Psychology: Understanding and Addressing Social and Practical Problems. Los Angeles: Sage Publications, Inc.
“With great power comes great responsibility.” –Voltaire
The Internet is vast, and gives individuals a wealth of power over knowledge (and the always funny cat memes). With this power, there must come the need for responsibility to keep people safe and healthy. Over recent years –and it seems as if this is still happening– more and more laws are being enacted in regards to internet safety, cyber-stalking, and cyber-harassment across the nation. As for cyber-bullying, the main institution that handles reported cases is the school system. When I was in school, a teacher actually had direct access to a whole feed of malicious and harassing messages left on a student’s facebook page. The end outcome consisted of parental involvement, detention, a chat with our school’s resource officer, and suspension for all parties involved.
I agree that celebrities, and people advocating for bullying-awareness are big driving factors behind the mass anti-bullying movement. However, I think that there is another factor that should be thought about: Fear. I think that the threat of retaliation and legal trouble may account for some of the decrease in the cases of cyber-bullying reported. With the ever-present threat of exposure, more and more people may be choosing to not involve them selves with malicious cyber activity. One father actually posted a video of kids bullying his daughter through the very popular app, SnapChat. He showed the video the kids made, and then shared the harassing voicemails the kids’ father left for him after he tried to contact the kids’ parents. Since then, the bullying kids’ father has lost his job due to his own actions, while his kids were reprimanded at school. The fear of “anonymous” actions coming to light may put enough fear in people to stop behaving in cruel ways.
>http://www.buzzfeed.com/stephaniemcneal/a-dad-played-racist-snapchats-sent-to-his-teen-daughter-on-y#.giDWL3bLY
NCSL. (2015, Jan 12). State Cyberstalking and Cyberharassment Laws. Retrieved April 2015, from National Conference of State Legislatures: http://www.ncsl.org/research/telecommunications-and-information-technology/cyberstalking-and-cyberharassment-laws.aspx