- Introduction:
- Stakeholders:
- Children and Teens – These are often the victims of Cyberbullying, or perhaps the bullies themselves. As with regular bullying, it’s significantly less prevalent to nearly nonexistent among adults
- Parents – Concerned about the safety and well being of their children
- Schools – They feel that they are responsible for such behavior, even outside of school
- Exigence:
- Over the past few years, there have been countless news segments and documentaries discussing Cyberbullying.On one hand, it has largely impacted the lives of some young children, but on the other hand, research suggests that this isn’t occurring as frequently as we might think. The severity of a bullies impact when their means of harm is through the internet must also be called into question.
- Thesis
- Cyberbullying has been portrayed in the media as a hugely serious problem, despite it occurring with much less frequency and severity than reports suggest.
- Stakeholders:
- Main Idea #1 – Cyberbullying is a serious issue with children and teenagers, as the physiological effects that this form of bullying has can be devastating.
- Extends the range or normal bullying outside of school; kids must continue to deal with harassment from bullies even when they are home. This is physiologically devastating to many kids because they feel that they cannot escape their torment.
- “Whereas previously, bullying would stop at the school gate or the front door with the home providing a safe haven, this is no longer the case. Young people today are connected 24/7, which also means they can be contacted and bullied with the same intensity.”
- Appeal to logos – It’s clear to see how cyberbullying as an extension of normal bullying can increase its prevalence in a childs life
- Appeal to pathos – People feel bad for the children. Words like “Intensity” and the lack of kids “Safe haven” make the issue seem very real.
- Bullying leads to many suicides, and Cyberbullying only worsens this problem. In 2012, Cyberbullying directly led to at least 9 suicides.
- Pathos – Children and teens committing suicide is inevitably tragic
- With the growth of Social Media and online interaction, it seems like the problem can only get worse as more and more kids direct their social interactions to occur through the internet.
- Appeal to logos
- Main Idea #2 – While Cyberbullying may severely impact many of it’s victims, it’s impact is largely preventable and it occurs much less frequently than one would think.
- Studies were done, encompassing over 450,000 students at 1,300 school, and it turned out that Cyberbullying is occurring much less frequently than many people believed. About 5% of students reported being Cyberbullied at some point.
- 90% of these students reported also being bullied in school. One could argue that Cyberbullying is much less of an issue here; Bullies at school can’t really be escaped because they are physically present. Many kids don’t realize that if they are being verbally abused online they can simply block their bully or turn off the computer
- Facts and statistics are largely irrefutable and appeal to logos
- Uses logic to explain why Cyberbullying can easily be avoided
- 90% of these students reported also being bullied in school. One could argue that Cyberbullying is much less of an issue here; Bullies at school can’t really be escaped because they are physically present. Many kids don’t realize that if they are being verbally abused online they can simply block their bully or turn off the computer
- Another point is that many people, even adults, are often mean over the internet. That’s simply the nature of the internet.
- Many people engage in what’s known as “trolling” – “make a deliberately offensive or provocative online posting with the aim of upsetting someone or eliciting an angry response from them.” People are much more willing to be verbally abusive behind a keyboard. Children that aren’t prepared for this kind of unfiltered speech possibly shouldn’t be using the internet anyway.
- Overall, this side of the argument is heavily based in logic, appealing to logos
- Unlike its opposition, this side strongly lacks pathos as it seems to lack compassion towards young people
- Studies were done, encompassing over 450,000 students at 1,300 school, and it turned out that Cyberbullying is occurring much less frequently than many people believed. About 5% of students reported being Cyberbullied at some point.
- Reflection
- Ethically, Cyberbullying is wrong from all angles
- However, the internet is a dangerous place as is , and whether it be a bully from school or some random person from the internet, people are very willing to say mean things. Children need to realize this and attempt to desensitize themselves from it.
- On the other hand, telling kids and teens to “either get over it, or don’t use the internet” isn’t something that will actually happen. They are going to continue to be harmed by bullies outside of school. The only real solution is to stop bullying as a whole which is simply impossible.
- Ethically, Cyberbullying is wrong from all angles
- Conclusion
- My thoughts: Personally, I think Cyberbullying isn’t as big of a deal as it seems to be. I remember it being talked about several times throughout middle school, and every time I was upset by the apparent lack of understanding of the adults reporting the information to us. While bullying is a real problem, Cyberbullying isn’t, or shouldn’t be. Blocking is a feature for a reason. Turning off the computer or your phone is an option. Deactivate your Facebook account if it becomes that serious. There are too many ways around it for it to be taken so seriously.
- Concluding remark – I don’t disregard bullying. Bullying is, has been, and always will be a real problem that a lot of kids deal with, but Cyberbullying shouldn’t be something that has to occur if kids and teens are smart about their online usage.
Daily Archives: September 19, 2014
19
Sep 14