Cyberbullying

Thanks to technology our daily life is considerably easier than our ancestors. Unfortunately, it causes new problems too. Cyberbullying is one of them. Cyberbullying is basically threatening, harassing or embarrassing or targeting another person via social media or messaging apps, gaming platforms or different online based platforms.  

According to Crissy Joshua’s study, 46 percent of teens aged 13 to 17 in America were exposed to cyberbullying in their lifetime (Pew Research, December 15, 2022). The incidence of cyberbullying can be due to victims’ religion, sexual orientation, academic achievements /intelligence, race and financial status. It has been observed that %70 percent increase in cyberbullying among teens and even children after covid lockdown began. (DigitalTrends.com, April 8, 2020). According to cyberbullying.org, cyberbullying can cause suicidal attempts for its victims 1.9 times more than non-victims (November 11,2009). The studies show that not only teens but also underage (under 13) are also in danger because of cyberbullying.  68 percent of the children who experiencing mental health problems claim that they have been exposed to cyberbullying in the last year (Safety net: The impact of cyberbullying on children and young people’s mental health, February 2018) 

These statistics severely indicate that cyberbullying is a common threat for children and teens. Awareness raising seminars and courses are necessary to eradicate this problem. Teachers must take action to find cyberbullying problems and help the victims in that case. Also, parents should inform their children about their social media use. Parents should encourage them to share everything with their parents so they can be more open and transparent to their parents thus they can apply legal procedures without cyberbullying causing severe or mental damage to victims of cyberbullying.  

To sum up, cyberbullying is an obvious and vicious threat of technological advancement, but it can be eradicated with enough dedication and endeavor.