Abstract of the study

The purpose of this study is to know more about cyberbullying, its nature, history and most its legalities. Bullying has been
ingrained in the society since its founding. Bred from different economy and competitive hierarchies, bullying has
remained a relevant issue through the years. Technological bullying, known today as cyberbullying, has allowed the
problem to expand, become more elusive and even harder to define.

Cyberbullying is the online harassment occurring mostly in everyday life. This harassment has continued to dominate the
society that it affects almost all ages that are using the cyber technology. While most cyberbullying instances happen at
home, the repercussions of these acts of aggressions are often brought to the school campus. This new trend has left
school systems unsure of the proper response to handling student needs while balancing legal and ethical responsibilities.

Statement of the Problem

INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER I

In a generation where almost everyone is so attached with what they do in the internet world and always seeking for
social acceptance, it resulted to one of the most serious problems of the new generation which is cyberbullying. With a
technology that is continuously expanding, cyberbullying has become more prevalent and continue to contaminate the
cyberspace. Thus, the purpose of this research is to answer the problems with regard to cyberbullying and to know
whether there are laws that protects people from this immoral acts.

Bullying has been a critical issue in schools for decades. Looking back at the

History of Bullying

th
18 century peer-on-peer harassment was just as commonly seen as it is today. Of course, during that time bullying was
newly recognized and little understood .What may be seen as violent behavior today might not have been in that time.
While bullying in schools remains a critical issue, throughout the years several events and studies have taken place that
have made a significant impact of bullying and have expanded its meaning in many ways.

Koo, H. (2007). A Time Line of the Evolution of School Bullying in Differing Social Context. Asia Pacific Education Review, Vol. 8, No.
1, 107-116., p109

The term bullying has changed drastically over time. In the 18th and 19th centuries bullying was mainly viewed as
physical or verbal harassment commonly linked with, death, strong isolation or extortion in school children. Any type
of aggressive behavior was simply seen as mischief and a normal part of childhood. In fact, according to, bullying was
thought of as an innocent misadventure or misbehavior among schoolboys . This type of bullying was clearly observed
at Kings Boarding School in the U.K when a twelve-year old boy was killed from bullying behaviors by his older
classmates. The schoolboys involved were not held accountable for his death because the school viewed the behavior as
a normal misadventure among the teens It may be fair to say that this situation would be viewed much different today and
that the bullying behaviors then were viewed as a normal part of growing up among children.

The term bullying was not publicly recognized until a well known newspaper made a publication of this behavior. In 1862,
after almost seventy-two years of publications the daily newspaper, The Times wrote their first story on bullying when they
reported a soldier allegedly died due to bullying . The Times were the first to voice the critical issues of bullying and the
major consequences that can follow. The writer especially highlighted how the soldier underwent systematic bullying in
the army and was treated as an, object of constant vexations and attack. This story may have been shocking to many
people because society then did not view the behaviors that caused this death to be harmful. In that time bullying was
accepted by many as normal behavior. However, as bullying became more prevalent, it began to draw more attention from
researchers who wanted to know more about this new phenomenon.

Today, bullying is viewed much differently than it was in the 1800s. It took many years for the term to be identified for the
serious problems it presents. The

advancement of technology has given ground for bullying to evolve. With the help of such, bullying has encroached itself
into the cyber world and epidemically spread. This is when cyberbullying was born.

Cyberbullying is just a click away since the harassment can now be done through emails, messages and social
networking sites. It is on rise due to the fact that in cyberbullying the bully is allowed to avoid facing their victims, They can
just create fake profiles to conceal their identity, It also requires them less courage since their personal appearance is not
required and it provides them the illusion that they would not get caught. With this, cyberbullying began to concern almost
anyone who uses the available technologies because anyone can be a victim of this crime.

What is Cyberbullying?

Young people are using the Internet more than ever and most have Internet access from home. For many children, the
Internet is not simply a convenient way to research or a fun after school activity it is a big part of their social life.
Emailing and chatting with friends are children most common online activities, after studying and playing games. But like
many other social situations, some kids bully other kids online.

Cyberbullying is similar to other types of bullying, except it takes place in electronic technology. Electronic technology
includes devices and equipment such as

Edmondson, L., & Zeman, L. (2011). Making School Bully Laws Matter. Reclaiming Children &
Youth, 20(1), 33-38.
Hazelden Foundation, (2007). Olweus Bullying Prevention Program Research and History.
Retrieved from http://www.hazelden.org/web/go/olweus

cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat,
and websites.

Cyber bullying is the use of information technology to harm or harass other people in a deliberate, repeated, and hostile
manner. According to U.S. Legal Definitions, Cyber-bullying could be limited to posting rumors or gossips about a person
in the internet bringing about hatred in others minds; or it may go to the extent of personally identifying victims and
publishing materials severely defaming and humiliating them.

Difference between bullying and cyberbullying?

Bullying is often described as being an aggressive, intentional act or behavior that is carried out by a group or an
individual repeatedly and over time against a victim who cannot easily defend him or herself .Bullying is a form of abuse
that is based on an imbalance of power; it can be defined as a systematic imbalance of power . Using these definitions for
bullying, we can extend them to define cyberbullying. Cyberbullying therefore can be defined as an aggressive, intentional
act carried out by a group or individual, using electronic forms of contact, repeatedly and over time against a victim who
cannot easily defend him of herself.

(kidshealth.org)
(Smith & Sharp, 1994; Rigby 2002)

Cyberbullying is different from traditional bullying because people can use the disguise of anonymity to harass their
victims. One needs only a valid e-mail address to create or participate in groups online, so it is very easy set up fake
accounts and bully anonymously. Because anonymous comments and actions arent connected to the individuals doing
the bullying, bullies on the internet can now hide behind their

computer screens and false identities; something that traditional playground bullies never could do. Now, victims of
bullying through technology may not even know their attacker and many times, a victim of cyberbullying may have many
attackers all using a similar technology resulting in a new gang-bullying that can grow to astronomical size very quickly.
Bullies and mean girls have been around forever, but technology has given them a whole new platform for their actions.

Traditional bullying has always had an effect on the victim - maybe physical, socially, and most definitely emotionally. With
any luck, this traditional bullying may only last during certain years of a child's or teen's school life, or is able to be
eliminated by a change in the location of their family. With cyberbullying, the results of bullying can be incredibly long
lasting (mostly permanent when online), and has been shown to have traumatic effects on victims including serious
psychological damage including anxiety, depression, and other serious stress and emotional related disorders. In some
cases, with more seen with every passing year, there are more and more cases of cyberbullying leading to youth and
young adult suicide.

Thesis Statement

Bullying in its various forms is one of the new emerging problems that many children and teenagers have to face daily at
school or while practicing extracurricular activities away from their parents view and protection. It is becoming an
increasingly important problem for parents, school administrators and teachers, and it affects our society at large.

Bullying is not only physical, but it can also disrupt a persons emotional life through mobbing and cyberbullying which is
its worst form. In fact, cyberbullying is a terrible weapon that can destroy someones reputation and life for good in no
time. That is why cyberbullying may have serious implications, even legal ones, for those who practice it.

This paper will present facts about bullying and its effect on persons, and will provide some possible solutions and legal
actions to the problem.

Importance of the study

Although bullying has been around for decades, the issue of cyberbullying is still very new to the legal world. As a result,
there are few cyberbullying cases that has been tried and also in the field research studies. While technology gave birth to
the popular social networking sites, the popularity of such increased the capabilities of cyberbullying. Even though a
dramatic spike in cyberbullying awareness has been seen, educators, policy makers and scholars have yet to determine
the most appropriate means of resolving this phenomenon (Belsey 2006).

This study is significant because it aims to provide schools and policy makers with information on how to proactively
create policies that decrease the prevalence and negative effects of cyberbullying.

Review of related literature

BACKGROUND OF THE RESEARCH

CHAPTER 2

This chapter includes a discussion of the prevalence and seriousness of cyberbullying, followed by the different kinds of
cyberbullying. In addition, this review of the literature provides an in-depth look at what research on cyberbullying currently
exists, its effect on the lives of the affected victims, and will serve as a foundation in identifying areas in need of further
research and legal actions so that schools, communities and policy makers are able to proactively work with anyone
affected by this phenomenon and also to reduce the negative effects felt by victims.

Cyberbullying involves the use of information and communication technologies to cause harm to others (Belsey, 2004).
According to the National Crime Prevention Council and Harris Interactive, Inc.'s study in 2006,43% of the students
surveyed had been cyberbullied within the last year (cited in Moessner, 2007). That same year, the Pew Internet and
American Life Project found that one outof three teens have experienced online harassment (Lenhart, 2007).

According to an article in the NASPCommunique (2007), a poll conducted by the Fight Crime: Invest in Kids group found
that more than 13 million children in the United States aged 6 to 17 were victims of cyberbullying. The poll also found that
one-third of

teens and one-sixth of primary school-aged children had reported being cyberbullied (Cook, Williams, Guerra, & Tuthill,
2007).

Forms of cyberbullying go beyond name calling and enter a world of impersonation and cyberthreats. According to Willard
(2006), there are nine main forms of cyberbullying: flaming, harassment, denigration, impersonation, outing, trickery,
exclusion, cyberstalking and cybertreats. Flaming is online fights using electronic messages with angry and vulgar
language. Harassment is another form in which the cyberbully repeatedly sends insulting messages via the Internet.
Denigration is "dissing" someone online which can include sending or posting gossip or rumors about a person that could
damage their reputation or friendships. Impersonation is pretending to be someone else in order to get that person in
trouble with other people or to damage their reputation and friendships. Outing is sharing someone's secrets,
embarrassing information, or photos online without his or her permission. Trickery is similar to outing, in which the
cyberbully will trick the victim to reveal secrets or embarrassing information and then share it with others online. Exclusion
is intentionally excluding someone from an online group. Cyberstalking is repeated, intense harassment and denigration
that includes threats or creates a significant amountof fear in the victim. Lastly, cyberthreats are defined as either threats
or "distressing material," general statements that make it sound like the writer is emotionally upset and may be
considering harming someone else, themselves, or committing suicide (Willard, 2006).

According to Robert Slonje and Peter K. Smith that Cyberbullying has recently emerged as a new form of bullying and
harassment. 360 adolescents (1220 years), were surveyed to examine the nature and extent of cyberbullying in Swedish
schools. Four categories of cyberbullying (by text message, email, phone call and picture/video clip) were examined in
relation to age and gender, perceived impact, telling others, and perception of adults becoming aware of such bullying.
There was a significant incidence of cyberbullying in lower secondary schools, less in sixth-form colleges. Gender
differences were few. The impact of cyberbullying was perceived as highly negative for picture/video clip bullying.
Cybervictims most often chose to either tell their friends or no one at all about the cyberbullying, so adults may not be
aware of cyberbullying, and (apart from picture/video clip bullying) this is how it was perceived by pupils. Findings are
discussed in relation to similarities and differences between cyberbullying and the more traditional forms of bullying.

On another note Ersilia Menesini, Annalaura Nocentini, and Pamela Calussi. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social
Networking. May 2011, 14(5): 267-274. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.0002 cited that In relation to a sample of 1,092 Italian
adolescents (50.9% females), the present study aims to: (a) analyze the most parsimonious structure of the cyberbullying
and cyber victimization construct in male and female Italian adolescents through confirmatory factor analysis; and (b)
analyze the severity and the discrimination parameters of each act using the item response theory. Results showed that
the structure of the cyberbullying scale for perpetrated and received behaviors in both genders could best be represented
by a mono-dimensional model where each item lies on a continuum of severity of aggressive acts. For both

genders, the less severe acts are silent/prank calls and insults on instant messaging, and the most severe acts are
unpleasant pictures/photos on Web sites, phone pictures/photos/videos of intimate scenes, and phone
pictures/photos/videos of violent scenes. The items nasty text messages, nasty or rude e-mails, insults on Web sites,
insults in chat rooms, and insults on blogs range from moderate to high levels of severity. Regarding the discrimination
level of the acts, several items emerged as good indicators at various levels of cyberbullying and cybervictimization
severity, with the exception of silent/prank calls. Furthermore, gender specificities underlined that the visual items can be
considered good indicators of severe cyberbullies and cybervictims only in males. This information can help in
understanding better the nature of the phenomenon, its severity in a given population, and to plan more specific
prevention and intervention strategies.

As per Julian J. Dooley, Jacek Pyalski and Donna Cross Cyberbullying has been described as a type of electronic
bullying and has recently been subjected to intense media scrutiny largely due to a number of high profile and tragic
cases of teen suicide. Despite the media attention relatively little is known about the nature of cyberbullying. This is, at
least in part, due to a lack of theoretical and conceptual clarity and an examination of the similarities and differences
between cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying. This paper reviews the limited theoretical and empirical literature
addressing both cyberbullying and face-to-face bullying, using some specific examples from a qualitative study for
illustration. We compare and contrast individual factors common to cyber and face-to-face bullying. We then examine
social information

processing factors associated with face-to-face bullying and present a discussion of the similarities and differences that
may characterize cyberbullying.

Further, according to Qing Li, the study investigates the nature and the extent of adolescences experience of
cyberbullying. A survey study of 264 students from three junior high schools was conducted. In this article, cyberbullying
refers to bullying via electronic communication tools. The results show that close to half of the students were bully victims
and about one in four had been cyber-bullied. Over half of the students reported that they knew someone being
cyberbullied. Almost half of the cyberbullies used electronic means to harass others more than three times. The majority
of the cyber-bully victims and bystanders did not report the incidents to adults. When gender was considered, significant
differences were identified in terms of bullying and cyberbullying. Males were more likely to be bullies and cyberbullies
than their female counterparts. In addition, female cyberbully victims were more likely to inform adults than their male
counterparts.

On a Review of Schoolwide Preventative Programs and Strategies on Cyberbulying by Michael A. Couvillon and Vessela
Ilieva cyberbullying is a growing concern among school-age students. The combination of increased access, ease, and
use of Web-based communication are part of what attributes to the problem. Cyberbullying affects not only students, but
also parents and administrators. Because schools have the ability to reach all groups involved, it may be practical for
schools to implement preventive and support ongoing efforts to address the concern. Research shows that prevention
programs focused at the school level will have the strongest effect. By implementing a consistent school wide approach to
cyberbullying, it is hopeful

that the benefits will carry through a student's academic career and beyond. This article reviews recent research and
Web-based resources on existing programs and makes recommendations for schools to develop their own cyberbullying
prevention program.

Research Methodology

The methodology that will be used in this research is the black letter methodology. This method of dissertation research
aims to reduce the study of law to an essentially descriptive analysis of a large number of technical and co-ordinated legal
rules to be found in primary sources. The primary aim of this method of research is to collate, organize and describe legal
rules and to offer commentary on the emergence and significance of the authoritative legal sources in which such rules
are considered, in particular, case law, with the aim of identifying an underlying system.

This process requires the student to interpret each case on the basis that it forms a system of inter-related rules rather
than a standalone decision. Once a rule has been identified, it needs to be further generalized as binding, taking its place
in a coherent way. To meet the requirements of this methodology, students must learn to emulate how particular lawyers
conduct legal arguments and in so doing demonstrate that they have learned the ability to 'think like a lawyer'.

This is not always an easy skill to acquire. With black letter analysis the focus is on primary sources, namely case law and
statute and to a lesser extent, academic commentary. As such, it focuses on the law in books rather than the law 'in
action', thereby overlooking the sociological and political implications. Such an approach may

well appeal to the 'traditional' law student although it does inevitably mean that that moral and political discussions will
always be marginal to the dissertation, appearing perhaps only in the conclusion. If you are pushed for time or have
limited financial resources this may be the methodology for you in that the majority of your research can be undertaken
either on-line using a reputable legal database or from a good quality law library.

Cases and Legislation

Although all of the evidence illustrates the effects of cyberbullying on todays youth, lawmakers at both the state and
federal levels continue to wrestle with the issue. Unfortunately, it has taken a number of cases to force lawmakers to come
to terms with the harsh reality of the situation and attempt to mold laws to deal with such issues. Throughout history, the
country has been shaped by the publics right to freely express their opinions. Inevitably, when a case arises attempting to
limit these rights, the plaintiffs side is often hard to argue due to such a strong tradition. Without limiting constitutional
rights, lawmakers must grapple with the difficult task of defining cyberbullying, as well as determining proper sanctions for
committing the act. Because of this, many cases dealing with freedom of speech on and off school grounds have worked
their way up to the Supreme Court in the past.

United States Vs. Lori Drew

In December 2007, Tina Meier founded the nonprofit Megan Meier Foundation. The non-profit was named in honour of
Tinas 13-year-old daughter who hanged herself in a bedroom closet in October 2006. Megan struggled with attention
deficit order and depression in addition to issues with her weight. About five weeks before her death, a 16-year-old boy
named Josh Evans asked Megan to be friends on the social networking website MySpace. The two began communicating
online regularly, although they never met in person or spoke on the phone. Megan had a lifelong struggle with weight and
self-esteem, Tina said on the Foundation website. And now she finally had a boy who she thought really thought she
was pretty.

In mid-October, Josh began saying he didnt want to be friends anymore, and the messages became crueler on October
16, 2006, when Josh concluded by telling

Megan, The world would be a better place without you. The cyberbullying escalated when additional classmates and
friends on MySpace began writing disturbing messages and bulletins. Tina said on the Foundation website that it was
about 20 minutes after Megan went to her room after leaving the computer that the mother found her daughter hanged
herself in her bedroom closet. Megan died the following day, three weeks before what would have been her 14th birthday.

Aftermath: According to the Associated Press, it was later that fall when a neighbor informed Megans parents that Josh
was not a real person. Instead, the account was created by another neighbor, Lori Drew, her 18-year-old temporary
employee Ashley Grills, and Drews teenage daughter, who used to be friends with

Megan. One year later, the case began receiving national attention. While the county prosecutor declined to file any
criminal charges in the case, federal prosecuted charged her with one count of conspiracy and three violations of the
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act for accessing protected computers without authorization. A federal grand jury indicted
Drew on all four counts in 2008, but U.S. District Judge George Wu acquitted Drew in August 2009 and vacated the
conviction.

In addition to the Megan Meier Foundation, Tina also worked closely to help

Missouri legislature pass Senate Bill 818, unofficially known as Megans Law, in

August 2008. In April 2009, U.S. Representative Linda Snchez of California introduced the Megan Meier Cyber bullying
Prevention Act., this acts aims to end the harassment of a cyberbully seriously.

New Jersey vs Dharun Rav

It was during the summer after his high school graduation that 18-year-old Tyler

Clementi began sharing that he was gay. Clemenits roommate during his freshman year at Rutgers University, Dharun
Ravi, used a webcam in September 2010 to stream footage of Clementi kissing another man. According to the Tyler
Clementi Foundation, the teenager learned through his room mates Twitter feed that he had become a topic of ridicule in
his new social environment. On September 22, 2010, Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington
Bridge.

Aftermath: Less than a week after Clementis death, Ravi and Molly Wei, the hallmate whose computer Ravi used to spy
on Clementi, were charged with invasion of

privacy. In May 2011, Reuters reported that Wei entered a plea deal requiring that she testify against Ravi. A jury
convicted Ravi on 15 criminal charges, and he earned early release 20 days after beginning a 30-day jail sentence.

The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act would require colleges and universities to have antiharassment policies and expanded bullying prevention programs. In February 2013, the Star-Ledger reported that the bill
was reintroduced in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Ryan Halligan

According to Ryans Story, the website operated by Ryans parents, John and Kelly Halligan, early concerns about Ryans
speech, language and motor skills development led to him receiving special education services from pre-school through
the fourth grade. Ryans academic and physical struggles made him the regular target a particular bully at school between
the fifth and seventh grade. In February 2003, a fight between Ryan and the bully not only ended the harassment at
school, but led to a supposed friendship.

However, after Ryan shared an embarrassing personal story, the newly found friend returned to being a bully and used
the information to start a rumour that Ryan was gay. The taunting continued into the summer of 2003, although Ryan
thought that he had struck a friendship with a pretty, popular girl through AOL Instant Messenger (AIM). Instead, he later
learned that the girl and her friends thought it would be funny to make Ryan think the girl liked him and use it to have him
share more personally

embarrassing materialwhich was copied and pasted into AIM exchanges with her friends. On October 7, 2003, Ryan
hanged himself in the family bathroom. After his sons death, John discovered a folder filled with IM exchanges throughout
that summer that made him realize that technology was being utilized as weapons far more effective and reaching [than]
the simple ones we had as kids.

Aftermath: There were no criminal charges filed following Ryans death because no criminal law applied to the
circumstances. Seven months after Ryans death, Vermonts Bully Prevention Law (ACT 117) was signed into law by
Governor Jim Douglas. John Halligan also authored Vermonts Suicide Prevention Law (ACT 114), which passed
unchanged in April 2006.

Prevention

SUMMARY, DISCUSSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

CHAPTER III

As cyberbullying draws more attention, a universal definition has begun to take shape within the law.

Though not acknowledged across all countries, a common definition in congruence with a wider recognition of the
problem makes addressing the elusive issue a bit easier. The problem is that technology will inevitably continue to
advance. So, as technology progresses, local and national anti-bullying policies and laws must continue to evolve at a
parallel rate. Many of the issues faced by federal and state governments concerning cyberbullying are avoidable for
schools and communities at the local level through the implementation of procedures to limit the effects of cyberbullying.

Recognition of the problem

One of the most notable issues that need to be addressed is recognition of the problem itself. Many people, whether
parents, teachers, or even law enforcement officers, do not know what their specific state Bullying and Cyberbullying by
Richard Donegan 39 laws are in regards to cyberbullying. In a formal survey of approximately

1,000 officers, over 85 percent . . . said that cyberbullying was a serious concern that warrants the response of law
enforcement. 90 percent of the schools resource officers

had dealt with a cyberbullying case sometimes or often. Despite this obvious concern, 25 percent of the school
resource officers and over 40 percent of the traditional law enforcement officers did not know if their state had a law
specific to cyberbullying (Patchin, 2011).

These statistics are alarming considering that the number of states without some kind of bullying or harassment specific
law can be counted on one hand (HI,MI,MT,SD) and the number of states with cyberbullying specific laws are increasing.
Every person that deals with children (i.e. education, parenting, law enforcement, etc.) should know the bullying or
harassment law specific to his or her state, the physical and emotional signs of bullying, and his or her community or
school prevention plan, including how to deal with and report a problem. Along with recognizing the problem and being
able to identify solutions, it is vital that cyberbullying be addressed in a consistent way. To effectively put a harness on the
problem will require a concerted and coordinated effort a partnership if you will among our families, schools, youth
organizations, and communities (Morino, 1997). If American communities and schools address the issue with a clear
preventative program that keeps each level of prohibition on the same page, children will in turn receive a consistent
message from a young age, which will presumably resonate effectively. This message should cause children to feel
comfortable with confronting and reporting the problem by portraying any form of bullying as unacceptable. Furthermore,
this consistency across a given program will change the overall environment rather than just focusing on individual cases.
According to Dorothy Espelage and Susan Swearers book Bullying in American Schools, A comprehensive program . . .
is generally more powerful in reducing bullying and

Swearer, 2009).

increasing school safety than concentrating on individual students (Espelage &

Potential Solutions

Credited with initiating the first systematic bullying research in the early 1970s, Dr. Dan Olweus is primarily known for his
bullying prevention programs. The Olweus

Bullying Prevention Program, enacted by Norways Ministry of Education, develops methods of dealing with bullying on a
variety of levels including school-level components, individual-level components, classroom-level components, and
community-level components. This all-encompassing structure creates a cohesive plan in which each level reinforces the
next. Since its creation, the Olweus Bullying Prevention Program has been adopted in schools across the world.
According to a series of evaluations involving 40,000 students from 42 schools over a two and a half year period, the
program proved to be successful.

The studies verified the programs success by reporting reductions by 20 to 70 percent in student reports of being bullied
and bullying others, reductions in student reports of antisocial behavior, such as vandalism, fighting, theft, and tru ancy
and clear improvements in the classroom social climate (Olweus, 2005, pp. 389-402). A mixed-methods research design
carried out in Nevada, in which 118 middle school principals were surveyed about cyberbullying, identified components of
a successful preventative program. Of those surveyed, 66 responded and 10 agreed to participate in a one-on-one
interview. From these ten, three were selected and questioned intensively about

cyberbullying and preventative strategies within their school as well as about their thoughts on the issue in general. Based
on the interview results, the following six components were identified as essential elements to a preventative cyberbullying
program: the importance of a reporting procedure; curriculum integration; student-centered productions through mediums
such as Broadcast Journalism; a focus on prevention rather than solely on punishment; the importance of punishment as
a part of an effective policy; and keeping up with changes in technology (Wiseman, 2011).

Conclusion

Bullying is deeply engrained in American culture. Our society illustrates the pinnacle of capitalistic competition. This winor-die-trying atmosphere, the competitive college acceptance process, and much of the corporate world, contribute to
many of the bullying problems that we battle today. The issues of bullying and cyberbullying can only be contained in the
short term and not eliminated completely due to how deep-seeded they have become in our competitive society. The
clinical repercussions that bullying and cyberbullying have on todays youth present the most 40 The Elon Journal of

Undergraduate Research in Communications Vol. 3, No. 1 Spring 2012 troubling issue at hand. The permanent mental
effects are what both the law and prevention programs are striving to eliminate. The fact that these initial emotional
responses to bullying in any form have been proven to escalate to the point of suicidal thoughts and violent response is
the primary reason for why this issue has become a matter of pressing public concern. The thought of children getting so
caught up in the

psychological battery of bullying that they commit suicide is extremely troubling, an issue that must be dealt with. Though
the legislative and judicial branches at both the state and federal levels are having a difficult time adapting laws to
encompass cyberbullying as technology advances, there is assurance in the fact that the issue is a pressing concern.
However, it is unsettling that it takes drastic cases such as United States vs. Lori Drew to bring about a direct change in
law. Ideally, laws will develop in correspondence with technology to help define the problem itself and establish
appropriate judicial repercussions.

As more is learned about the reasons behind bullying and the specific tactics utilized, prevention programs are becoming
increasingly more effective. As discussed previously, a successful program needs to clearly identify the problem, establish
recognition, and formulate consistent ways of dealing with the issue across all platforms. The biggest struggle for
cyberbullying prevention in the future is matching the fast pace of technological innovation with effective preventative
techniques.

(2001). Compaq helps launch Netsmartz workshop.

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