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Running Head: BULLYING, THE NEXT GENERATION

Bullying, the Next Generation

Adam Jernigan

Coastal Carolina University

August 5, 2019

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Introduction

Bullying has been a problem in this culture for a very long time. It has become common

place for people that are typically self-conscious of themselves or that have poor self esteem use

negative comments and hurtful innuendo aimed at others to help them feel better about

themselves. Throughout history this form of bullying resulted in both parties at least meeting

face to face so that it could be addressed in person. Our current level of technology has led us to

the discovery of great marvels that can continuously help all of mankind, but it has also turned

the problem of bullying into a new threat, cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is similar to bullying in

that one individual preys on another because it makes them feel better about themselves,

however, now this is done while hiding behind a computer and the two parties may never meet.

This has created a generation of bullies that never get to truly see the pain that they inflict on

others and makes it easier to perpetuate this cycle. This report will focus on providing insight

into details referencing what cyberbullying is, the effect of being cyberbullied, and preventative

measures that can be incorporated within the educational body.

Research

Cyberbullying is a problem in the fact that the internet or mobile devices provides a

cloak for individuals to hide behind while bullying others. Tracking down the perpetrator of

cyberbullying is difficult due to the anonymity of the medium being used, a study showed that

“73% of students were confident they knew the identity of their perpetrator” (Williams and

Godfrey, 2011, pg 2). Students being bullied often know who is bullying them due to clues

within the conversations, but that does not prove legally who was behind the device sending the
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messages. As discussed by Williams and Godfrey (2011, pg 3) adolescents are among the most

at risk due to lack of mental development. A lack in prefrontal cortex development can lead to

students not accurately identifying risky situations causing them to divulge information that

could lead to ridicule and bullying situations. Erdur-Baker stated “online environments are a

place where children and adolescents are less likely to inhibit their emotions, including negative

ones such as anger” (2010, pg 110). These unfettered emotions begin to manifest themselves

towards others while the level of anonymity helps to create a greater since of power for these

individuals within the world of cyberreality.

In recent years we have begun to more prevalently see the effects of cyberbullying on

adolescents. Research reports that “students who were cyberbullied reported feelings of sadness,

anxiety, and fear, and an inability to concentrate which affected their grades” (Mishna, Saini, and

Solomon, 2009, pg 1223). It has also been my experience that this also creates a perpetual cycle

of negative feelings, as cyberbullying begins to effect grades in the classroom it creates more

cyclical self-esteem issues leading to feelings of not being able to do anything correctly.

Bauman and Walker stated, “victims of cyberbullying may be at increased risk of suicide, even

more so than victims of traditional bullying” (2013, pg 342). Bauman also found that

cybervictimization was more prevalent in females than males (Bauman, Walker, 2013, pg 346).

The effects of cyberbullying are not limited to only the individual being bullied, there are also

trends seen in individuals who repeatedly commit cyberbullying. “Evidence reveals that youth

who perpetrate cyberbullying are more likely to concurrently engage in rule-breaking and to

have problems with aggression” (Mishna, Saini, and Solomon, 2009, pg 1223).

One problem discovered was that cyberbullying at school is often times not reported due

to the fact that the student would have to admit to being on their phones at school, which is often
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times against the rules (Agatston, Kowalski, and Limber, 2007). This helps to make prevention

of cyberbullying exceptionally more difficult to preemptively correct. Therefore one coping

technique that has been explored is similar to the old concept of the hotline as explained by

Slonie, Smith, and Frisén (2013, pg 6), this program is called cybermentors, which allows

students the opportunity to send messages into a chat room that can be addressed by trained

cybermentors or assessed and passed on to a senior cybermentor. This program allows people

the anonymity many desire, while also affording them an outlet to discuss the problems that they

are having. Another prevention technique discussed in Cyberbullying: Prevention and

intervention to protect our children and youth. Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education

for Children and Youth (Snakenborg, Van Acker and Gable, 2011, pg 5) states that programs

such as iSAFE can be valuable learning curricula that can be used to teach proper use of

technology and social media. This is found to be important as it provides students with the

opportunity of understanding the importance of proper use of these tools and how they could be

used negatively through cyberbullying.

Conclusion

Bullying is a topic that has been around for a very long time, but cyberbullying is

considered new territory, but it is simply the same concept without a face. Cyberbullying is

considered a faceless threat because it typically is not committed in person, meaning that

individuals are hiding behind the shield of technology to say hurtful things to others.

Cyberbullying incorporates the use of technology to facilitate bullying others, which is made

more appealing due to the level of anonymity that it provides. This level of bullying has helped

to create a situation that has caused many levels of mental and emotional disorders due to the

negative comments made. These disorders can range from low self-esteem straight to the drastic
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increase in teen suicides that we have seen in recent years. One conclusion that has been drawn

from the research is that cyberbullying does seem to have a greater statistical value among the

female gender, where traditional bullying has a greater effect on males. Research shows that

there is a wide array of treatments that can provide aid to individuals on both sides of the

cyberbullying fence. Ideally preventative maintenance is the number one goal, to provide

students at a younger age with an appropriate concept of how these technological tools should be

used as well as gaining an understanding the proper way to address people that they interact

with. There are programs and curricula available to help facilitate these concepts. Once

cyberbullying begins it is very important that both sides seek and participate in some form of

counselling as the perpetrator and the victim usually both have coping problems, either poor

coping skills that lead to the cyberbullying or developed poor coping skills due to the

cyberbullying. Overall the key is to provide students with the proper tools, academically and

socially, to perform such cyber-interactive tasks appropriately and as it was intended.

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References

Agatston, P. W., Kowalski, R., & Limber, S. (2007). Students’ perspectives on cyber bullying.

Journal of Adolescent Health, 41(6), S59-S60.

Bauman, S., Toomey, R. B., & Walker, J. L. (2013). Associations among bullying,

cyberbullying, and suicide in high school students. Journal of adolescence, 36(2), 341-

350.

Erdur-Baker, Ö. (2010). Cyberbullying and its correlation to traditional bullying, gender and

frequent and risky usage of internet-mediated communication tools. New media &

society, 12(1), 109-125.

Mishna, F., Saini, M., & Solomon, S. (2009). Ongoing and online: Children and youth's

perceptions of cyber bullying. Children and Youth Services Review, 31(12), 1222-1228.

Slonje, R., Smith, P. K., & Frisén, A. (2013). The nature of cyberbullying, and strategies for

prevention. Computers in human behavior, 29(1), 26-32.

Snakenborg, J., Van Acker, R., & Gable, R. A. (2011). Cyberbullying: Prevention and

intervention to protect our children and youth. Preventing School Failure: Alternative

Education for Children and Youth, 55(2), 88-95.

Williams, S. G., & Godfrey, A. J. (2011). What is cyberbullying & how can psychiatric-mental

health nurses recognize it?. Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health

services, 49(10), 36-41.