The truth about cyber bullying - what's the point'
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The truth about cyber bullying - what’s the point?
When the Internet was first brought to homes, no one thought it would lead to relentless bullying.
For years, tweens and teens have had to face one of the biggest and most influencial repercussions of the Internet: cyber bullying.
Anyone with a username and an Internet connection is capable of harassing someone else, whether or not your name is anonymous.
For years, teachers and the government have been drilling the same thing into our heads: cyber bullying is unacceptable. The media makes it seem as though cyber bullying is all over the place and happens 24 hours a day. But when I log on to Facebook and scroll through my News Feed, I see none at all. Nothing. It makes me wonder what is so different about the people I have on Facebook. Do we all just get along? Are we all mature enough to not do it? If cyber bullying is such a big issue, why am I not seeing it?
I’ve witnessed a few things before, but not on Facebook. Rather, it was on anonymous social media such as YouTube, where your name is not public. Maybe that’s what the difference is. People are more afraid to deliberately bully if their name is public. The most common comeback I see on YouTube when two (or sometimes more) anonymous users go head-to-head is “It’s easy to hide behind a computer screen. Why don’t you say it to my face?”
This is so true. If people’s names were public, would cyber bullying slow, or even stop? In older movies, we see lots of high school fights. Lots of yelling, insulting, and yes, physical fights.
This rarely happens anymore, and I think it’s because people can do it from the comfort of their own home. All they have to do is sit down at a computer, or pull out their phone from their pocket, and write something insulting. That way, they don’t have to worry about their identity, or people seeing them, or getting caught by a teacher. Who knows, maybe the person they insulted won’t even fight back? But at least you know that they read what you wrote.
The truth about cyber bullying is that no matter who you are, or why you’re doing it, you look absolutely and irrevocably stupid. Really, what’s the point? Do you feel superior now that you’ve made your comment? Because if you really want to feel that way, try standing up for someone instead of bringing them down.
People who do this are much more respected than the people who do the bullying. Sure, you might have your reasons, but one reason to stand up for someone is better than a thousand excuses for bringing them down.
The truth about cyber bullying is that is really, truly is unacceptable. So the next time you see it, make sure you’re the person who has that one reason to stand up.