Every second of every day, a kid is being bullied by a peer online. MySpace and Facebook are popular breeding grounds for maniacs and pedophiles. Thousands of reports on cyber bullying are reported in the United States every year. A few are reported in the CNMI because we are such a small community and kids feel unsafe even when the bullying has already been reported.
What is cyberbullying?
According to the Guam Anti-Cyberbullying website, The National Crime Prevention Council defines Cyberbullying as “when teens use the Internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person.”
Cyberbullying is the use of information and Communications Technology, particularly mobile phones and the internet, deliberately to upset someone else. It can be an extension of face-to-face bullying, with technology providing the bully with another route to harass their target.
However, it differs in several significant ways from other kinds of bullying: the invasion of home and personal space; the difficulty in controlling electronically circulated messages; the size of the audience; perceived anonymity; and even the profile of the person doing the cyberbullying and their target.
What forms can it take?
There are lots of different types of cyberbullying. These are the main ones:
Sending emails that can be threatening or upsetting. Emails can be sent directly to a single target, or to a group of people to encourage them to become part of the cyberbullying. These messages or ‘hate mails’ can include examples of racism, sexism and other types of prejudice.
If someone sends you a message and you forward or laugh at it, you’re actually adding to the problem.
Instant messenger and chat rooms
Sending instant messenger and chat room messages to friends or direct to a victim. Others can be invited into the bullying conversation, who then become part of it by laughing.
Social networking sites
Setting up profiles on social networking sites to make fun of someone. By visiting these pages or contributing to them, you become part of the problem and add to the feelings of unhappiness felt by the victim.
Mobile phone
Sending humiliating and abusive text or video messages, as well as photo messages and phone calls over a mobile phone. This includes anonymous text messages over short distances using Bluetooth technology and sharing videos of physical attacks on individuals (happy slapping).
Interactive gaming
Games consoles allow players to chat online with anyone they find themselves matched with in a multi-player game. Sometimes cyberbullies abuse other players and use threats.
They can also lock victims out of games, spread false rumors about someone or hack into someone’s account.
Sending viruses
Some people send viruses or hacking programs to another person that can destroy their computers or delete personal information from their hard drive.
Abusing personal information
Many victims of cyberbullying have complained that they have seen personal photos, emails or blog postings posted where others could see them without their permission.
Social networking sites make it a lot easier for web users to get hold of personal information and photos of people. They can also get hold of someone else’s messaging accounts and chat to people pretending to be the victim.
Bullying can lead a victim to hate others and mistrust those who want to get close to them. In some cases, the victim may feel hopeless and he or she eventually see death as the only way away from the pain and ridicule.
Cyberbullying is a new and unfortunate part of our society but with every new problem, a new solution arises. If you or a friend is experiencing cyberbullying please report it to your school counselor or the local police department.
(Source: StopCyberbullyingonGuam.org)
