Guest authorRichard White, Ph.D., is an adjunct professor ofcybersecurityinformationassurance atUMGC. He is alsothe author of the books“Cyberbullying: The Silent Sickness of America’s Youth,”and“Cybercrime: The Madness Behind the Methods.”
In the last15years or so, a new menace has emergedthatthreatenstoerode trust anddestroy young lives.Before children had access to mobile phones, social media accounts and online gaming forums, bullying occurred mainly in schoolyardsandonplaygrounds.There, at least you knew who the bullies were andthat youwouldbe safeat home. Sadly, today we live in a worldwhere“cyberbullies,” perpetrators who use electroniccommunication tointimidate or threaten,followtheir victimsrightinto theirhomesandeventhesafetyoftheir bedrooms.
Cyberbullyingoccurs out of public viewand away from thesightlineofmindfulparents, teachers,friendsand bystanders.Victims of cyberbullyinghave nowhere to hide.
Manypeopledo nottake the cyberbullyingepidemic seriously,mainly becausetheydonotsee it orunderstandits implications.But the consequences can be devastating.According to theJournal of Health Economics,statisticscollectedas far back as2017 indicate that internet bullying increases suicidal thinking amongitsvictims by 14.5percentand suicide attempts by 8.7percent.In recent researchpublished in theJournal of School Violence,Sameer Hinduja and Justin Patchin, co-directors of the Cyberbullying Research Center,found that students who experienced bullying or cyberbullying are nearlytwice aslikely to attempt suicide.
Social media, anintegralpart ofhowteens, especially,communicate and interact with friends,has made it particularlydifficult for parents to identifythesignscyberbullyingandeven more difficultfor them toprevent it.The social aspectof social media—namelyretweets, “likes” and comments—opens a world of opportunity for nefarious behavior. An original message can be distorted, private photos can beshared,and a perfectly innocent communication can bemisusedtovictimize and tormentits originator.
Cyberbulliesremain anonymous ormasquerade assomeone else. They attack at any timeofday or nightandfrom any place in the world. Victims often find themselves alone in the fight as otherssteer clear toavoid becomingtargets, too. This gives the advantage to the cyberbully and makes itharderto stop the malicious activity.
To better understandand combat online abuse and hate, it is helpful to dispel common misconceptions aboutcyberbullying.
- Cyberbullying is less harmful than traditional bullying.
False.Traditional bullying canbe damaging and lead tophysical altercations. But thepersistent and pervasive natureof cyberbullyingcanfueldeepemotional andphysical problemsthateven lead,in some cases, tosuicide.The real problem with cyberbullying is the persistentrelationshipbetween the victim and thedigital mediasourceof the abuse. Acyberbully take advantage of thisrelationship. - Victims ofcyberbullying show signs of emotional abuse early.
False.Withyoungervictims, oftenthere areno obvious signs of abuse until the bullying problem becomesoverwhelming and dangerous.Victims,embarrassed by the contentacyberbully focuseson or spreads, maymake every effort to hide it from thosewhocareabout them. - A parent can tell if a child is being cyberbullied.
False.Not only is this not true,but a parentmay bethe last to know.Children and young adults are expertswhen it comestohiding emotional distress.Theygo great lengthsto hide their painfrom parents and other authority figures,particularly in the early stages of theabuse.
- Cyberbullyingusually unfolds inone form.
False.Cyberbullyingtakes many shapes, including the following:
- Using text messaging to harass a victim:Bulliesoften work as a gangtoidentify a targetandthensend hundreds of messages filled with vulgarities and personal insults. The goal is tooverwhelm a victimby the sheer number of attacks. Thesebullies maymagnifythisbyposting rumors—meant to cause as much emotional distress as possible—on social media platforms.
- Falsely reporting a victim asacyberbully: Many websites and chatroomsfeature a buttonto notify moderators of a user who is causing harm to other people on the platforms.If they receive multiple reports over a short period of time, the systems are designed to automatically remove someone fromtheirservice. Bullies use this feature to kick innocent victims offsocial media networks.
- Identity theft:Bullies will stealthepassword toa social mediaaccount andthenpost inappropriate materialin full view ofparents,relativesand friends.Somecyberbulliespostracist or sexualinformationspecificallyto embarrass.
- հDZԲ:Trolling is a term that has received widespread notoriety over the last few years. This practice involves sending a messageaimed ateliciting an emotional response from the victim. These messages targetethnic,religiousor social background.Mostof theseoffenders, orTrolls,seek tooverwhelmtheirvictimsand make them feelvulnerable and humiliated. This leadsto feelings of hopelessness. It also leaves victimspowerless to control emotional and social situationsintheir lives.
- Cyberstalking:An especially dangerous type of bullying, cyberstalking occurs when a perpetrator monitors a victim’s digital media presence to gather informationontheirpersonal life,whereaboutsandbehaviorpatterns. The information is usedtoblackmail,harassorsolicit sexfroma victim. This is additionally dangerous due to the close link between stalking and violence.
- Ostracism:A large group of friends can decide to purposefully ignore one member by failing to acknowledgephonecalls,textsor online posts.Thismakesthe victim feel isolated and embarrassed.
- Trickery:Trickery can take several forms. For example, someone can create a fake social media account to trick a victim into believingsomeone isromanticallyinterested in them or toget thevictimto trust them.Once the connection is achieved,victimsmightbe lured into revealing personal information that could be used to blackmailorembarrass them.
- Cyberbullies are evil and misguided.
False.Cyberbullies, in most cases, appear well adjusted and socialize with othersin a seemingly acceptable manner. This includestheirinteractions withparents, teachers, authority figures and even the parents of their victims.Who, then,becomesa cyberbully? Thedisconcertinganswer is anyone.Context andsituation, home environment,poorcoping skills,past victimhood oralack of supervision can all contributeto the emergence of a cyberbully.
Cyberbullyingis on arapidrise, andwe must take a stand now to prevent and eradicate thissocial disease. Tougher laws are needed to document and punish first-time and repeat offenders. More responsibility needs to reside with social media platforms.They must block and permanently remove offenders,both automatically andwhenreported.We alsoneed to extend more authority to law enforcement agencies responsible for investigating and prosecuting offenders.
Lastly, everyonemustbe involved: parents, teachers, friends, other family members. The cost of inactionwillbe theloss of those most vulnerable. If you know or suspect someone is being cyberbullied, act now. Tomorrow might be too late.