Ian Heindel March 20, 2014 Ed206 Cyberbullying With todays extensive use of technology by children today cyberbullying

is becoming a major issue in the schools. In the government this is a major topic because bullying is detrimental to the development and self-esteem of students. To stop this problem it will take a group effort of parents, teachers, and government officials. What is cyberbullying? Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites ( U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2013). Looking at the way that children can cyberbully other children it is hard to imagine how to stop it. With the understanding of the consequences of bullying on the mental health of students this is a major problem. Bullying can lead to depression or even suicide. How is this different than other forms of bullying? Cyberbullying can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and reach a kid even when he or she is alone. It can happen any time of the day or night. Cyberbullying messages and images can be posted anonymously and distributed quickly to a very wide audience. It can be difficult and sometimes impossible to trace the source. Deleting inappropriate or harassing messages, texts, and pictures is extremely difficult after they have been posted or sent (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, 2013). With all of the differences it is much harder to stop this form of bullying. The worse problem is the person being bullied doesnt know who is bullying them. There was a time that bullying and hazing was tolerated even looked at as a way of passage. Because of the medical and psychological understanding of bullying today people know how harmful bullying is. With all this understanding and knowledge there were improvements in the schools but with cyberbullying the schools have a hard time stopping the problem. To really fight the problems of bullying parents need to step in and educate their children of the harmful nature of bullying. Cyberbullying is a difficult to control because technology is changing every day. With ever change in technology it is getting harder to stop this issue. It happens every hour of the day and we may not know who is doing it. Parents and teachers need to work together to stop this problem.

References Services, U.S. Department of Health & Human. (2014, march 20). What is Cyberbullying. Retrieved March 20, 2014, from StopBullying: http://www.stopbullying.gov