Macie OConnor

A3
A Solution to Cyberbullying

His father found Tom Mullaney, 15, dead in his familys back shed. It was
Mullaneys hand that tied the rope around his own neck, but it was not his head that lead
him to do so. A classmate, through a network of only numbers and codes, led him to
suicide. Tom had been attacked with Facebook messages the previous night (Doucet).
Unfortunately, Tom Mullaneys story is not particularly unique, as thousands of teenagers
regularly experience cyberbullying. Simmons and Bynum define cyberbullying as the
use of information and technology to intentionally harm a target by affecting his or her
social status, relationship, and reputation. With the rapid growth of social media and
networking in our society, cyberbullying easily finds its place among the online teenage
community.
In 2011, over of high school and middle school students admitted to being
bullied at some point during the school year, and about 1/3 of those numbers classified as
cyberbullying (Simmons and Bynum). The cyberbullying problem is becoming more
widespread and affecting large numbers of teenagers and young adults. As to why it
occurs, we can only ask those who do experience it, either as a victim or an offender.
Individuals who bully are often found to have issues with self-esteem and confidence,
which can lead to not only bullying, but also a longer chain of consequences affecting
that individual (Simmons and Bynum). These consequences include students having a
lack of interest in school, lack of participation, grades dropping, and animosity among
classmates. As to how cyberbullying occurs, trends are easily seen through the use of

popular social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. According to Brian
Bethune, the good, the bad and the ugly get revealed with new types of technologies.
They make things visible in ways that are unexpected. As technology continues to
advance to new heights, feasibly, so could the cyberbullying problem.
Cyberbullying is not an easy issue to tackle, but with the right planning and
strategy, changes can be made. The solution to cyberbullying is the education and
awareness of students, administrators, parents, and all members of the online community,
of the epidemic. If changes are to ever be made, one must first ensure that as many
people as possible are informed about an issue, its current role, and its future
consequences. The best way to do so for cyberbullying is to implement this information
into an environment where it is commonly found, which would be in schools. Simmons
and Bynum states that administrators should establish firm policies regarding the
consequences of cyberbullying in their schools and make these known to all students.
Pupils can also be instructed in lessons, perhaps in health classes, about the aspects of
cyberbullying. This provides everyone with a more concrete understanding and
expectation of consequences for cyberbullying.
There are those that argue that the implementation of rules relating to
cyberbullying is not effective in the long run. According to Munn, Most efforts to solve
the problem of cyberbullying are focused on the laws and legislation. However, there are
fundamental causes to cyberbullying that cannot be solved by criminalization. Although
this stance poses some truth, laws and regulations are the most efficient and uniform way
to get a message across quickly. Another approach to informing about cyberbullying is to
send the information home. Parents can be educated with a pamphlet, and then have a

private conversation with their own child. After all, the source of many cyberbullying
incidents is often at home, right at ones own computer.
Cyberbullying needs to be dealt with as soon as possible in order to make a
substantial difference to the future of social media. Great differences will be seen among
teenagers and students if we develop a plan to spread the word of cyberbullying. The
approach will require an intuitive process, rather than an intimidating series of steps
(Bethune). With the correct strategy, we will stop the attacks, save many lives, and
protect the online teenage community. It is not too late to create a safer and more
enjoyable communication experience.

Works Cited
Bethune, Brian. "The Secret Lives of Networked Teens." Maclean's (2014 Mar 03): N.p.
DB - SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 5 Mar. 2015.
Doucet, Isabeau. "Cyberbullying Among Students Is a Dangerous Epidemic."
Http://www.thebureauinvestigates.com. N.p.: n.p., 2012. N. pag. Netiquette
and Online Ethics. Ed. Noah Berlatsky. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2013. Opposing
Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.
Munn, Devan. "Cyberbullying Requires a Balanced Approach." Guelph Mercury 2013
may 21: A.2 DB - SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 16 Mar. 2015.
Simmons, Kate D., and Yvette P. Bynum. "Cyberbullying: Six Things Administrators Can
Do." Education 134.4 (2014): 452. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 5
Mar. 2015.