Zambrana 1

Katarina Zambrana
Mrs. Pagani
ERWC Period 3
19 February 2016
A Growing Viral Problem
Bullying has always been a problem throughout humanitys existence, but in the past
decade a new form of bullying began: cyberbullying. Most children, especially teenagers, are
very active on social media, and cyberbullying has become a new way for children to bully. With
the use of social media, one can bully without doing it face to face. Children/teenagers can post
embarrassing, hurtful, and devastating things about anyone; harming their reputation, can cause
severe psychological problems, and has been linked to a number of cases where children have
committed suicide after being psychologically scarred to the point where they cant take it
anymore. Cyberbullying is a huge problem in todays society because it causes psychological
problems in the victims, takes childrens lives, and the large number of victims found in studies.
Cyberbullying has been shown to cause psychological problems in victims, such as
depression and suicidal thoughts. JAMA Psychiatry in a study ...discovered both victims and
victimizers developed psychological problems that can last for years, which shows that both the
victims and the victimizers are damaged psychologically, and these scars dont go away in a
short period of time (Landau 3). One of the first major studies of psychology and the Internet
...found higher levels of Internet use to be associated with higher levels of depression and
loneliness, and when these types of children are victims of cyberbullying, that can increase the
amount of depression leading to developing suicidal thoughts and isolation from other children
(Kowalski 10). There has been increasing levels of concern of cyberbullying after many cases of

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young people committing suicide after being harassed online. A study shown similarities
between cyberbullying and larger rates of depression. Studies shown that more cyberbullying
increases the symptoms of the victim (Pappas). When children do not get help and they are
continued to be harassed, they can be driven to the point where they want to take their own life.
Linda Sanchez, a Democratic congresswoman who is pressing for cyberbullying to be against the
law, said [w]hen playful teases become constant harmful insults, victims can develop
psychological problems including anxiousness, fear, unhappiness, and can lead to violence, as
shown at the shootings at Columbine High School in Colorado who were bullied victims, and
you know when something becomes a huge problem when people in the government are taking
action (Sanchez 46). Victims, no matter what age, can be psychologically damaged for life.
Cyberbullying sometimes pushes victims to commit suicide when they cant take it
anymore. An example of a case of a suicide is Ryan Patrick Halligan [who] died by suicide at
the age of 13 as a result of being persistently bullied and humiliated by peers at school...Toward
the end of 7th grade, it was rumored at school and in IM conversations he was gay, which Ryan,
along with other children who have committed suicide, have been a shining example of what
cyberbullying can do to victims (Kowalski 15). In an article from Scientific American, A
website, Ask.fm, was linked to a number of suicides in 2013, which the announcement lead the
website to start new safety quotas. Similar, Twitter stated that harassment tweets will be deleted
and harassers will be banned in April, showing that the increased amount of suicides caused by
harassment on social media is prompting social media sites to create safety programs that will
help stop children from using these sites as a way to bully (Pappas 2). Three victims, Olivia
Gardner, Ryan Halligan, and Megan Meier, have caused their own deaths after humiliating
experiences on social media. Because of increasing cases of cyberbullying incidents, including

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suicides, laws in a number of states have passed to make cyberbullying illegal, with other states
planning to follow. Parents of victims whose children took their lives, including Ryans father,
are happy that people have been taking action (Surdin). When the news media starts to report the
increase in the amount of children committing suicide, people will want to take action, as no
child should suffer from bullying. Society is now addressing cyberbullying and are calling for
more action.
Based on cyberbullying research, studies show that social media websites such as
Facebook, create an easy access to target victims. According to studies, social media websites,
especially Facebook, found that 89-97.5% of teens have a Facebook account when it comes to
social media. Seventeen of 36 studies were looked into, and that 23% of teens claimed they were
targeted. 15% said they bullied someone else online, therefore parents need to know that
Facebook is a huge risk for teenagers to be targeted or creates an opportunity for bullies to target
others (Pappas 3). One study found ...from a pool of approximately 20,700 students, 37% of the
respondents said that someone had said mean hurtful things to them online...and 27% being
bullied over the Internet (Wing, 2005)...with 70% of these being sexually harassed over the
Internet, this information suggests that an alarming percentage of bullied children are targeted
online (Kowalski 10). Approximately 25% of teenagers have experienced cyberbullying at one
point, with 85% of victims who know who the victimizer is. A study in Singapore found that
27% of students experienced cyberbullying and 28% wanted to or did skip school. An
organization, WeStopHate.org, helps people who have been cyberbullied and can share their
experiences without worry (Landau). Considering 16 million children who live in the United
States, at least 4 million children will experience cyberbullying sometime in their life, people
have started taking action to decrease the number of potential victims, including those who have

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been bullied themselves. In our research, about 85% of the time, the target knows who the
bully is, and its usually somebody from their social circle, when the bully is someone who the
victim sees almost everyday, the problem is so intense that it leaves the victim feeling there is no
solution or way out (Pappas 3). The huge numbers of children who are victims of cyberbullying
is alarming, making parents very concerned about their children and their access to the Internet.
In recent years, cyberbullying is a huge problem with children, especially teenagers;
causing psychological harm, ending young lives, and growing in the amount of children that
have been targeted. Cyberbullying should be taken as a very serious humanitarian problem, as
more and more children who use the Internet are becoming victims and potential targets. Parents
should be more proactive in knowing what their children are doing on social media, whether it is
their child who is targeting someone, or protecting their child who is being targeted.

Cited Works
Kowalski, Robin M. Cyberbullying: Bullying in the Digital Age. 2nd ed. Malden, MA: WileyBlackwell, 2012. Print.
Landau, Elizabeth E. "When Bullying Goes High-tech." CNN - When Bullying Goes
High-tech. Www.CNN.com, 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 5 Feb. 2016.

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Pappas, Stephanie G. "Social Media Cyber Bullying Linked to Teen Depression."
Scientific American. Scientific American, 23 June 2015. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Sanchez, Linda. "Viewpoint Five: Laws Are Needed to Make Cyberbullying a Crime."
Bullying. Ed. Lauri S. Friedman. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. 44-49. Writing the
Critical Essay: An Opposing Viewpoints Guide. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17
Feb. 2016.
Surdin, Ashley. "Viewpoint Three: Cyberbullying Is a Serious Problem." Bullying. Ed. Lauri S.
Friedman. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2011. 30-36. Writing the Critical Essay: An
Opposing Viewpoints Guide. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.