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Moriah Tago
Mrs. Stegner
ERWC
16 February 2016
Ghost Bullies
Cowardly individuals tend to hide behind a screen to tear down other people to make
them feel superior; otherwise known as cyberbullying. People who use technology to pick people
apart are nothing more than gutless and insecure. They do not realize the damage they cause or
the consequences of the things they say since it is so easy to say such cruel things behind a
screen. Research shows that the kids that are being bullied are most likely to be most at-risk for
mental health problems. (Pappas). The harm they cause is unacceptable and they do not
understand how powerful their words are. Their words can cause a variety of issues and may
quite possibly end up with suicide.
Depression is just one of the consequences of cyberbullying. Depression may be caused
by an array of factors, but studies show that There were consistent associations between
exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression,(Pappas). It is obvious that
cyberbullying and depression go hand in hand and that a lot of people being bullied will develop
into a depressed state. This is no surprise because their flaws are being picked apart by a person
who does not want to deal with their own insecurities. It is a huge deal considering of minors
suffered through cyberbullying in a certain time in their lives (Landau). A lot more people than
you would think have experienced cyberbullying. It truly is agonizing to hear, read, or even see
first hand all the atrocious reports about cyberbullying.

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Cyberbullying also can lead to low self-esteem. Being told things such as Youre ugly
or Youre fat can be one of the worst things to hear about yourself. Plus being protected behind
a screen it is so much easier to say whatever you want, The distancing effect that technological
devices have on todays youth often leads them to say and do crueler things compared to what is
typical in a traditional face-to-face bullying situation.(Donegan). People who use technology as
a weapon say whatever they want with no holding back. They feel safe in the comfort of their
own home or wherever they are to be as ruthless as they want to be. This will lead those victims
to think less of themselves and not feel comfortable in their own skin. Researchers discovered
that nearly 30% of students who have been cyberbullied debated not going to school or actually
did not go to school because of what their bully had said to them (Landau). They do not want to
go to school because they feel as if that because one person thinks of them in a certain way, then
everyone thinks of them that way as well. This is also known as a form of agoraphobia which is
[w]hen people don't feel safe in public places, along with generalized anxiety and panic
disorder. (Landau). Cyberbully victims being scrutinized because they look or act a certain way
do not enjoy being out in public because they believe their bullys whenever they say such
repulsive and harmful words to them. This can bring a great deal of stress onto the victim.
Suicide is the worst consequence of cyberbullying. People who are cyberbullied are at
an elevated risk for suicidal thoughts, attempts, and completed suicides. (Hinduja). Some
cyberbullying cases are worse than others; lives may be threatened. Depending on how far the
bully goes, the victim may either feel unsafe or just have a substantial amount of emotional
distress leading to him/her wanting to take their own life. A study that accommodated a couple
thousand students that were chosen at random showed that 20% of respondents reported
seriously thinking about attempting suicide (19.7% of females; 20.9% of males), while 19%

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reported attempting suicide (17.9% of females; 20.2% of males) (Hinduja). While technology
progresses, there is no question that cyberbullying gets worse. People are able to hide in
anonymity and type out harsh words to hurt others. Unnamed online journal websites are just one
of the many technological improvements. On certain websites people are allowed to remain
nameless and comment and post things that can be hurtful to others. Also on those same
websites, pictures can be posted and everyone is free to comment any vulgar comments they
want, again in anonymity (Donegan). Websites like this cause the victims of cyberbullying to
hate themselves for no reason at all. Just for being themselves, they get picked apart by society
and end up feeling lesser than they really are.
Doing poorly in school is another damage caused by cyberbullying.It can definitely affect
a kids performance in the classroom. If a student were to [t]hreaten another student so badly
that they avoid school it could lead to that person failing his/her classes and possibly result in a
drop out (Surdin). If someone is being intimidated so badly that they refrain from school, drastic
measures need to be taken in order to end it. School officials believe that they should stay out
bullying when it is done out of school. They believe it is none of their business and not their
problem to take care of. Others would disagree and think that bullying outside of school grounds
will often lead onto the campus (Surdin). If it gets out of control at home, the parents should
know about it and notify the school officials to make sure their kid will be safe. Students should
feel safe on campus and the second that security goes away, the school administrators should be
notified.
Cyberbullying seems to progress just as fast as technology does. It is still a very big
matter of contention that needs to come to an end. A lot of kids choose to [s]uffer cyberbullying
in silence and not do anything to help fix their situation (Pappas). It is clear that many kids just

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hope it will go away so they do not have to communicate about it; but communicating with other
people might be a great deal of help. There are many websites out there, such as,
WeStopHate.org, that are they for support and help anyone out there that has been victimized by
cyberbullies. People are being bullied online should use their voice and put an end to this
absurdity.

Works Cited
Donegan, Richard. Bullying and Cyberbullying. Elon University. Elon University, 2012. Web.
3 February 2016.
Hinduja, Sameer. Cyberbullying and Suicide. Cyberbullying Research Center. Cyberbullying
Research Center. 2015. Web. 16 February 2016.
Landau, Elizabeth. When Bullying Goes High-Tech. CNN. CNN, 15 April 2013. Web. 3

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February 2016.
Pappas, Stephanie. Social Media Cyberbullying Linked To Teen Depression. Scientific
American. Scientific American, 23 June 2015. Web. 3 February 2016.
Surdin, Ashley. Viewpoint 3: Cyberbullying Is a Serious Problem. Greenhaven Press. Gale,
2011. Web. 3 February 2016.