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Carson Cross
Adam Padgett
English 102
November 14, 2016

Healthy Development for Youth Today:

A Conceptual Regulation of Cyberbullying in the United States
In todays youth it seems safe to assume a portion of their social lives are dedicated to the
habitual use of social media and other forms of virtual interaction as a substitute for human connection. The majority of social interaction is making shifts to whichever apps are more accessible through the use of smartphones, tablets, or computers just to name a few. Whether one disagrees with the shift in technological involvement is irrelevant to the growing problem in the edification of communication of young people today. Those adolescents and presumably younger
children live a portion of their social lives and learn a portion of their social skills through a
screen. Due to the increasing presence of technology in daily life we have reached a point of desensitization to the material we find fit to be published online. The consequences of this desensitization coincide with a growing lack of respect for others. This lack of respect exists outside of
individualistic situations and rests on our community as a whole. Naturally, this lack of respect
for our neighbors finds itself at the foot of our youth. As our empathy for other diminishes it is
no surprise to see the escalating instances of bullying online or cyberbullying. Due to the
somewhat anonymous features of online social interaction, the presence of bullying seems to
heighten to a more malicious tone due to the bullys inability to physically see the repercussions

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of their variety of online posts. This time in childrens lives is crucial to the development of social skills therefore we must look into the affects of cyberbullying on the development of todays
youth as a whole. Does social media and the growth of technology at a increasingly younger age
affect the social development of youth through cyberbullying? As the generation of adolescents
raised around consistent exposure to social media and technological forms of social communication are reaching adulthood, how is this affecting social interaction as well as professional/workplace interaction? If the former inquiry is to remain true then what type of policies, if any, should
the U.S. government strive to set in place regarding technological use by internet users of all
ages? In order to efficiently analyze this argument we must have a definitive and tangible concept to underline the issue; cyberbullying.
In a article, "Toward A Cybervictimology: Cyberbullying, Routine Activities Theory, And
The Anti-Sociality Of Social Media.", Michael Arntfield writes on the difficultly of gaining justice for victims of cyberbullying due its lack of a tangible definition:
Part of the apparent lack of progress in combating and legislating cyberbullying would
seem to rest in the fact that there is remarkably still no consensus on a clear and workable
definition of cyberbullying in either a scholarly or a criminal context a shortcoming
aggravated by the fact that the vast majority of cyberbullying is thought to go unreported,
or is at least significantly underreported (Arntfield 372).
As Arntfield described, there are issues arising from the complication of defining cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying can cover a vast amount of online harassment situations, therefore it is pertinent
in the consideration of lawful correction to include every possible aspect of the concept without
the deterioration of our first amendment rights.

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As Charles Waggoner writes, Cyberbullying is willful and involves recurring or repeated
harm inflicted through electronic text or pictures. (Charles 12). I cannot disagree with Waggoners statement however this seems to be where the problem lies. Though Waggoners definition is not untrue, however by including the requirement of recurring or repeated harm, this
short-lived definition fails to include cases such as, Annmarie Chiarinis. Unfortunately Annmarie fell victim to a form of cyberbullying referred to as revenge porn. Revenge porn occurs
when one party posts pictures or videos of a second party without the first partys consent.
Commonly posted by a former spouse or partner following the end of their relationship. Chiarini
is an English professor at Maryland Community College as well as the Victim Services Director for the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI). (Chiarini). When in a relationship with her
now ex-boyfriend, Chiarini allowed the boyfriend to take private pictures of her. When the couple ended their relationship Chiarinis ex-boyfriend sent these pictures to her employer as well as
her sons kindergarten teacher. The news of Chiarinis private pictures being posted online and in
the hands of her employer was devastating to hear. Chiarini then took the only steps she felt were
an option at the time. Chiarini attempted suicide over the incoming news. Thankfully, Chiarini
survived the attempt and took this incident as a motivator in refining the U.S. laws regarding online harassment (Oliver). Chiarini went on to lead drastic supporting bills in Maryland and continues her efforts in fighting online harassment throughout the country.

Chiarinis case

displays several key points in defining cyberbullying. Cyberbullying should not be restricted to
the definition requiring recurrent harm of a victim. It only takes one post to initiate a harmful
situation for a potential victim. As written by Mackay Wayne in his article Law As An Ally Or
Enemy In The War On Cyberbullying: Exploring The Contested Terrain Of Privacy And Other

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Legal Concepts In The Age Of Technology And Social Media., Problems of bullying and cyberbullying are not confined to youth (Wayne). Though Chiarini may not be an adolescent or
younger child, the case displayed the malicious hands of cyberbullying in relationships today.
Cyberbullying should be defined as the unsolicited or non consensual publishing of personal information not belonging to ones self as well as recurrent or repeated threatening behavior towards another individual through Information and Communication Technologies. This continual
irresponsibility and lack of empathy for others has to end no matter the age defining each case.
The social development of todays youth and consequentially compassion of tomorrows community lies in our next steps towards diminishing online harassment.
In An Overview Of Cyberbullying In Higher Education. written by Edwina Washington, She states:
State laws primarily focus on cyberbullying that occurs on K-12 campuses, and each state
requires school district to have policies against bullying. Typically, states do not address
off-campus bullying and cyberbullying incidents at the K-12 level or higher education. In
a K-12 environment, cyberbullying that occurs off campus has been relegated to the
purview of parents. However, K-12 students often fail to inform their parents of cyberbullying incidents for fear of losing access to the Internet or mobile devices. In a higher education setting, as many students are above 18 and considered adults, the role of parents
may be diminished, and parents may not be a helpful support system for students who
have been cyberbullied (Washington 24).
This poses several problems for the attempt at regulation. Without reports of the actual incidences, controlling cyberbullying becomes an even more tedious task. Due to the 24/7 access of

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the bullies to the bullied there is little hope for the victim to escape the harassment besides informing the victim their best shot is to stay offline, an impractical solution for our time. Many
suggest because of the accessibility of the internet at all hours of the day this leaves the discipline and supervision in the hands of parents/guardians rather than the disciplinary hands of
school (Caravita). In a study led by Claire Monks, a professor at the University of Greenwich,
London, and reported on in her paper The Emergence Of Cyberbullying In Childhood: Parent
And Teacher Perspectives., Monks found that When talking about the role of adult intervention, participants mentioned the use of rules/restrictions and the perceived generation gap in ICT
skills. Participants agreed that supervision of Internet and mobile phone use at home would be
beneficial, but was less in accord regarding the usefulness of supervision at school. (Monks 39).
Monks defines cyberbullying as ICT or Information and Communication Technology. The study
found that participants including parents, teachers, and students felt the presence of a
generational gap with regards
to interaction online. This idea
is demonstrated in the image to
the right (Figure 1.0) which
displays an average overall
Figure 1.0

decrease in the amount of information people are willing to provide on the internet as their age increases.

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As far as Federal laws are concerned, they seems to overlook the severity of online harassment by simply throwing cyberbullying into categories with incidences related to stolen credit card information, annoying or abusive use of the telephone, or other minor communication
based crimes. The current Federal law does little to nothing for those victims of cyberbullying.
For instances when the victim received a threat there are certain statutes cyberbullying victims
can use in their favor however they must know exactly from whom the threat came. [A] number
of federal statutes address certain aspects of cyberbullying. For example, federal statute 18 USC
875(c) makes it a federal crime to transmit in interstate (i.e., between states) commerce communications that include threats to kidnap or injure another person. (Washington 24). Other
Federal laws include statutes addressing the crime of using telecommunication in an abusive or
threatening manner, [C]yberbullying victims can use this statute if annoyed or threatened by
another; however, it does not address the posting of public messages that harm a victim. (Washington 25). Another federal law addressing an aspect of cyberbullying includes any act of attempting to lure a child to perform unlawful sexual activity, but does not include harassment outside of sexual activity. Each of these laws have addressed some aspects of cyberbullying as it
happens to fall under similar categories relating to other forms of harassment. (Washington 25).
This does not mean these laws are doing any extensive support for the victims of cyberbullying.
This hole in our legislature is the potential for direct regulation of online harassment and the further improvement of our respect
and empathy for one another online as well as off. This space for
improvement however is not be-

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ing ignored. As represented in the graph to the left, (Figure 2.0) the importance concerning the
amount of information available as well as the kinds of information
Figure 2.0

available to the public is weighted majority, 74% of applicants in a

dataset placed in the category of very important. Due to the concern of our country, [A] Congresswoman from California introduced the Megan Meier Cyberbullying Prevention Act in 2009,
making it a felony to transmit in interstate or foreign commerce communications with intent to
harass, coerce, intimidate, or cause emotional distress to a person using an electronic
means. (Washington 25). Unfortunately, the act was underrepresented in the Senate as well as
the House of Representatives meaning there is no federal law directly regarding cyberbullying in
the U.S.
While reviewing the findings of the regulation, or lack there of, concerning cyberbullying
or online harassment in the United States today, initially I thought it may benefit our objective as
a country to compare the regulation of cyberbullying in the U.S. to that of neighboring countrys
online harassment regulations. However after reviewing the struggles of cyberbullying across
several nations including Denmark, The UK, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, and Romania
there seems to be a common theme of underrepresentation in written law. Mackay Wayne best
sums it up, Cyberbullying is an alarming world-wide phenomenon and not restricted to any particular province or nation. (Wayne 5). In accordance with the lengths of the earth to which the
internet spans this issue of online harassment within multiple countries is developing in the early
stages of a worldwide issue. As a nation the U.S. will benefit from cutting into the problem at
home as a single country before the issue increases its existence between countries. Again Wayne
writes, The advance of technology and the prevalence of social media are profoundly changing

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how we communicate, and in so doing, they are also changing who we are. (Wayne 4). Through
this research I have found a prevalence in our country, as well as countries worldwide, regarding
the immediate need to eliminate cyberbullying and online harassment. Objectively, we may only
reach that goal by not only continuing the discussion and awareness of cyberbullying, but by encouraging our government, parents and school systems to thrive towards a more respect and empathic community. Cyberbullying is not an issue that may solved with one bill, act or the simple act of refraining from initiating with forms of internet use. The elimination or lesser regulation of cyberbullying will take awareness on all levels as well as a continued effort of filling the
hole our government is inconsistently filling.

Works Cited

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Arntfield, Michael. "Toward A Cybervictimology: Cyberbullying, Routine Activities Theory,
And The Anti-Sociality Of Social Media." Canadian Journal Of Communication 40.3
(2015): 371-388. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Caravita, Simona C. S., et al. "Emotional, Psychophysiological And Behavioral Responses
Elicited By The Exposition To Cyberbullying Situations: Two Experimental Studies."
Psicologia Educativa 22.1 (2016): 49-59. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Oct.
2016.
Chiarini, Annmarie. "I Am." Annmarie Chiarini. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
MacKay, Wayne A. "Law As An Ally Or Enemy In The War On Cyberbullying: Exploring The
Contested Terrain Of Privacy And Other Legal Concepts In The Age Of Technology And
Social Media." University Of New Brunswick Law Journal 66.(2015): 3-51. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Monks, Claire P., Jess Mahdavi, and Katie Rix. "The Emergence Of Cyberbullying In Childhood:
Parent And Teacher Perspectives." Psicologia Educativa 22.1 (2016): 39-48. Academic
Search Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Oliver, John. Online Harassment. N.d. Online Harassment: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.
21 June 2015. Web. 20 Nov. 2016.
Waggoner, Charles R. "Cyber Bullying: The Public School Response." Insights To A Changing
World Journal 2016.1 (2016): 10-20. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.
Washington, Edwina Thomas. "An Overview Of Cyberbullying In Higher Education." Adult
Learning 26.1 (2015): 21-27. Academic Search Complete. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.