Taking the bully by the horns: What is cyberbullying?

The term “bullying” was coined in order to address a very specific set of

circumstances in which children are subjected to constant abuse and mistreatment

from their classmates. Throughout the years, the problem of bullying has been

increasingly in vogue and it has definitely become a pressing matter in the curricula

of most educational institutions due to its potentially lethal consequences. Statistics

claim that “victims of bullying are 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than

non-victims”​1​, so it does not come as a surprise that this subject worries parents,

teachers and educational authorities alike. However, in addition to this, the

development of communication technologies has provided a new ground for bullying

to take place that remains mostly out of sight for adults who are not tech-savvy.

Following this train of thought, it can be stated that bullying has extended far beyond

school and into cyberspace.

The fact that cyberbullying has become so prevalent speaks loudly about how

violent our society really is. The Internet has long ceased to be an oasis for personal

freedoms and readily available information. Instead, it has now become a minefield

which people have to navigate in fear of harassment or retaliation for any opinion

they may express. These attitudes mirror the social crisis we experience in the real

world. Polarization, intolerance and the uprise of hate groups are just a few

examples of the current issues that affect society as a whole, regardless of

nationality or creed. Even though violence is not a modern issue, technology has

provided us with tools that allowed violence to proliferate in ways we have not seen

before. Worst of all, victims are left defenseless as there is still a technology gap that
prevents those in a position to provide assistance from fully understanding the scope

of the issue.

The anonymity provided by the Internet allows for abusive behavior to flourish

and to go unpunished. One of the challenges set up by cyberbullying is finding ways

to fight it. As stated before, the World Wide Web has provided a plethora of useful

resources and possibilities, one of those being anonymity. It may be rightfully argued

that it is a right to protect one’s identity due to possible persecution and censorship;

nonetheless, as it happens with any freedom, it does come with certain limits and

responsibilities. When anonymity becomes a refuge for harassers, bullying becomes

extremely difficult to fight. How is a problem addressed when the perpetrators are

hidden behind the veil of obscurity provided by the Internet? New and innovative

strategies are needed in order to tackle this problem. Whether it comes in the form of

punitive legislation or educational policies, societies must have this discussion in

order to put an end to cyberbullying, which has been increasingly linked to cases of

depression and anxiety in young children and adults.

Women and children, especially those who belong to a minority, are

statistically at a higher risk of suffering cyberbullying. According to the National

Voices for Equality, Education and Enlightenment foundation, “​38% of online girls

report being bullied, compared with 26% of online boys. In particular, 41% of older

girls (15-17) report being bullied—more than any other age or gender group”​2. This

exposes a complex network of causalities and, as a consequence, demands an

intersectional plan of action that takes into account the increased vulnerability of

certain groups. If those in charge of finding a solution fail to consider this aspect,

they will condemn any attempt to solve this issue to failure from the get-go.
 To summarize, cyberbullying is real and it is a real problem. We must

understand where it is rooted, what groups are particularly vulnerable to suffering

online harassment and what are the potential strategies that could be implemented

in order to put an end to it. We must understand cyberbullying as an extension and a

complement of the harassment people face in the real world. We must not fall prey to

the temptation of sweeping it under the rug hoping for its magical disappearance. All

in all, it has become obvious that bullying is no longer an issue confined to the

classroom and that it has conquered the online world.

References:
1. http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/category/bullying-statistics
2. http://www.nveee.org/statistics/