Cyberbullying is the bullying that happens over the web. In this article, we will try to understand and discuss cyberbullying and how it is affecting people and especially teenagers.
But, let’s just first talk about bullying. Bullying is a behavior that hurts harms and humiliates a person. It is a series of toxic and Harming actions taken against a person.it can be done intentionally or unintentionally. There are many different forms of bullying, those are listed as under
· Active bullying
· Passive bullying
· Cyberbullying
Aggressive harassment or active bullying includes a wide range of actions that people take to harm or intimidate someone. Behavior includes verbal, physical, or psychological harm to someone. A shock or other physical contact that could injure a person can result in physical injury. Verbal harassment includes shouting or insulting names.
Then we’ve got passive bullying .passive bullies aren’t immediately in touch with the sufferer. Usually, the sufferer is unaware that he/she is being bullied.it consists of spreading rumors, spilling out secrets .it could notably damage a person`s popularity amongst his/her peers. Bullying can take place everywhere and with anyone. Even adults aren’t secure from the sizable virus of bullying but, college students and teens are those who are maximum susceptible to bullying. People bully human beings for all types of motives which could have an effect on them badly.it could additionally consist of forsaking them and making them sense uninvited.
We are well aware of the term bullying, but what is cyberbullying. in this article we will specifically dwell on this form of bullying.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying takes place through emails, messages or calls, etc. Any action that can be detrimental to someone is considered bullying .all the actions are intended to harm someone in numerous ways. The rise in the use of social media has surely given a great opportunity and platform to bullies. Social media has become an essential part of everyone’s life in contemporary times. All the young minds using social media are drastically being destroyed by the hackers and bullies present online.
After learning about what is cyberbullying the question arises that how it is carried out? it is carried out in a great many ways, a few common ones are addressed here. The most alarming case is when an attacker purposefully leaks the victim’s data to either hurt the victim or gain his/her personal interests .teenagres nowadays tend to share a big chunk of their lives online, this makes their data visible to all and consequently makes them prone to bullying. The attacker can also be a trustee or a friend. Such an enemy in disguise can use the victim’s information that may include personal photos, messages, etc. Stalking is a similar form of bullying .generally women become the victim to this .stalkers send threatening emails, calls, messages to women to frighten them and to enforce them into taking certain actions. This can be extremely detrimental to someone’s mind as well as physical health. There are innumerable stories present online that tell us about how impairing it can be for someone. so many teenagers took their lives because of the fear of being exposed and humiliated, even though they were innocent. The youth is experiencing a lot because of the evils of the online world.
The forms of cyberbullying don’t end here. Using fake accounts is a trend in itself. The people make accounts with fake identities and use them to throw dirt at someone’s online reputation. Attackers use accounts in victims’ names and identity to damage their relationships, career, and reputation. photo and video editing is an art and skill but the malicious attackers are using it as a tool. They edit pictures and videos accordingly to use them against the victim. One more time women have been affected the most because of this .this culture of editing photos is exceptionally feared in the Asian societies because of the values we own and norms we follow .women are threatened, harassed both mentally and physically based on this false evidence sinfully created against them.
Where do we go wrong?
Knowing that we have preys over the internet we need to be vigilant and aware. we cannot ignore the fact that the teens are making some blunders while being on the internet that increases the probability of them being bullied, harassed, or pressurized. their several acts and mistakes put them at stake. First and foremost the teenagers are oversharing their lives on social media. Posting pictures and current locations and what they are up to makes them vulnerable. Any stalker can easily track you from the location you shared. similarly, the pictures and personal data being shared can go in anyone’s hands. the thing we need to remember is that sharing online means ultimately sharing with the world.
Anything once shared online cannot possibly be removed completely even when deleted. In addition to that teenagers are good at trusting the people blindly. If you are aware of the term “trickery” you might be aware of how alarming it is to trust random strangers present online. Attackers can trick teenagers to gain their trust and collect personal or any data of interest from them. Teen girls are an easy and target of interest for attackers or bullies. They easily befriend strangers without knowing their actual identity. The authenticity of the people over the internet is not promised. in nutshell, to some extent, cyberbullying can be stopped or at least prevented by avoiding certain actions like trusting strangers over the web, not sharing personal life and data online, and keeping an eye on who has the access to the data. in the age of hacking, it is tough to keep a track of who has access and there is no limit to that.
There are two rules in life. First, to never give out all the information. Second, how can we prevent It?
Bullying is a massively growing concern of contemporary times. We are losing the youth. The youth that could be serving the nation and mankind is fighting depression. The teenagers are crying themselves to sleep, feeling suffocated, haunted by the voice that screams from within. immediate and serious actions need to be taken in this regard, adults can play a significant role in helping and protecting the folks around them. the staff in schools and workplaces need to be aware and. if any inappropriate action is observed immediate and strict actions should be taken. the question may arise that how cyberbullying can be spotted? The answer to that is observation. nowadays almost all the school staff including coaches and teachers are present online, any activity going on can be detected. second, the one being bullied over the internet is also bullied actively. The victim should have certain platforms and trustees to whom they can complain and open up to. the next time if you are getting bullied or see someone getting bullied run to some adult or coach to ask for help. The parents need to keep a check on their kids while developing a friendly environment and bond so the kids can feel free to let their hearts out.
Another step that is of great value is to first stop being a bully .this is a primary step that needs to be taken if you want to contribute to stop bullying. keep an eye on your behavior, ask yourself questions. am I hurting or adding to someone’s pain? Am I being the cause of someone’s misery? If you find your behaviors to be toxic correct yourself, apologize, and not just that do whatever that can be done to help the one that got affected because of you .A bigger brighter future can be seen if we all start feeling and standing by each other.
The author is a student of FAST National Univeraity Lahore