Why is cyberbullying becoming more and more common?
"And you always ask yourself if the material is authentic, that is authentic as in a real act of violence, or if it might not be fake, if people do it of their own free will, perhaps for money,.... Who can say what is true and what is not? (Ch. Linker, Blitzlichtgewitter)
Nina Karlström - 27.09.2019 @ 16:13
I wrote an Artikle about this theme and translated it in english for you. I hope you have fun reading it and feel free to leave a comment!
mirela bilali - 18.11.2019 @ 12:35
In the modern media world
Why is cyber bullying becoming more and more common?
by Mirela Bilali, VKS Växjö/Sweden
Picture by: Mirela B.
The internet is a relatively new invention but has quickly become a big part of our lives. The internet comes with many good things but also with many bad things. One of these bad things is cyberbullying. Bullying is a problem in our society and can have very serious consequences. Many people even gone as far as committing suicide. Bullying used to primarily occur in school or at work, but now many people are bullied on social media. This kind of bullying should not be taken less seriously just because it does not happen in person. This essay will discuss why cyberbullying happens.
Something that differs cyberbullying from bullying in person is that you can be anonymous online. If you are anonymous online then it is much easier to write something cruel. That is, because you do not see the reactions of the other person, this can blind the online bullies from the damage they are causing to the other person. One problem with cyberbullying is that it's hard to spot if the victim does not report it to somebody. Traditional bullying is often noticed by teachers, parents or friends and can therefore be stopped, that's not the case with cyberbullying.
The second reason for why cyberbullying occurs is because of the lack of empathy. Studies have shown that students that bully often have less empathy (Steffgen, Konig, Pfetsch & Melzer 2010). That is a big problem because they do not care about the consequences that the victim has to bare. Cyberbullying is different from traditional bullying because it can span a wider audience. Thus it spreads much faster and becomes more permanent, extending the suffering of the victim. Several social media platforms have attempted to combat cyberbullying through various functions so that one can block a person online so that they no longer bother one.
The last reason why cyberbullying occurs is because the bully himself has low self-esteem and feels much better when he gets to put someone down. It often happens that the bully himself has survived a tragic experience and tries to feel better by inflicting pain on to others. Therefore, the victim should realize that the problem is not in them but that the bully may have their own problems and should get help instead.
To summarize, cyberbullying is a problem that should be taken seriously because it could have tragic consequences. The three main reasons why cyberbullying occurs is because of the possibility of being anonymous online, most bullies have no empathy for the victim, and finally, because many bullies have a low self-esteem. All social media platforms must try to stop cyberbullying. Now!
Dear Mirela, your article was really inspiring to read. I also think that cyberbullying is a big problem since the invention of the internet in 1989. Because of the cruel messages victims of cyberbullies get, they get depression, in worst case they commit suicide and their self-esteem suffers from the insults. In my opinion the greatest problem concerning cybermobbing is the anonymity. Because of that the people behind the bad messages can't be found easily...
Hannah Daxer - 21.11.2019 @ 20:20
Thank you for your reply Hannah, I'm glad that you enjoyed my article! Yes, I agree, sadly depression is no taken very seriousely in some societies, despite the growing number of depressed people, they are often told to just "snap out if it " or "try to think positively".
I also thinkt that it is important to make people aware of anonymous trolls online and try to provide solutions. People nowdays are luckely able to block others online but this is not always possible for people with thousends of haters...thay sadly can't block them all.
mirela bilali - 03.12.2019 @ 09:25
Hey guys!
Thanks for your article Mirela! You are right!
When someone doesn’t like another person, it’s in the internet easier to show. This happens so fast, because nobody knows exactly who you are. The only thing that can happen to you, is that the other person blocks you.
The world is not that easy. Everybody should be nice to every human. In the reality and in the internet. I think the persons who are bulling other people are unstable and have a low self-esteem. I think everybody should try to stay above it.
It’s important that everybody knows that he/she is worth it.
Madeleine Roessler - 06.01.2020 @ 19:06
Hello Mirela,
I found your article to be very interesting and quite frankly I also enjoyed reading it. Your article talks about a very important issue in the world today. Most things in this world has both positive and negative aspects and that too includes the internet. Bullying has been a big issue for as long as mankind has existed. There are also many types of it, such as cultural and individual bullying or even bullying when it comes disorders och ilnesses. The internet just happens to make bullying a lot easier for those cowardly individuals that feel the need to take out their feelings on someone else.
Sadly this issue is also something that we can't really do a whole lot about. Surely we can improve the situation and make sure there is a lot less cyberbullying but I sadly don't think the issue will ever fully dissapear.
Audrey Hollingsworth - 23.01.2020 @ 11:27