For Professor Anthony
cayeki
CA1.docx
Is Cyberbullying a Serious Cause of Suicide in Students and Should Those Culpable Be Charged as Murderers?
Almost every individual has some online presence today. Online presence has, with no doubt, made life easier and more entertaining than ever before. However, amidst all the benefits lie some of the worst dangers. One of such dangers is cyber bullying among school going students. Cyberbullying is essentially the use of electronic communication technology to bully another person, usually by sending intimidating or threatening messages. According to the article Cyberbullying Stats Show Massive Occurrence Rate, cyberbullying happens to at least 42 percent of school going teenagers ("Cyberbullying Stats Show Massive Occurrence Rate"). Those are students in middle and high school, aged between 13 years and 19 years. The consequences of cyberbullying are far reaching, and statistics indicate that at least 20 percent of students in middle school who become victims of cyberbullying think about suicide, with half of those attempting to take their lives ("Cyberbullying Stats Show Massive Occurrence Rate"). For example, cyberbullying caused the suicide of teen Brandy Vela, who killed herself in front of her family. Brandy suicided after months of cyberbullying, stalking and harassment. The police arrested Andres Arturo Villagomez and Karinthya Sanchez Romero 4 months after her death. They made up fake Facebook accounts and posted about her weight and look. Similarly, in Florida, 12-year-old Rebecca killed herself after being bullied for months by jumping off a cement factory tower. Before her death, she had been terrorized by more than 15 girls who picked on her through online messages for long. Two girls were arrested when they claimed on their Facebook page that they bullied the victim, Rebecca and they didn’t care that she died. Considering those repercussions, it is imperative that deliberate efforts are made to address the issue, and that should include possible prosecution of perpetrators, and at the extreme charging them with murder, or similar crimes. Although it is a complex issue, and many legal scholars argue on the contrary that such crimes should not attract stiff penalties, heavy punishments should be allowed to warn people and thus eliminate this behavior. In the following context, this research paper addresses the effects of the vice, what triggers the behavior and last the measures that should be taken.
Effects of Cyberbullying
Students often commit cyberbullying using mobile phones, computers, tablets and other such gadgets. However, those gadgets cannot be solely blamed for cyber bullying, in the same way that platforms like social media, blogs and such cannot be blamed for the same vice. Electronic communication tools have been highly useful to everyone, and social media, chats and other platforms have been used to bring positive changes at different levels in student environments. Online learning highly utilizes chat rooms; students utilize social media, apps and other technology channels to connect either at a personal level or in education related issues. Unfortunately, the same gadgets and platforms can be used to hurt others. Students can insult each other, making unsolicited jokes, or even share graphic images and video that undermine the well-being of others. That marks the hallmark of cyberbullying among students. Repercussions are far reaching.
Whether done on social media, chat rooms or any other platform, using mobile phones, computers or tablets, the effects are rather similar and consistent. One of the common effects of cyberbullying in a school setting is having the victims miss, skip or even drop out of school ("Cyberbullying Effects - Fund for Civility, Respect and Understanding"). There are several issues why students may drop out of school, and among them are stress, family issues, and lack of motivation among others. Any of these reasons can be exacerbated by cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has the potential of destroying the victim’s self-confidence, leading to depression, insecurity, and relationship issues so that the victims will no longer be mentally strong enough to consistently attend school. (Hoff, Dianne L., and Sidney N. Mitchell, pg. 655). In a more concerning issue, all the mentioned impacts of cyberbullying have also been listed as potential causes of suicide among students.
Causes of Cyberbullying in School
There are so many factors that may lead people to be cyber bullies. Students feeling powerless in one’s own life can be a trigger for bullying (Walrave, Michel, and Wannes Heirman, pg. 64). This case includes students who want to legitimize their inexistent authorities over others. For example, students from troubled backgrounds can tend to exaggerate their own authority to a point of bullying. It is also possible to find teens who undermine others just to feel more powerful. They enjoy being able to subdue others, without which they will continue to feel powerless. Similarly, research has shown that people who experience bullying are more likely to bully others. For instance, whenever one feels bullied by their teacher, parent or anyone in an assumed place of authority, that student will most likely exercise his or her authority to those under him or her by being a bully.
It is also common to see a student picking up on a fellow student for being the first one to answer questions in class often. In this case, the cause is usually jealous or frustration ("What Are the Causes of Bullying"). Sometimes, preferable traits such as being smart, creative or focused are just traits the bullies wish they shared with their victims. Lack of understanding is also a common cause of bullying. Sometimes one may bully another not because they want, but because of the individual – the victim – exhibits attribute that the bully does not conform, or understand. For example, for students originating from families with prejudicial attitudes towards others based on religion, sexual orientation, race and such traits, may find themselves bullying others as a result of not understanding them. It is easy to find a conservative Christian bullying a homosexual based on his or her sexual orientation, which is either caused by lack of understanding, or lack of empathy on the issue. Exposure of one’s differences among students will probably trigger bullying.
Remedies to Addressing Cyberbullying
The effects of cyberbullying are vast, and with the subject gaining prominence in the recent past because of the said effects, a lot of remedies have been developed to address the core concern. Cyberbullying is now recognized as a serious crime in several jurisdictions, but before making it into the corridors of justice, it is important to adopt various strategies to ensure it stops before it causes serious negative effects.
First, everyone should be discouraged from responding to bullies ("How to Deal with Cyberbullying"). As stated above, most cyber bullies crave for attention. If ignored, they may move on. This advice is important particularly to children, even though adults can also utilize it. Also, do not provide bullies a platform to perpetuate their acts on you. Recently, an Arab-based application by the name Sarah trended on social media. The application gave individuals an opportunity to create accounts, share on their social media just to receive anonymous feedback. Even though developers argued the app was built to help individuals receive constructive feedback from clients, the application brought critical questions that had been swept under the carpet for long. To a number of individuals, it allowed bullies to share demeaning messages anonymously. It created room for cyber bullying. Avoiding such platforms will help to prevent bullying. Another similar alternative is blocking access by strangers. For example, not allowing individuals out of your friend list to text you on Facebook and other social media sites. Victims can also block future contact with anyone they suspect to be a bully.
Reporting and filing complaints is another remedy to bullying ("How to Deal with Cyberbullying"). Social media sites and other electronic channels have been in the forefront in fighting cyber bullying. For example, social sites can censor threatening messages and images, and can even shut down accounts or limit them. Should one receive a threatening message, a defaming post, they can easily report to the service provider which will review and act accordingly. This method extends to moving the complaints online to report them to various authorities. If the bully is a fellow student, you can ask the school to intervene. If the bully is an individual with a criminal history, you can report to authorities to investigate. The core part is that the case is reported at some level for immediate action. For instance, whenever cyber bullying involves acts of violence, hate crimes, child pornography, terrorism among such other serious crimes, it is recommended that one reports to the police to pursue criminal remedies.
Even though several remedies exist to address or even prevent the vice, a more stringent measure can be adopted. A good number of bullies are aware of the potential implications of their victims, but continue with their behavior. Therefore, based on the kind and extent of their bullying, bullies should be held responsible. In the crimes when their victim commits suicide, perpetrators can be apprehended and charged with murder. In particular, for someone who is well informed of the consequences of cyberbullying, or someone who has the tendency to keep repeating the offense, being charged with murder will be an appropriate action. It is ,however, an issue that needs a lot of consideration before establishing that the perpetrator had the intention of causing the victim an irreparable damage, otherwise fewer punishments can be considered.
Conclusion
Cyberbullying is common practice in society today. A decade ago it was not considered a serious concern, but in the past few years, it developed to become a major societal problem. It is now linked to increased indulgence in alcohol and drugs among teens, cases of school drop outs, poor performance in school and even suicide cases. An issue with such repercussions cannot be ignored. It has, therefore, become a subject of deep focus and study, to understand how it leads to such negative effects. Those concerned are also looking into the various causes of the vice and the potential remedies as electronic communication become more popular and thus the vice is more prevalent. The paper has sufficiently laid down the causes, the effects, and the potential remedies, as a way of admitting an existing problem, and offering solutions to it.
Works Cited
"Cyberbullying Effects - Fund For Civility, Respect And Understanding." Fund For Civility, Respect And Understanding, 2017, http://fundforcivility.org/cyberbullying-effects/.
"Cyberbullying Stats Show Massive Occurance Rate." Cyberbullyhotline.Com,
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Hoff, Dianne L., and Sidney N. Mitchell. "Cyberbullying: Causes, Effects, And Remedies." Journal Of Educational Administration, vol 47, no. 5, 2009, pp. 652-665. Emerald, doi:10.1108/09578230910981107.
"How To Deal With Cyberbullying." NY Daily News, 2017, http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/new-york-state-division-criminal-justice-services-advice-dealing-cyberbullying-article-1.173199.
Messias, Erick et al. "School Bullying, Cyberbullying, Or Both: Correlates Of Teen Suicidality In The 2011 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey." Comprehensive Psychiatry, vol 55, no. 5, 2014, pp. 1063-1068. Elsevier BV, doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2014.02.005.
Walrave, Michel, and Wannes Heirman. "Cyberbullying: Predicting Victimisation And Perpetration." Children & Society, vol 25, no. 1, 2010, pp. 59-72. Wiley-Blackwell, doi:10.1111/j.1099-0860.2009.00260.x.
"What Are The Causes Of Bullying - Nobullying - Bullying & Cyberbullying Resources." Nobullying - Bullying & Cyberbullying Resources, 2017, https://nobullying.com/what-are-the-causes-of-bullying/.
