CHMN 301 – B01 LUO
Foundations of NextGen Ministry
Disturbing Behavior: CyberBullying
LIBERTY UNIVERSITY
JOHN W. RAWLINGS SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Submitted to Dr. Steve Vandegriff,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
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Description
With the infiltration of technology into the everyday lives of children and teens, there is a
new type of bullying that has devastating effects on one's self-esteem. Cyberbullying is a type of
bullying that takes place online or via text message. It must be a repeated behavior that intends to
cause harm to the victim.1
One of the key differences between bullying and cyberbullying is the way repetition is
defined. If someone approaches a victim physically only one time, it is considered harassment.
With cyberbullying, one action, such as posting a shameful video online, can continually cause
damage, and would be considered repetition.2
Researchers attempting to quantify the prevalence of cyberbullying in US adolescents in
middle and high schools found the number of students to ever experience cyberbullying to be
23% in high-quality studies.3 A study by the CDC in 2016 found that 15.5% of students had been
cyberbullied in the past year.4 Because of the amount of shame involved with victims of
cyberbullying, it is possible that the numbers could be even higher.
Though cyberbullying occurs in the digital world, it has devastating real-life
consequences. Megan Meier was just 13 years old when she committed suicide. A neighbor set
up a MySpace account and pretended to be a boy that liked her. At first, everything went well.
1 Derek Miller. Dealing with Cyberbullying (New York, NY: Cavendish Square Publishing LLC,
2019), 6.
2 Ibid, 6-7.
3 Ellen M Selkie, Jessica L. Fales, and Megan A. Moreno. “Cyberbullying Prevalence Among US
Middle and High School–Aged Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Quality Assessment.”
(Journal of Adolescent Health 58, no. 2, 2016): 130.
4 Neal Hardin. “What Does the Bible Say About Bullying & What Should Christians Do
About It.” The Religion and Politics Blog.
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Then “he” began sharing their private conversations publicly and said the world would be better
off if she was not around. She took this so seriously that she ended her own life.5
Cyberbullying can take many forms. The examples below will show what cyberbullying
looks like and on what platforms it occurs.
Examples
Because cyberbullying is such a broad term, it is impossible to capture every example of
it in a few short paragraphs.
Internet security company Securly categorizes cyberbullying into 10 types. The list below
sums up the most common (similar terms have been condensed into one category):
1.Exclusion: Being left out of online conversations/groups with mutual friends.
2.Harrassment: Online messages, comments, text messages intended to harm.
3.Outing/Doxing/Trickery: Publicly sharing personal information without
someone’s consent. Can include messages, documents, photos.
4.Cyberstalking: “Following” someone online and even illegally monitoring their
computer habits. Can lead to offline stalking.
5.Fraping: Hijacking someone’s profile and posting inflammatory information or
sending nasty messages to their friends.
6.Masquerading: Creating a fake online presence in order to bully someone online.
This could include social media profiles, email or websites.
7.Dissing/Flaming: Insulting a person publicly by posting mean comments or
sending private messages to ruin someone’s reputation. Flaming includes the use
of profanity.6
5 Alexandria Ingham, “7 Real Life Cyberbullying Horror Stories.” Family Orbit Blog.
6 “The 10 Types of Cyberbullying.” Securly Blog. Securly, Inc.
7 Krebs, Brian. “Kansas Man Killed In 'SWATting' Attack.” Krebs on Security.
8 Nicole L. Weber and William V. Pelfrey Jr., Cyberbullying : Causes, Consequences, and
Coping Strategies. (El Paso: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2014), 38.
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Cyberbullying can occur on any online platform including social media sites like
Facebook or Instagram, email, text messages, or even online video games.
A particularly dangerous form of cyberbullying known as SWATting is popular in the
video game world, though more common among young adults. An online gamer will call a law
enforcement agency and state that someone is actively committing a serious crime and provide
an address. This led to the death of a Wichita man in 2017.7
Consequences and Solutions
While the more extreme consequences of cyberbullying have already been mentioned,
other consequences include lower self-esteem, feeling unsafe, and the potential of the victim to
resort to school violence.8
There is no easy solution to the problem of cyberbullying. Schools are doing their part by
educating children on what cyberbullying is and what to do about it. Students have mixed
feelings about how to handle cyberbullying.
In a study of cyberbullying, students state that if they address a situation in the classroom
as it happens, it can deescalate quickly and prevent it from turning into cyberbullying.9 Others
use passive strategies such as ignoring the bullying and relying on their self-esteem.10
Parent involvement in their children’s digital lives can help. Parents should regularly
check their child’s online profiles to make sure harassment is not occurring. If it is, they can
speak to their child about what is going on and get others involved if necessary.
9 Ibid, 126.
10 Ibid, 125.
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Other adults in the lives of children should be cautious about too much engagement with
a child’s social media page. However, they can talk to them about appropriate online
communication and reiterate what the schools teach about cyberbullying.
In extreme circumstances that result in death or physical harm, law enforcement will
rightfully be involved. The consequences for abusers in these situations will depend on a variety
of factors. Most children are not wishing death on another, so the appropriate punishment will
depend on the crime.
Biblical Response
The Christian response to bullying should reflect key biblical themes about responsible
behavior. While bullying is not mentioned specifically, a major theme of the Bible is how
Christians should behave toward others, whether they are Christian or not.11
Key biblical themes relevant to bullying include:
1.Love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31). Jesus commanded us to treat everyone
with the same respect as we would give ourselves.
2.We are all made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Any insult to another person is
an insult towards God and His creation.
3.Do not retaliate (1 Peter 1:9). Retaliation only fuels the abuser to continue.
Adolescence is a difficult phase for everyone, but Christians can rely on the word of God
to inspire proper behavior.
Conclusion
Though cyberbullying is a continuing threat to adolescents worldwide, with proper
education and adult involvement the effects can be less severe. While bullies are not going away
11 Neal Hardin, “What Does the Bible Say About Bullying & What Should Christians Do About
It.” The Religion and Politics Blog.
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anytime soon, be teaching children their worth and identity in Christ they will understand that the
abuse does not define who they are. Encouragement and support are key to helping alleviate the
effects of this behavior on their self-esteem.
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Bibliography
Hardin, Neal. “What Does the Bible Say About Bullying & What Should Christians Do About
It.” The Religion and Politics Blog. Last modified July 7, 2017. Accessed June 2, 2021.
https://www.nealhardin.com/bible-bullying/.
Krebs, Brian. “Kansas Man Killed In 'SWATting' Attack.” Krebs on Security. Last modified
December 29, 2017. Accessed June 2, 2021. https://krebsonsecurity.com/2017/12/kansas-
man-killed-in-swatting-attack/.
Ingham, Alexandria. “7 Real Life Cyberbullying Horror Stories.” Family Orbit Blog. Last
modified November 5, 2020. Accessed June 2, 2021.
https://www.familyorbit.com/blog/real-life-cyberbullying-horror-stories/.
Miller, Derek. Dealing with Cyberbullying. New York, NY: Cavendish Square Publishing LLC,
2019. Accessed June 2, 2021. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Selkie, Ellen M., Jessica L. Fales, and Megan A. Moreno. “Cyberbullying Prevalence Among US
Middle and High School–Aged Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Quality
Assessment.” Journal of Adolescent Health 58, no. 2 (2016): 125–133.
“The 10 Types of Cyberbullying.” Securly Blog. Securly, Inc., December 4, 2019. Last modified
December 4, 2019. Accessed June 2, 2021. https://blog.securly.com/2018/10/04/the-10-
types-of-cyberbullying/.
Weber, Nicole L., and Pelfrey Jr., William V.. Cyberbullying : Causes, Consequences, and
Coping Strategies. El Paso: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2014. Accessed June 2, 2021.
ProQuest Ebook Central.
