A) Why is this a hot button topic? Why does it matter to you?
Cyberbullying is a colossal hot button issue! It has led to devastating
ramifications that have significantly affected individuals, families, and
entire communities. And yet, there are those that feel that their
disgusting online behavior is justifiable, deserved, or meaningless
ranting, and these mentally unintelligent people continue to tear
down others with zero guilt and to no end.
This hot button topic is meaningful to me for two main reasons:
1. I have both experience in receiving and dishing out emotionally
damaging cyberbullying and ignorance.
2. Throughout all nations and within my own community I have
beheld a rise in suicides resulting from cyberbullying,
harassment, and threats; and that is entirely unacceptable!
B) How does this hot button topic affect individuals?
Cyberbullying assists in tearing down the minds and self-esteem of
the victims. The victim doesn't even have to be mentally unhealthy
either; even the strongest minds can succumb to certain evils faced
online. The conditions resulting from such negative online behavior
can range from severe depression, anxiety, fear, lowered self-esteem,
a decrease in physical health, or even a build-up of negative emotion
so strong and unchecked that it leads to murder, mass murder, and
suicide. For these horrific outcomes to be manifested due to
cyberbullying, there is no excuse good enough.
C) How does this hot button topic affect society?
The two most mortifying results of cyberbullying that I have
witnessed have been murder or suicide, particularly among our youth.
These grisly outcomes can leave life-long devastating imprints within
the communities of the victims and can even expand the heartache
nationwide! The loss of innocent lives can have a negative impact
within schools, businesses, families, and entire neighborhoods. These
horrors breed sadness, fear, and more in those who are affected by
them, and sometimes the damage never heals.
D) How would you use some of the psychological concepts from this
course to understand these issues?
We can analyze this crisis through any of psychology's perspectives.
Personally, I see the neuroscience, psychodynamic, and social-
cultural perspectives as the most enlightening.
1. Through neuroscience I understand that the brain chemistry of
both the bully and the victim are completely different and
unrelated. Thus, the individuals' understandings and handlings
of a situation can differ greatly.
2. Through psychodynamics I understand that each separate
individual has different life experience, have been taught
differently, and has had differing influences of many other kinds
that have helped to shape their separate personalities over
time. So, something that seems meaningless to one person,
could be something that the other person feels passionately
about, and without proper empathy, consideration, and
communication emotional disaster can strike.
3. Through the social-cultural perspective I understand that an
individual's social influences play a big part in shaping or
determining the behaviors of an individual while on social
media. For the cyberbully if they have voiced support from
others of their bad behavior, they will naturally continue the
behavior or even advance the bad behavior to violence and
terror. If the cyberbully is criticized by the majority of their
peers online, they may or may not choose to cease the behavior
and move on. The same can be said for a victim. If they receive
support from others, they may be able to brush off the hatred
and move forward with little acknowledgment of the meanness
received, but if they are hounded by others negatively with zero
support, this could compel the victim to clap-back and make a
bad conversation worse or become overwhelmed with negative
emotion about themselves or their situations. a
E) How does this hot button topic apply to any of the following
programmatic course themes?
As usual you could relate this topic to any of the course themes if you
did the research. For this discussion I chose ethics and emotional
intelligence as most closely related. Having strong moral fiber and
knowing and accepting the differences between right and wrong
(ethics) is imperative for manifesting a positive mindset and positive
behaviors. You must also possess the awareness of and strength to
enforce control over your own emotions. It is also your duty to
exercise caution to the emotional wellbeing of others, and you must
be able to determine if a point you wish to make will be positively
enhancing or negatively detrimental (emotional intelligence). In
essence, you MUST have the power-of-self and make the judgment
to do what is RIGHT, even if that means "walking away" from a
situation you disagree with in silence.
