What happened to the days when school kids would beat each other up the old fashion way -- in the school parking lot, the park, etc. ? With the rise of technology, this society has spawned a whole new generation of bullies, most commonly known as "cyber bullies." I don't even like to use the term "bully" when referring to them, because being a bully gives off the connotation of having "guts" and and being a "bad a**." Now I am not at all praising these "old school bullies," but at least they fought their battles in person. These cyber bullies are simply cowards. They are usually the kids who got picked on by actual bullies in school, and they feel that since they are behind a computer screen, they can treat others the way they were treated, without the consequences. Cyber bullying has truly become an epidemic. I have been hearing way too frequently of young children as well as adults being bullied so bad on the Internet that they physically hurt themselves, even sometimes taking their own lives.
I recently read an article about a girl who actually lives very close to me on Long Island who took her own life after being taunted on a social networking site. Not only did this harassment lead her to take her own life, but a page that was made for her after her death as a tribute also got negative comments. How could this vicious circle continue on? It was mean messages that lead this girl to her death, and now even after her death, they keep coming. When will people learn that enough is enough?
It is very sad that people do use social networking for bullying. I feel like many people take advantage of the fact that they are behind the screen and they would not say half the things they say online in person. People need to realize how much harm they are doing by being bullies online.
ReplyDeleteIt's a real shame. All these incidents are the type that you hear and just shake your head because you have no clue why it had to happen. It's amazing how some people lose all of their humanity when they go onto social networking sites.
ReplyDeleteI fully agree with you Tammy. Cyber bullies are cowards. I see it daily... it's not even so in your face. There are so many forms. Status updates with song lyrics clearly directed towards people pop up in my newsfeed all the time... in the quotes section on facebook I have seen it there as well. Its so crazy how prevalent it is, and it can for the most part go unnoticed.
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