Cyberbullying is a type of bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying is very common starting from the age that you start middle school through high school because kids aren’t mature enough to know how to solve problems on how to avoid things.
Mia Courtez, a freshman, said, “Cyberbullying could occur through messages, video games, and calls. It can include sharing personal or private information about someone else.”
With easy access to any electronic device, cyberbullying on social media can happen anywhere at any time. Aria Plaza, a sophomore, said, “Cyberbullying can affect your self-esteem, making you feel powerless or sad.” Over time, that pain can turn into deep sadness and hopelessness, sometimes becoming so overwhelming that it can lead to depression including thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
Anderson Rivas, a freshman, said, “It can affect your mental health by making you not want to eat, causing you to get sick because you’re not taking care of yourself.”
It’s harder to escape cyberbullying than traditional bullying. Aria Plaza said, “It allows bullies to attack from anywhere without face-to-face confrontations.” This makes it a lot harder for the victim to escape or for any adult to notice who is really behind everything.
Bullying can be prevented. Camila Alvaro, a senior, said, “To try to prevent cyberbullying is better to put your social media private, or if the bully already got to you just block from every account you have. Some people should also take screenshots to report on what they’re doing to you to try to solve the problem.”
Mia Courtez said, “I know someone who has gotten bullied. They solved the problem by ignoring the bully, but also going to an adult to tell them what’s going in case they wanted to do harm.”
Some people believe that bullies deserve more than just verbal consequences. Camila Alvaro said, “Bullies should have mandatory apologies, loss of privileges, and, if it’s happening in school, they should get school suspension and be held back from doing any types of activities.”
Without any type of consequences, bullies are more likely to keep on doing what they are doing to more innocent kids. They could probably even do worse things. For example, they can leak your house address or start accusing you of something bad that you didn’t do.
5 effects from cyberbullying
- Abuse of drugs and alcohol
- Skipping school
- Lower self esteem
- Poor grades
- Health problems
