25 September 2012
Not everyone knows what cyber bullying is, so what is it? Cyber bullying is when a child is being harassed, threatened, or embarrassed by another child using the internet, cell phone or other digital device. Almost half of teens in the United States are cyber bullied. Females are more likely to participate in cyber bullying and get cyber bullied than a male will (bullying statistics). Some children who are cyber bullied think the bullies do it because they think it is funny or they have nothing better to do with their time. When it comes to cyber bullying, they are often motivated by anger, revenge or frustration. Sometimes they do it for entertainment or because they are bored and have too much time on their hands and too many tech toys available to them. Many do it for laughs or to get a reaction. Some do it by accident, and either sends a message to the wrong recipient or didn't think before they did something. The Power-hungry do it to torment others and for their ego. Revenge of the nerd may start out defending themselves from traditional bullying only to find that they enjoy being the tough guy or gal. Mean girls do it to help bolster or remind people of their own social standing. And some think they are righting wrong and standing up for others (stop cyber bullying). Cyber bullying is directed towards a wide variety of people, it is good to recognize the signs, and prevent cyber bullying from happening. Cyber bullying has increased in recent years. In a national survey kids between the ages of 10-17 years old, twice as many children showed they had been victims and committers. The American Academy of Pediatrics calls cyber bullying the “most common online risk for all teens.”
Cyber bullies do not just target one specific person there are many different reasons for being targeted. Bullies are most likely to harass people who are different, do not have many friends,...