Cyber bullying (Research Paper Sample)

Cyber Bullying
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INTRODUCTION
In this new age, people are using the internet because there is a large database of information that they can use in their learning and/or exploring. In addition to that, there are other advantages of spending time online; for instance, people can communicate and interact with others on the various social networks. This diverse online world, however, comes along with several risks of which users need to be aware of; for example, cyber stalking, harassment that occurs online, and cyber bullying. Cyber bullying by definition is the use of electronic means inappropriately and distortedly; for example the internet and the mobile gadgets (tablets and mobile phones). This is with the aim of attacking people from time to time, especially those who cannot defend themselves, with the intention of hurting them or tarnishing their reputation.
There are various forms of cyber bullying. These forms come about through the medium used; for instance, bullying through text messages, pictures and videos, phone calls, emails, chat rooms, instant messages, and through websites. However, there is increasing advancement in technology, and thus this method of categorization is bound to be outdated. This, therefore, means that the new categories will arise based on how individuals behave, (BeatBullying, 2014).
Many studies have been undertaken to determine cyber-bullying prevalence. However, there are a number of terms used and the fact that there is no standardized definition. This makes it impossible to put results together and coming up with conclusions from studies that are limited. Electronic aggression cannot be measured also because there is no standard to measure it. Nevertheless, conclusions are made from the available information. For instance, many cases of cyber bullying are more of incidental instead of being repetitive naturally. Dehue et al. (2008), came up with an observation, which we can use as an example. There were Dutch respondents, over a thousand of them, whereby 17.2% of them reported cases of cyber bullying either once or twice in a year. A number of those victims, who were cyber bullied on several occasions, either once or twice in a month, were as low as 4.7%.
The rates of victimization in relation to cyber bullying also vary a lot. From the previous years, the rates fluctuate; for instance, in May 2007, the rates stood at 18.8% and in November 2008, the rates had shot up to 28.7%. A mean obtained from seven studies, between the years 2007 May and 2010 February, shows that cyber bullying stands at 16.76%.
A large number of cyber bullying offences were found in the following cases; comments that are posted online with mean and hurtful content had the percentage of 8.8. Online rumors also were on a large scale at 6.8%, and threats propagated through text messages closed the top 3 offences with a percentage of 5.4. All these statistics is drawn from a study carried out in 2010, (Hinduja & Patchin).
Cyber bullying has evolved from the traditional bullying that is well known. A new perspective from social cognition can be used to solve issues of aggression and violence. These perspectives are in three categories; that is: reasoning, learning, and thinking. Theoretically, if these perspectives are employed, they result in four approaches. These include attribution-retraining, problem solving and training of skills, therapy pairs, and change of curriculum and instruction. All these approaches are geared towards helping an individual control aggression. If cyber bullying evolved from the traditional bullying, then the methods used in solving the traditional way of bullying can be applied to handle the situation, if not, there can be a few adjustments. Empathy is one of the human behaviors that play a role in how people interact socially, how people use their emotions to communicate, and how they feel proper. From the definition of empathy, we learn that it is the ability of a person to perceive and understand the states of emotion of other people so that they can adjust or modify their reactions in terms of behavior. This means that, in cyber bullying, emotions of people are targeted. This is because if a person goes out to create rumors about another, or send them threat messages, it means that they want that person to be affected negatively.
RAT, routine activity theory, can be used to come up with causes of cyber bullying. This theory holds that a deviant behavior occurs when three elements converge in space and time. These elements are a suitable target, lack of a capable guardian, and a possible offender. In this case, a probable offender is one who has an intention or is motivated to engage in deviant behavior. The intention is also vital to understanding why cyber bullying takes place. One major motive behind offenders of cyber bullying is revenge. Secondly, it is the issue of a suitable target. Among the young generation, especially, the internet is very popular, and it is used for communication purposes majorly. They, therefore, are prone to cyber bullying because they are regularly replying to messages, sending and receiving information, and it is now easy to meet people from all over the world in the social websites. Lastly, the absence of a capable guardian is an issue. If there are guardians who can protect the young children from cyber bullying, then this social crime cannot take place. It is also important to consider the fact that some of the offenders are young people. If they are not monitored in what they are doing, they may start carrying out cyber bullying, which to them is a fun thing to do, so that they can see their peers suffer from stress and low self esteem.
However, there are measures that can be implemented to ensure that cyber bullying is no more. This means that the children, who are more often than not, the victims, need to be aware of cyber bullying. If these children know what cyber bullying is, and that they the various categories of it, then they can easily know when they have been bullied. This in turn means that they know what to do when such an instance occurs; for example, they can report such cases and the offenders are charged. If it is sending of sex messages to someone, then the offender can be charged with sexual assault. As for the adult generation, creating awareness will help reduce and eradicate the cases of cyber bullying. Perhaps the major reason why these cases go unreported is that the victims do not know what to do when they have been bullied. Some of them feel embarrassed about what is being spread a...