Theses statement
Cyber bullying is a problem that many teenagers have to face daily while at school or carrying out extracurricular activities away from their parents, and has serious short-term and long-term effects
Introduction
According to Kulkarni, Ravindran & Freeza (2007; 115), the easier the current technology becomes the higher, the risk of information leakage especially among young generations. Today’s boys and do not require personal confrontation because they always face many threats in different websites that they access every day. Bullying is an action of the past practiced by young teenagers, but the emergence of technology has provided them with a new platform for such unacceptable actions. Cyber bullying is an action of harassing, threatening, embarrassing, or targeting an individual using technology, mostly the internet. Cyber bullying makes use of different technology communication tools such as e-mails; online social sites such as Face Book or twitter; interactive games and cell phones. A survey conducted from December 2006 to January 2007 revealed that more than 70% of the 2500 respondents faced cyber bullying in one way or another.
Parents and teachers find it hard to recognize a child being bullied because they are always reluctant to say. Some of the most common signs are emotional distress after accessing a phone or internet device. Second, the kid becomes protective of their digital life. In addition, cyber bullying makes a child withdraw from common friends and normal activities. Such children should receive serious counseling in order to prevent effects that follow because of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is an extremely dangerous act that should be discouraged by parents among their children. Cyber bullying has severe effects, both short-term and long-term effects to the victim (Kowalski, Limber, & Agatston 55-61).
Short-term effects of cyber bullying
Cyber bullying has dangerous short-term effects to both the bully and the victim. Repeated cyber bullying creates greater risks to a victim associated with anxiety, and depression. The victim faces extreme depression whereby the victim seems always sad and withdrawn. The following effect interferes with an individual’s concentration, especially in class because most cyber bullying victims are students in schools and colleges. In addition, bullying makes a victim loose self esteem, and self worth of an individual. The actions of a bully might discourage an individual from continuing with their activities because they acquire doubts about the consequences of any action they take. For example, a student might be threatened how certain subjects are unworthy taking making such a student lose interest in education, and lose self esteem (Sheridan 2012).
Moreover, individuals who experience cases of cyber bullying have difficulties in sleeping. The actions are not only limited to the period when the victim is online, but also extends to different situations in life. Due to anxiety, fear, and depression, an individual misses regular sleeps due to night panics. On the other hand, cyber bullying causes problems associated with physical symptoms like, stomach upsets, headache, and tiredness. The bullying actions affect the normal operation of body organs due to sudden fear and worries. The blood flow to essential organs is interfered with leading to pain complains in different parts, especially the head and the stomach. Since most bullies are school going children, cyber bullying makes an individual lack interest in education. The victim ends up not completing his or her studies. This is a crucial situation because it affects even parents who face loss of their money on school fees (Sheridan 2012).
According Sheridan, bullying also makes victims fear attending social events because they might face people who threatened resulting to embarrassment. Most people, who have been victims of cyber bullying, claim that it makes a person hate almost everybody including the parents and removes the desire of sharing with friends. In addition, the victim feels departed and thinks everybody approaching him/her has an objective of bullying them physically. The victim looses interest in most activities involving large groups of people like sports, campaigns, and church gatherings (2012).
Bullies also face certain effects resulting from their unethical actions. Parents have the responsibility of ensuring their students have proper manners while accessing using the present technology to avoid such effects discussed below. First, the bully has difficulties in maintaining friendship with colleagues. The intimidating nature and personality of a bully makes other fear him/her making it hard to make friends. The few friends that such people have are forced friendships since the victim fears consequences thus have to cooperate. Such situations make bullies find difficult marinating a strong friendship because they also fear their victims might also attack them unexpectedly. Second, the bully always has many struggles dealing with the school life because it reduces studying interests. The individual always concentrates on the type of threats, and victimization methods to use towards cyber bullying victims even if the lecture is going on. In addition, the individual finds more time concentrating on online events and finds no time dealing with class work at all.
Third, cyber bullying creates problems with the law. Once noticed the bully faces full actions of the law. Most countries and states have passed laws against cyber bullying and violators face serious consequences. An individual bullying others using online support faces serious charges associated with the criminal conviction against them. Some of the most common consequences are imprisonment, or getting serious physical disciplinary actions. Fourth, cyber bully experiences high risks of drug abuse. The bully needs some stimulants to assist in quick thinking. In addition, doing some actions does not require a sober mind so the bully always seeks the help of drugs in performing cyber bullying activities (Ezinearticles 2012).
Long-term effects of cyber bullying
Apart from the short term effects cyber bullying has many impacts on the victim’s adult life. When immediate actions are taken towards the victims, these long term effects are not experienced. First, cyber bullying could result into severe mental disorders related to anxiety. In most cases, victims develop anxiety disorders by bullies get affected most. In addition, bullies develop antisocial disorders where they spend their entire adult live lonely. In addition, the victim is tempted to commit murder because of the fear inflicted inside them. Such individuals never enjoy their normal life and see every person as an enemy, or a murderer. Moreover, the depression forces a victim to hate family members thinking they are the contributors to his/her problems.
Second, cyber bullying results into psychological trauma disorders According to American psychological Association, post-trauma stress disorder develops in victims who experience extremely traumatic events leaving them depressed (2012). Victims of cyber bullying face several traumas from bullies who make their adult live miserable. In addition, they always experience nightmares, flashbacks, and memories of the teenage life that makes them more traumatized and develop anxious feelings that end up disrupting their lives. Moreover, victims experience situations of irritable moods whereby an individual becomes extremely active but an undecided and with no observable results. The victim is always full of energy, but and performs abnormal actions led by false perceptions.
Third, cyber bullying has a long term effect associated with the victim developing the self destructive behavior. According to DCDAWNP the bullied victim keeps the memories of the childhood life and thinks about ways of destructing any object that seem to have been the cause. In certain circumstances, reports of victims burning down houses, cutting down plantations, and destroying household goods are reported concerning cyber bullying victims. The depressions implanted on these individuals at a young age make them see no benefit of object, even those that are of importance to their lives. Moreover, the victim cannot maintain anything in the family because any feeling that brings out these flashbacks make the victim destroys anything as a protection measure. The following effect is very dangerous especially to those who own families because they can end up injuring people around them (2010).
On the other hand, cyber bullies experience long term effects that see them increase their actions leading to high conviction percentage after the age of 24 years. Since the individual was introduced to crimes at a young age, they end up performing other technology associated crimes like cyber terrorism. In addition, the short term effect of drug abuse continues to adult age where the bully becomes totally dependent on alcohol and illegal drugs. Moreover, these people always face unstable family life due to frequent quarrels with their spouses and child abuse. A bully continues with the dangerous actions by even victimizing their spouses for failure to act according to their desires. The following effect makes a bully face difficulties in maintaining a stable relationship. Spouses who learn the behavior of a lover who was a cyber bully terminates the relationship in fear of being victims of the same. On the other hand, the cyber bully has no humble time with the family members leading to quarrels with the spouse, and negligence from children. Extreme effects lead to serious illness that may result into suicide cases and unexpected death.
Conclusion
Cyber bullying is a serious offence that should be discouraged among young people. The introduction of technology has accelerated the bullying actions because children as young as 3 years have knowledge of using the internet. In addition, parents should take the responsibility of educating their children on dangers associated with cyber bullying. On the other hand, the government and states should put up laws that take control of such individuals who interfere with lives of their colleagues. Cyber bullying should be discouraged in order to avoid threats founds in the growing society. There are hundreds of cases globally showing dangerous effects caused by cyber bullying. This calls for the government to put up strict measures towards the situation since it continues to worsen every day. The poor understanding of cyber bullying and the security network in many countries have led to increased cases among young people.
Works cited
DCDAWNP. The effects of bullying & cyberbullying. 2010. Retrieved from:
http://dcdawnp.webs.com/depression.htm
Security. Department of Defence. DoDEA Regulation 4700.2. 2002
Ezinearticles. The Short Term Effects of Cyber Bullying. 2012. Retrieved from:
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Short-Term-Effects-of-Cyber-Bullying&id=6476604
Kowalski, R. M., Limber S., & Agatston, P. Cyber Bullying: Bullying in the Digital Age.
Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell, 2007.
Kulkarni, U. R., Ravindran, S. & Freeza, R. “A Knowledge Management Success
Model. Journal of Management Information Systems. Emerald Management Reviews. 23 (3), 2007.
Sheridan, W. J. Short and Long Term Effects of Bullying-The Victim & the Bully. 2012.
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