Introduction
Most of the modern high school students in the United States are always connected to the Internet. Social media, instant messengers and participation in all kinds of communities are accessible to young people around the clock via their laptops, tablets or mobile phones. The technological advances and its active use are a normal part of modern life, as it gives children the immediate access to the loads of information sources and promotes unrestricted communication possibilities. However, the openness and anonymity of the Internet have created a prolific ground for risks of violence and abuse, primarily in the form of cyberbullying.
The issue of bulling is a long-standing problem affecting high school students both in United States and abroad, as teens often act aggressive, while those, who are abused, are not willing to expose their vulnerabilities. However, with the emergence of information technology bullying has become more pervasive, as it is not limited to one place or certain amount of time. Nowadays, cyber bulling is getting a lot of attention from the public, and is researched and extensively covered in the media. The parties involved, such as parents, teachers and policy makers, are trying hard to prevent cyberbullying in high school environment, but the issue remains unsolved. The paper examines cyberbullying is a topical issue among high school students in the U.S. and studies its historical background, its causes and motivation of offenders, as well as its consequences on the involved parties.
Defining cyberbullying
Cyberbullying has emerged as one of the methods of bullying, so it shares its main characteristics, as well as having its own distinct ones. Bullying is characterized by hostile, aggressive behavior of an individual or group with the intention to harm someone with the help of physical force, verbal or psychological pressure. Hinduja and Patchin define cyberbullying as “willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices” (Hinduja & Patchin, 2014, p.2). Cyberbullying is a combination of bullying with the technological advances, as the aggressive behavior is observed not in the real life, but in cyberspace, so it does not involve physical force, but still can cause serious harm. It includes bullying through email, social networks, chat rooms, instant messengers, blogs and texting. Cyberbullying brings the phenomenon of bullying to the whole new level, as the anonymity gives the bully a chance not to face the reaction of the victim, while the distancing effect makes bully’s behavior crueler. Moreover, the actions of the bully are not limited by the constraints of place and time that allow them to completely invade the victims’ privacy. The further consequences are implied, as the victims may be exposed to the whole audience of bullies, as one act of bullying in the cyberspace may lead to repetitious threats. Therefore, the main characteristic of the cyberbullying is its harmfulness, intentionality, repetitiveness, anonymity and the use of information technologies.
Background
Cyberbullying is comparatively new phenomenon that is directly dependent on the development of information and communication technologies. The growing popularity of mobile phones and the Internet in the end of the 20th century were the first forerunners of cyber bullying. The studies show that in 2004, 45% of teenagers from 12 to 17 had their own cell phones, and it grew to 63% in 2006, and then to 71% in 2008 (Lenhart, 2009). The increased use of cell phones implied the change in the way teens communicate that was primarily characterized by the frequent use of texting. Naturally, the bullies started using phone calls and texting to attack their victims.
The Internet was also developing at unprecedented rates in 1990s, so it has become a major breeding ground of cyberbullying with the introduction of first social media networks, such as LiveJournal in 1999 and MySpace in 2003 (Boyd & Ellison, 2007, p.6). These were the first popular networks, where teens started to reveal their personal information that may have been quite sensitive, so the profiles and their owners were vulnerable targets for the perpetrators. At the same time the possibility to create profiles that mask the identity of the person gave the users the sense of anonymity and permissiveness. These advances triggered the first cyberbullying instances. Blogging sites were also frequently used in cyberbullying, as they allowed posting anonymous, and in the case of high school students, abusive or insulting comments. In the next years more and more social networks, such as Facebook, Youtube and Twitter arrived allowing the cyberbullies to spread their power.
Another advancement that increased the levels of cyberbullying is a smartphone. The smartphone allows accessing the Internet, and therefore, all of the methods of cyberbullying at once. The limits of time and place were actually going to the spread of smartphones among high school students. It also triggered the introduction of new projects, such as Instagram, Whatsapp and Chatroulette. According to the recent Pew Research Center, “aided by the convenience and constant access provided by mobile devices, especially smartphones, 92% of teens report going online daily — including 24% who say they go online ‘almost constantly’” (Lenhart, 2015). It basically means that almost every teenager is exposed to cyberspace on a daily basis with the implied risks of being cyberbullied.
All the advances directly influence the number of victims and offenders, as well as severity and consequences of the cyberbullying attacks. The recent research suggests that “about half (49.5%) of students indicated they had been bullied online and 33.7% indicated they had bullied others online” (Mishna, Cook, Gadalla, Daciuk & Solomon, 2014, p.362). These numbers have increased drastically in the last years with the growing popularity of Snapchat and Tinder, two applications frequently used by online predators. The development of telecommunication technologies in the last years has led to pervasiveness of cyberbullying in the digital culture and has triggered the appearance of variety of cyberbullying methods, which the cyberspace faces.
Causes of cyberbullying
The causes of cyberbullying include the range of factors that mainly depend on the inner feeling of the cyberbully that influence their motivation. These factors include “redirect feelings, revenge, make themselves feel better, boredom, instigation, protection, jealousy, seeking approval, trying out a new persona, anonymity/disinhibition effect” (Varjas, Talley, Meyers, Parris & Cutts, 2010).The first major cause of cyberbullying is the anonymity that allows having power over the person without accountable consequences. Possibility to increase one’s self-esteem is another factor that triggers high school students in the U.S. to cyberbully. The community requires behaving in a certain way, and while adolescents are easily influenced, they often become bullies, because of their desire to be a part of the group. Personal motivation, as in the case of a break-up, jealousy and revenge, helps a bully to justify his violence and redirect his feelings to the harmful activity.
Common causes of cyberbullying are intolerance and discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation and disability. As high school students are of the age, when they discover their identities, they become especially vulnerable to this kind of bullying that proves that their social circle does not accept them. Cyberbullying allows distancing themselves from their victims, so they do not feel the responsibility for their actions, while the virtual character of their deeds is not considered by cyberbullies, as causing real and serious harm. The role of the environment is also crucial, as exposure to violence at home may be the cause of redirection of cyberbully’s own vulnerability into proactive aggression (Calvete, Orue, Estévez, Villardón & Padilla, 2010).
Another factor, which causes cyberbullying, is the identity of the victim. The common motivation is that the victim is in some way different from the cyberbully. In the high school setting it may mean that the victims come from different socioeconomic, ethical, cultural or religious background or are less popular than their high-status bullies. Victimization may also concern personal characteristics of a person, such as shyness, loneliness or low self-esteem. The vulnerability of the victims makes them easy targets of cyberbullies, who in some cases humiliate the others just from boredom. In any case, the targets for cyberbullying are chosen according to bully’s belief of someone’s inferiority or difference.
Effects of cyberbullying
Cyberbullying can have serious social, psychological, emotional and cognitive consequences. First of all, cyberbullying makes a person feel vulnerable and different, as “victims experience lack of acceptance in their peer groups, which results in loneliness and social isolation” (Cowie, 2013). This lack of understanding and communication may lead to depression or other psychological disorder and in a long term it may cause communication problems. Cyberbullying attack also influences the victim psychologically, decreasing their self-esteem. These effects may appear more severe than the effects of traditional bullying, as their results, for example shameful video or picture, can stay on the web for a long time if not forever, so the victim will return to them again and again. Additionally, the sense of anonymity makes the victim even more uncertain, as the bully may appear to be one of their friends. It may lead to insomnia, sleep disorder and phobias, while in the long run these conditions may further aggravate the health of the victim. The worst consequence of cyberbullying is a suicide, so there is an urgent need to intervene before there will be more victims.
Cyberbullying can trigger traditional bullying at school, so the victim would feel pressured from all the sides and all the time. The lack of control over their lives may affect victim’s performance, productivity and cognitive abilities. Victimized person has to be always alert, but it does not save from humiliation. However, not only victims are at risks, as the recent study has proven. Bullies are also affected by their own harmful behavior. They may suffer from social isolation and lack of support that is realized through their malicious actions. Bullies are claimed to be “more likely than non-bullies to engage in a range of maladaptive and antisocial behaviors, and they are at risk of alcohol and drugs dependency; like victims, they have an increased risk of depression and suicidal ideation” (Cowie, 2013). As the government currently initiates policies concerning cyberbullying, cyberbullies are at risk to face legal prosecution for their actions. It means that every party is exposed to suffering as a result of cyberbullying.
Conclusion
The issue of cyberbullying is a result of the modern lifestyles that makes a great use of information and communication technologies. Combination of adolescents’ violence and lack of control with the digital technologies in the high school setting in the United States has triggered the appearance of cyberbullying. The history of cyberbullying shows the role of technological advance in the aggravating of the teenage cyber violence. The essence of digital communication creates unrestricted possibilities for high school students to redirect their feelings on other teenagers through cyberbullying. However, as a result both cyberbullies and victims are at risk of serious social, psychological and cognitive consequences of their behavior. The research paper implies that the well-grounded response is needed to address the issue.
References
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