Title- The Rise Of Cyber Bullying

Reader Digest May 2008, pg 115 to pg 119

Done by AngChniaGhee(15)

Class 3e 14 June 2008

Many people are bullied and taunted in the internet.It Could be through instant messaging, Chatting online, calls on mobile phones, posting embarrassing videos and photos on internet and many more which causes people to do foolish things like suicide.

A 2007 study by US-based Pew Internet and American Life Project found the one third of American teens have been targeted for cyber bullying. It is turning obvious that aspects of online communication had encouraged people to act more aggressively, doing stuffs people would never dare to try doing in reality,no one would dare to do bad things in front of everyone,but if there is no one around, there is nothing to be afraid. Internet enabled people to reach out to even more people, this means cyber bullying can have even more negative effects on the victims. A 2006 study by UK-based internet market researh firm YouGov found out that For 1 in 8 young people, cyber bullying is worse than physical bullying. This is because when you post it in the internet, everyone can see it. Would you like to keep your embarrassing moments to yourself or telling the world wide world that you are gay or something?

Another reason why cyber bullying is harmful is its relentless attack. When you get bully in school, it will end quickly when school ends or during holidays. However, the internet is always on, it does not have holidays or something, it is on 24/7 for the whole year. Many people said that it can be ended by offing the computer, but is it possible? Another factor that worsen matter is getting to know who is behind all these ? When one gets bullied, they would like to know who is that and maybe they could have revenge on them. But in the internet, bullies can stay anonymous, they can do whatever harmful stuffs to you without you knowing who they were. That would be even more torturous as you could not do anything about it, this would amplify the damage done to the victims.

After reading this article, i felt really sorry for the people that got bullied and ending up in a very sad state. It is not their fault, nobody wants to get bullied, nobody wants to have a bad family background, facial features not inline, their embarrassed secret leaked out to everyone and many more.They do not deserve all that.Another thing that is on my mind is that does it feel good to bully others?Maybe at first, but what would you end up with? Enemies, hate, guilt, regrets and many more. Is it worth it? Why can't people just get along together and live a happy life? I think that victims should not take all these too hardly, treat it as a joke, never resort to foolish ways. You can also get help from your parents or turn to WiredSafety or other online safety and help groups.