Cyberbullying, the new technological way teens are harassing their classmates. The word, Bully, dates back to the 1530s. Most basic bullying involves two people, an intimidator and a victim. The bully or intimidator then physically, verbally or by other means assaults said person in order to gain power and/or control over the victim (Donegan 33). Cyberbullying is not only easier than traditional bullying, but it allows the offender to mask their identity and not see the physical response of their victim (Donegan 33). The use of technology has caused bullies to say and post crueler things. Students who commit cyberbullying should be suspended from school because it creates anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression and encourages retaliation.
Anxiety about going to school can cause missing class which will in turn lead to bad grades. Victims of bullying, especially adolescents feel uneasy about …show more content…
Others believe that the school board is not to blame for the problems with cyberbullying but rather the parents of the children who are committing the cyberbullying. What happens in the school yard is obviously the responsibility of the school system (Laitano 1). Since cyberbullying does not happen technically “on school grounds” how can the school step in? The school should not suspend cyberbullies because it is the victim’s job to log off these websites and ignore these bullies. Some say that it is the law enforcements job to monitor online, not the schools. Some school leaders say that they do not want to be responsible for what happens online because they do not want to be sued for something that they cannot really control. Also some administrators claim that it is too costly to monitor (Academic Language for All - Pair with WG 3.16, 2). Cyberbullying may happen off of school grounds but it definitely affects students’ performance at