The Psychology Behind New Bullying Technology has revolutionized the way in which we as people interact with one another. Along with all the additive benefits the internet has introduced, it has also reinvented the traditional form of bullying. No longer does the problem require the stereotypical bully and victim personas such as being timid and fearful, or big and mean. A circumstance has been created where almost anyone can be labeled as either the bully or the victim, and is not necessarily dependent on an individuals social background. Due to technology, the psychology behind a modern case of bullying is different than ever before, and has altered why bullies bully, and what makes someone be characterized as one .
There is a fundamental …show more content…
What do they all have in common? How easy they are to click and what they all represent, which is approval. Coincidentally, what the stereotypical bully craves is attention and approval from his peers. Essentially, this need has now been translated over to the internet, and become an even bigger problem than before. Jaana Juvonen, a professor of developmental psychology conducted an experiment based around what makes a mean kid inherently mean. What she found was, “Most bullies have almost ridiculously high levels of self-esteem” contrary to the popular belief that they have a very low self esteem. Juvonen continues, “What’s more, they are viewed by their fellow students and even by teachers not as pariahs but as popular — in fact, as some of the coolest kids at school.” (Juvonen) She continued to explore the link between bullying and popularity by having students and teachers identify which kids were the bullies and which were the victims out of a survey of children in the 4th and 5th grades and then in middle school, and then additionally say which students were popular and which weren’t. The interesting thing that Juvonen and her team found is that in elementary school, there was almost no connection between being considered “cool” and being a bully, yet once the students entered …show more content…
Of course, there is no answer on how to stop cyber bullying from occurring, just as there was no guaranteed solution to traditional bullying. Despite this, the most crucial thing is to educate. Educate unknowing kids of how their words actually affect others on the internet and to educate them on how to use the internet to empower themselves, and not diminish others. Finally, it is important to build character in a person, something that may now be lost due to the maze of technology that may either connect or separate us. In the great words of Martin Luther King Jr, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”
There is a fundamental …show more content…
What do they all have in common? How easy they are to click and what they all represent, which is approval. Coincidentally, what the stereotypical bully craves is attention and approval from his peers. Essentially, this need has now been translated over to the internet, and become an even bigger problem than before. Jaana Juvonen, a professor of developmental psychology conducted an experiment based around what makes a mean kid inherently mean. What she found was, “Most bullies have almost ridiculously high levels of self-esteem” contrary to the popular belief that they have a very low self esteem. Juvonen continues, “What’s more, they are viewed by their fellow students and even by teachers not as pariahs but as popular — in fact, as some of the coolest kids at school.” (Juvonen) She continued to explore the link between bullying and popularity by having students and teachers identify which kids were the bullies and which were the victims out of a survey of children in the 4th and 5th grades and then in middle school, and then additionally say which students were popular and which weren’t. The interesting thing that Juvonen and her team found is that in elementary school, there was almost no connection between being considered “cool” and being a bully, yet once the students entered …show more content…
Of course, there is no answer on how to stop cyber bullying from occurring, just as there was no guaranteed solution to traditional bullying. Despite this, the most crucial thing is to educate. Educate unknowing kids of how their words actually affect others on the internet and to educate them on how to use the internet to empower themselves, and not diminish others. Finally, it is important to build character in a person, something that may now be lost due to the maze of technology that may either connect or separate us. In the great words of Martin Luther King Jr, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”