Traditional Bullying Vs Cyberbullying

Throughout the past decade, bullying has evolved from the schoolyard to the internet and in turn, become more vicious and hurtful. Traditional bullying takes place on the schoolyard. This means that it can not only be physically seen and heard, but it also involves an element of reflection and planning. On the other hand, cyber bullying utilizes technology such as email, texting, social media sites, and blogs in order to harm others. As well, in comparison to traditional bullying, cyber bullying can be more anonymous and instantaneous. Even though many people will argue that traditional forms of bullying are more harmful than their cyber equivalents due to their physical nature, cyber bullying can be worse than conventional forms of bullying …show more content…
One way that they differ is through the element of anonymity. Aune describes this phenomenon, arguing that the unknown identity of the perpetrator brings bullying to an entirely new level. Traditional bullying can be physically seen and heard, which makes it was easier to identify a perpetrator. As bad as schoolyard thug may be, at least he/she is a known person one can avoid. An online perpetrator is often anonymous which leaves the victim to wonder who the cyber bully is, further heightening their frustration and anxiety (Kowalski et al 62). Anther way cyber bullying differs from traditional bullying is in its virality and the potential for an "infinite audience" (Shariff 33). In cyberspace, hundreds of perpetrators can get involved in the abuse. Kids who may not have had the courage to engage in the bullying at school can hide behind technology to inflict abuse (Shariff 33). Further, these online communications have a permanence that can be difficult to erase. Emails and defamatory material about a person on the Internet are hard to remove once posted, as millions of people can download and save it immediately. These messages can then be forwarded on to hundreds of other people and become completely out of the grasp of the victim (Shariff 34). Lastly, cyber bullying differs from traditional bullying in its instantaneous nature. Franek argues that "technology . . .has all but erased the reflection time that once existed between planning a silly prank and actually committing the deed" (as cited in Kowalski et al 41). Sending an offensive message online is much easier to do because one can not see the recipients face. For instance, cyber harassment involves repetitive offensive messages sent to a target. Most often, messages are sent via personal communication channels, such as email, but it can also be found in more public sources, such as