Traits of a Cyberbully As society turns more and more digital, the way individuals get their information and communicate with one another is centralized around the Internet and mobile devices. This in turn creates another platform for bullying to occur, causing distress on both the victim, and as the study Characteristics of College Cyberbullies reveals, on the perpetrator also. Cyberbullying is an “intentional act with the purpose of harming someone that utilizes technology such as the Internet and cell phones,” a rising trend to where the victim sometimes does not even know the perpetrator (Schenk et al., 2013). It has been known that cyberbullying causes negative effects on the victim, but this study reveals that the people choosing to
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Stories in the media are often sensationalized and focus on the negative, causing the audience to attribute the issues of cyberbullying to only the involved individuals. Those who work as news or strategic communication should take into account the wide array of individuals that cyberbullying affects and incorporate that knowledge into their work by using the individual stories to paint a bigger picture; one that can teach bystanders and those involved how to deal with cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has gained popularity due to its constant broadcast in the news and the ease of accessibility to do it. Cyberbullying can be done with complete anonymity and immediacy of the web, leading students to do it before they can actually think their decision through. More students may choose to cyberbully than to bully face-to-face because of their lack of physical power and confidence to do it in person (Schenk et al., 2013). Studies have shown increasing instances of cyberbullying as age increases, leading researchers to believe that it is even more common in college settings than in high …show more content…
The habit of the news to talk about prominent events and individuals in society in a negative light seems to seep into the minds of its viewers, influencing them to look at events or people in their daily life in that same negative light. In the position of the media, stories with muted endings about cyberbullying appear frequently, but it is how that news source chooses to cover it that changes how the community perceives bullying as an issue. For instance, the 2010 suicide of a student at Rutgers University from cyberbullying caused the government to “develop legislation to address what is seen as a growing problem,” yet problems with cyberbullying, expectedly, still persist (Levy et al., 2012). When news depicts cyberbullying as specific cases and tragedies, citizens push the blame onto only those involved individuals rather than the issue in society as a whole. Without discussing the underlying causes and solutions to cyberbullying, society overlooks the broader cultural and social factors at play for everyone. Instead of focusing on specific incidents of cyberbullying, the news should turn their attention to the big picture of the fundamental origins of bullying and what bystanders can do to help the situation and prevent future cases from happening. Focusing on one event of cyberbullying
Stories in the media are often sensationalized and focus on the negative, causing the audience to attribute the issues of cyberbullying to only the involved individuals. Those who work as news or strategic communication should take into account the wide array of individuals that cyberbullying affects and incorporate that knowledge into their work by using the individual stories to paint a bigger picture; one that can teach bystanders and those involved how to deal with cyberbullying. Cyberbullying has gained popularity due to its constant broadcast in the news and the ease of accessibility to do it. Cyberbullying can be done with complete anonymity and immediacy of the web, leading students to do it before they can actually think their decision through. More students may choose to cyberbully than to bully face-to-face because of their lack of physical power and confidence to do it in person (Schenk et al., 2013). Studies have shown increasing instances of cyberbullying as age increases, leading researchers to believe that it is even more common in college settings than in high …show more content…
The habit of the news to talk about prominent events and individuals in society in a negative light seems to seep into the minds of its viewers, influencing them to look at events or people in their daily life in that same negative light. In the position of the media, stories with muted endings about cyberbullying appear frequently, but it is how that news source chooses to cover it that changes how the community perceives bullying as an issue. For instance, the 2010 suicide of a student at Rutgers University from cyberbullying caused the government to “develop legislation to address what is seen as a growing problem,” yet problems with cyberbullying, expectedly, still persist (Levy et al., 2012). When news depicts cyberbullying as specific cases and tragedies, citizens push the blame onto only those involved individuals rather than the issue in society as a whole. Without discussing the underlying causes and solutions to cyberbullying, society overlooks the broader cultural and social factors at play for everyone. Instead of focusing on specific incidents of cyberbullying, the news should turn their attention to the big picture of the fundamental origins of bullying and what bystanders can do to help the situation and prevent future cases from happening. Focusing on one event of cyberbullying