Social media is prevalent in the modern world. It involves sharing and exchange of information and ideas in virtual communities and networks. It has gotten dramatically utilized in growing businesses by offering a broad market. It has, however, been not without its share of problems. There have been some extreme behaviors within social media platforms. It should, however, not discourage the use of social media as its merits supersede the demerits. One of the most rampant and biggest problems experienced is cyberbullying. It can get defined as harassment by the use of electronic means. It may involve the harassment of individuals online by either posting threats, rumors, or even sexual material. It may have effects on an individual, which might extend to their businesses or career. It mostly occurs in the context of relationship difficulties such as the break up of a friendship.
According to statistics conducted in the year 2012, cyberbullying has taken over from traditional bullying. It may be a dangerous trend as the internet is taking over the world. Social media gets much used by young adults who may expose them to online bullying. It may harm the youths. Researchers have identified this form of bullying to have very adverse effects on the emotional state of teenagers. The victims of this form of bullying often experience a lack of acceptance. Due to this, they often tend to isolate themselves from the group leading to loneliness. The lack of friends significantly affects their self-esteem, which leads to their depression. The bullies are affected by their behavior, which might lead to them engaging in distractive behaviors such as abuse of drugs. Due to a lack of confidence and the abuse of drugs by the victims and assailants, respectively, there are adverse effects. The effects might include dropping out of school and poor grades. At its extremes, depression due to cyberbullying might lead to suicide. Cyberbullying also does affect businesses. One can maliciously post an article that incriminates a particular company. It leads to a loss of credibility. It, in turn, leads to loss of revenue due to the reduced number of customers or consumers of a service. Ruining a company’s online reputation is very dangerous, as it takes time and effort to rebuild that again. It will, therefore, consume a lot of time as well as the company’s resources. The main problem of online rumors is they take their shape; therefore, damage control is very hard.
To address and contain this nightmare, its cause should get established. In most cases, bullies target their victims in terms of their strength. The assailants often target those who are weaker than themselves. It is also true among corporates as companies as a company might focus on its competitors to draw their customers away from them. However, bullying is not confined only in the highlighted environment as it may come from any direction. There are several ways to deal with bullying. The techniques include the technological approach to curb this menace. The best way is to create awareness among the youths as well as other internet users. It helps kin educating the users on the adverse effects of cyberbullying. Once they get well equipped with the relevant information on the impact of this kind of hatred, it will be easier for them not to practice it. Techniques such as blocking bullies or creating a panic button to report bullies would greatly help in the fight against cyberbullying. Those who are already experiencing this kind of bullying should say this to their parents. Parents are often their kid’s support system and will, therefore, lay down plans to curb this behavior. Also, they may seek help from guidance and counseling experts. The experts will guide them in terms of regaining their self-confidence as well as battling depression.
In case of threats, one is highly advised to involve the local authorities such as the police department. According to research, young adults are more likely to confide to their fellow peers. Therefore, online platforms where anonymity is guaranteed should get established to help in offering advice to those affected. Incorporations should be very sensitive to the content they are posting. Also, they should be proactive on their sites to garner positive comments, which greatly discourage bullies. Another very productive measure among the companies has allies who always support the institution when attacked by cyberbullies. Companies also create awareness for their employees to prevent them from supporting this outrageous and expensive habit. Another measure that can significantly help curb this danger gets sited establishing rules governing the site to discourage any form of bullying.
Cyberbullying should be much discouraged in society. The young should learn on their effects and thus exempt themselves from such kinds of behaviors. Tackling of bullying in its early stages has proven very productive, and therefore it is highly recommended. Cyberbullying should be a considerable concern to us all till it gets eradicated. The internet is supposed to be a safe abord and therefore let us say no to bullying.
References
Kowalski, Robin M., Susan P. Limber, and Patricia W. Agatston. Cyberbullying: Bullying in the digital age. John Wiley & Sons, 2012.
Smith, Peter K. “Cyberbullying and cyber aggression.” (2012).
Olweus, Dan, and Susan P. Limber. “Some problems with cyberbullying research.” Current opinion in psychology 19 (2018): 139-143.