Cyberbullying

I don't really understand it. It seems like such bullying could be easily stopped as social media friends can be banned, and the IP addresses of unwanted email can be blocked. On the other hand, bullying at work or school can be a different matter, as often one cannot escape the bullies.

Anyhow, cyber-bullying is becoming a common way for young people to bully these days.

 

That's the thing, most cyber bullying is done at school or work, so the IP can't be blocked or traced to a user sometimes. My friend was cyber bullied at school and they did track down the culprits, but it is hard when it's children, because legally how do punish them and can you prove they actually did it?

These days it's easier to frame someone online, so that needs to be taken into consideration too.

 

As more and more people are using the internet, unfortunately that also means that bullying and trolling is becoming more of an issue, especially in social media.

While I think in the future there will be a way to stop this, for now I think the rise in popularity of the internet as been that fast that it's took everybody by surprise and people are still trying to catch up as far as security is concerned.

 

It can be very difficult to stop even if you do things like block IPs and such. From a purely tech standpoint all you can do is make it more difficult for somebody when they are determined to do it. It is said but true. It will take a major cultural and ethical shift to cure the problem at the source.

 

I don't think you guys entirely understand what they were trying to say. They are saying you can block "friends" on social medias so they don't contact you, and even emails have spam filters which you can set, or you can even make a new email account. However, I think personally when you're young, it's almost embarrassing. You usually blame yourself and want the person(s) bullying you to actually like you, so instead of blocking, you just deal with it, hoping you can change it.
I personally think to fix it we really need to make sure children know they can come to adults. That they won't get blamed for these things happening to them. But how can we do that, when we, as adults, can't stop doing it ourselves? We blame rape victims for the clothing they wear, or abused women for not doing whatever it is the abuser wanted, or domestic violence victims for not leaving immediately. How can our children come to us, judgement free, if we can't do that ourselves?

 

I will agree with you. Cyberbullying is more than blocking a person on Facebook. It involves several features: social isolation, embarrassment, social exclusion, and aggression that has implications we should not ignore.

 

Only problem is how to fix it. The only way, in my opinion is letting your children know that you are there for them no matter what. The problem with that, however, is that it doesn't always make them rely on you. It's usually at an age where they want to fit in, so they are either going to see it causing them more social issues down the road, or they want to handle it themselves, despite how it may make them feel, and in turn don't tell anyone about it.

 

I would agree with your response on many levels. Our society has to do a better job of bringing awareness to bullying before it becomes a crisis or headline. Cyberbullying occurs in an age where childhood is becoming more digital.

 

I feel like restrictions on some of those digital things should be part of it, but it's still a problem keeping kids from it, especially when it's seen as the "cool" thing to do. Maybe more education for the adults, rather than the children, about how to spot the signs of bullying.

 

I was referring more to building a society where conversation about bullying is proactive instead of just reactive. This is on the part of adults and children. Adults can help by recognizing risk factors, developing safe places where children feel safe to discuss bullying, and not actively particapting themselves in the cycle of violence that feeds bullying. Children and teenagers, despite their words, pay close attention and mirror the adults in their society.

 

While I agree with you, I'm bringing up the problem that there is the "pack mentality" and the need to feel like they fit in somewhere. Children may feel safe with adults, listen to them all their lives, respect them, and do what they're supposed to, but especially during the time of puberty and growing up, they want their peers to like them. If they think that going to an adult is going to ruin that, there's still a likelihood that they won't go to an adult.

 

Actually, that "pack mentality" is present in all human relationships, even in the workplace. Bullying can occur in any interpersonal situation. I get your point, though. Adolescence is a crucial time where we form our social identities. Bullying, at that stage, can have serious consequences in the present and the future.

 

Bullying does occur at any age but like you say, in childhood it can have life long consequences. Low self esteem and lack of confidence are just two symptoms of bullying from an early age, and that's includes all forms of bullying including cyberbullying.

People tend to assume that because it's not done face to face, it's not as bad but that's not the case at all.

 

I agree with you, but would argue that there are more factors involved than just low self-esteem and lack of confidence (though this may be the root of everything). In many cultures or parts of a culture, bullying is accepted as a part of life. We have to confront both the individual and social consequences of bullying in order to minimize its occurence.

 

I completely understood what was being said. Not only am I a fully functional adult with a good grasp of English, Information Technology is my field of expertise.