Examining the Causes and Solutions to Cyberbullying, Essay Example

It is the nature of technology in the Information Age to provide new means by which people can be connected. Communication technology, including the internet and cellular phones allow people to stay in touch through texting and social networking websites, among other things. Children, like adults, utilize these technologies to stay in touch with peers. Because cyberbullying is done using technology that can be monitored, it is ultimately caused by a lack of involvement and monitoring by parents and academic institutions. Cyberbullying is caused by lack of involvement and monitoring by parents and academic Institutions

Unfortunately, this technology that allows unprecedented amounts of contact between friends and family can also be utilized by child bullies to bear down upon their peers. Cyberbullying is the term that applies to this type of behavior, when a person threatens, humiliates, or harasses another person over the internet or other modern communication technology.

Just like in the schoolyard, children are the most common victims, and perpetrators of cyberbullying. Through the use of message boards, social networking, and even cellular phone technology, students can reach out to harass other students before and after school. This harassment most often takes the form of bullies spreading false information about victims, or simply sending threatening messages over the internet. It can also take the form of cyber attacks on  victim’s system, in the case of more technologically inclined bullies.

Most cases of cyberbullying involve the internet. In September 2010, four high school students from across the country committed suicide. Traditional bullying, as well as harassment over the internet was found to be an aspect of each student’s life. All four students were homosexual, which would make them a traditional target for bullies, both online and in person (Cloud).

Most American children have access to online social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. According to Jennifer Holladay on page 5 the article “Cyberbullying”:

Today, 93% of children ages 8 to 18 have computers at home, 66% have cell phones, and 76% own another multimedia device, such as an iPod.

In addition, parental control is almost nonexistent in most cases. Jennifer Holladay goes on in pages 6 and 7 of “CYBERBULLYING” to say that

A 2009 study from Common Sense Media found that parents nationally underestimate children’s use of social networking sites and are often unaware of how they are used.

This means that students are not only free to pursue bullying practices free from consequence and intervention by parents, but also that bullied students are often forced to deal with the harassment on their own. Without a parent or guardian to intervene and put an end to bully behavior, the practice is allowed to continue. In addition, bullied students lack any sort of support and intervention structure from parents because of the relatively high level of disregard that parents show for children’s online activities (Holladay).

The level of intervention that can be assumed by parents on both ends is quite extensive. Most social networking sites offer monitoring services as well as alerts and parental controls to control usage. Experts suggest that parents be given full access to children’s social networking and other online activities through the usage of technologies that control and record computer behavior.

Since it is possible to keep such close tabs on the online activities of children, it is clear that the fault lies as much with the parents of bullies as with the bullies themselves. Since the resources exist to control online activity, parents must take responsibility for their children and ensure that their children are not acting as bullies. In addition, parents must be vigilant and work to ensure their children’s safety from bullies while online as well. The resources available make it a simple task for parents to take control of their children’s online activity and limit the risks to which their children are exposed while online.

Barriers to appropriate intervention by parents are numerous. Parents often simply neglect to monitor children’s activities, or rely solely on internet censoring software to protect children from obscenity. They fail to realize the real danger of cyberbullying and do not consider that their children could be victims or perpetrators in a dangerous, and harmful online activity. In other cases, parents may fail to recognize the danger of cyberbullying and simply dismiss it as kids being kids.

Though it is ultimately the responsibility of the parent to control a child’s behavior, some experts also suggest that schools implement courses to teach online community skills to students. These courses would inform the students about the dangers online, including cyberbullying.

These methods could be used to implement anti aggression training and work to prevent bullying both online and in person (Walker). Though this seems to be a noble effort, it would seem that any effort to curb bullying itself would be limited in its scope. If bullying could be eliminated, then it would likely have been eliminated on a personal level by these means.

Other solutions to cyberbullying include improvements in the areas of cybersecurity. Students and parents can be allowed to block certain undesirable activities and people from interaction with children. Though cybersecurity solutions such as privacy protection can assist in putting a stop to cyber bullying, it is ultimately up to parents to protect their children from cyberbullies, and to prevent their children from engaging in cyberbullying online (Luther et al. 27).

Conclusion

Cyberbullying is caused by lack of involvement and monitoring by parents and academic Institutions. In the end, the solution to the problem of cyberbullying lies primarily with the parents. Both the parents of bullies and of victims must work together to safeguard their children and control their online activities. Though the responsibility ultimately lies with the parents, there are many steps that can be taken by school administrators, peers, and teachers to discourage cyberbullying and help to ensure the safety of students. In the end, education and intervention are the only remedies to the problem of cyberbullying, but there can be some intervention of cybersecurity measures.

Works Cited

Cloud, John “Bullied to Death?” from Time Vol. 176 Issue 16, p 60-63, 2010. Print.

Holladay, Jennifer “Cyberbullying” from Education Digest Vol. 76, Issue 5, p4-9: 2011. Print.

Luther, Frances, Brown, Linda, Connor, Karen, Hanson, Ilona, Madden, Cheryl, Patterson-Shuman, Amy, Sharpe, Gina “Using Digital Technologies and Traditional Resources to Promote Cybersecurity: An Annotated Bibliography” in Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, Vol. 77, Issue 1, p22-27: 2010. Print.

Walker, Hill M. “Relational Aggression in Schools: Implications for Future Research on Screening Intervention and Prevention.” From School Psychology Review: Vol. 39 Issue 4, p594-600 2010. Print.