Risky Business: Cyberbullying DRAFT

More than 1 in 3 young people have experienced cases of cyberbullying and only 1 in 10 teens tell someone about the situation. Cyberbullying is “the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.” Cyberbullying is in no way beneficial because it brings down self esteem, causes one to have self acceptance issues and in most cases could possibly lead to depression or suicide.

Cyberbullying is a type of situation that almost everyone has gone through or will inevitable go through in a life time. Although, it is more common in a life of a teenager. Cyberbullying brings down the self esteem of a person with no doubt. Teens nowadays seek and crave behaviors and situations that encourage and help them value themselves in a positive point of view. With the society that we live in, seeking importance and love is so common in so many lives. According to ABC News, approximately 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying. And like anyone else, teenagers try to avoid people who bring them down or make them feel bad about who they are or who they want to be. It's part of our human instinct to avoid such things.

             Not only does cyberbullying affect a teenagers life and their "quest" to find value, but it also causes them to have self acceptance issues. They feel that they need to prove themselves opposite of what the person bullying them may say. Cyberbullying also affects the way the person sees themselves and it can greatly affect their decisions of changing who they are to be someone they're not. It plays a critical role in how they grow up and who they become to be. Cyberbullying shapes them into a total different person. Being in a situation of cyberbullying, the victim feels like they are imperfect and flawed because of the hate and negative messages or actions that are against them. In result, they create self acceptance issues.

              As a result of bullying, some situations have a great possibility of leading to depression and if really extreme - suicide. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non victims, according to studies by Yale University. Also, in a Britain study, it is said that half of suicides from young people are results of bullying. Less severely, bullying could result in ones depression leading to things such as ongoing sadness, withdrawal from others, losing interest in favorite activities, or trouble sleeping or eating. It is more common that victims and bullies suffer from depression compared to those who aren't involved with bullying. Ever so commonly, bullying is a huge factor of depression and suicide.

              Cyberbullying is definitely not a joke although in many cases it is taken lightly. As proven by facts and studies, it is shown that cyberbullying results in many different issues. Those who are victims of bullying sometimes have a harder time of talking about it, making cyberbullying in no way beneficial because it brings down self esteem, causes one to have self acceptance issues and it could possible lead to depression or suicide.