My Final Essay

So when I started this blog about a month ago I wanted this to be a fun and just kind of a informational thing to let everyone who's obsessed with me keep in touch with what I was doing. Because if you're obsessed with me were probably not friends on snapchat and you only follow my Instagram or Facebook where I try to look as sweet and cool looking as possible... which isn't me. Well I mean it is but I'm much more boring in real life.

About a month ago for my English class I had to create a PSA on something that I felt was important and write a speech to go along with it. My mom keeps nagging me to post this on here and some of my friends mentioned I should too. I told my mom it didn't really go along with my blog theme but then I realized SCREW IT THIS BLOG IS WHATEVER I MAKE IT!! so I hope I don't offend anyone and if I do then contact me through my cute little contact thing and if you just want to let me know what you think you can totally do that too!

Enjoy!!

Cyberbullying and its Effects:

The media throughout the year has expanded immensely. With the sudden technological boom, a new source of media was introduced. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and several other forms of social media began a new phase of entertainment. Although positive in many ways, media has brought up a new form of bullying that brings a negative aspect upon teenagers and young adults. Cyberbullying has brought a negative impact on nearly 43% of kids with access to internet.

So what is cyberbullying? Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature. More and more teenagers are writing off cyber bullying as something that does not exist or something that is as easy to escape as putting down one's phone or turning off one's computer. National Crime Prevention Council performed a survey and collected data that claims that 81% of youth said that others cyberbully because they think it’s funny. This goes into one gaining social status, popularity or even more followers. Studies from the Pennsylvania Family Support show that girls are twice as likely as boys to be victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. Don’t you think that’s interesting? Girls are not only more likely to be the victims, but they are also more likely to be the perpetrators. So why? This is due to the innate differences between boys and girls. Girl bullying often differs from that of boys because girls in general have different ways of interacting with one another. Boys tend to be more aggressive than girls and are often more involved in physical bullying. In general, boys tend to bully in physical ways while girls use emotional tactics. Girls tend to be sneakier and more covert in their bullying tactics, which may be why hiding behind a computer screen or a cell phone seems so appealing.

So what’s the big deal? Why should we care about this new form of bullying? Cindy Reed, Ed. D, director found that too many adults are passing off bullying as a “right of passage”, however bullying victims are 2-9x more likely to consider committing suicide. Is the loss of a life worth the temporary social gain or light chuckle? Too many kids feel like it’s them against the world. They feel like they do not have a voice to speak out and that no one will stand up for them. Only 1 in 10 victims will inform their parents or trusted adult of their cyber abuse. To feel so alone in the world and feel like nothing's going your way is an indescribable feeling. One can physically shut down. They may not feel hungry anymore or no longer care as much about personal health. One may lose sleep by laying awake at night hoping tomorrow will not involve having to see the person who did this and praying that it won’t happen again. One may mentally shut down. They will no longer lift oneself up and can slowly start losing self confidence and the feeling of self worth. About 13% of teens who use social media said that they had an experience on a social network that made them feel nervous about going to school the next day.

So what can you do if you are going through this or know someone going through this? Talk to a teacher, parent, or a friend. You may feel insignificant and feel like your problem is not a big deal. This may start to weigh down on you and you may become more overwhelmed. It is essential and important to talk to someone.

I am a victim of cyberbullying. I was a victim of this in form of bullying throughout every single year of high school starting in 8th grade. Most prominently my senior year in high school. The cyber bullying got so bad it transferred to physical shouting and chanting at me throughout the school day. At first I kept quiet. I felt like I was over exaggerating my feelings and that it probably was not as bad as it seems. My second instinct was to tell someone. I told my parents one night as I burst into tears because I felt like there was nothing that I could do about the problem. I felt like no one would fess up to what they were doing to me so what was the point of bringing it up to the school teachers or the principal. My parents took it to the principal anyways. After missing 2 full class days in the principal's office trying to figure out what could be done, no action was taken. The principal even claimed to me that this was the worst form of bullying she had ever encountered in her years of working for the school district and in the school system. The bullies were confronted and talked to but no punishment was given. It didn’t help that these were football players, and they had a big game coming up that weekend. I guess the principal felt that a warning was all they needed in order to never do it again. However, a couple of months later this particular group striked again. Knowing now what the principal did before I knew I could not go to her again. When they walked into the classroom the day after the cyber attack I had to leave the room because I could not breathe. I had just experienced my first anxiety attack. Each day got better and better as I have just had to deal with being around them while having everyone ignore me and pretend nothing happened. No one should have to go through this.

So what can you do? If you are a teacher, I ask you to reach out to your students if you find that they are having a particularly rougher day than usual. If you are a principal and someone comes to you with an issue, treat the bully as if they were any kind of kid and go by protocol, not by personal feelings or worrying about something as trivial as a game. If you are a parent, talk to your kids and work with them on ways they can build up their confidence again. Just be their friend that they may not have any friends anymore. If you are a friend, be there for them. Back them up when people are attacking them, don’t stay on the sidelines. If you are a bully, think. Think before you tweet, text or comment on someone's profile. How would you feel if it happened to you? If you are a victim, stay strong. There are more people than you know who care about you and realize your self worth even when you do not. See what you can do in your community to help those who are struggling. You can make a difference. Start now.

I hope you guys enjoyed this and it made you think :)

love, ally b