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Cyberbullying: A Federal Crime

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Imagine you are a parent of a child who commits suicide because they are bullied or dumped by their boyfriend / girlfriend, or they were gay. How would you feel? This is what is happening to teenagers in our generation. Megan Meier of Missouri hanged herself at age of thirteen because she was publicly dumped by her boyfriend. Also, Ryan Halligan took his life at the age of thirteen in New Jersey after rumors spread online that he was gay and Alexis Pilkington of New York got a harassing post on Facebook; even after her suicide, the issue is continued as an example of cyberbullying on a memorial website set up by friends called Giveeverythingbutup.com. According to Jemica Carter and Feleta Wilson in the article “Cyberbullying: A 21st …show more content…

According to Google cyberbullying is defined as the “use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature”. Cyberbullying is a form of assault in which teens damge their peers. Cyberbullying can be both mentally and emotionally destructive. Should cyberbullying be a federal crime? Some believe that cyberbullying is a disease and has led to teen suicide; while others argue that is should not be a federal crime, and that it is unconstitutional. Furthermore cyberbullying is actually declining. Because cyberbullying is highly controversial, students, parents, and teachers should carefully consider multiple viewpoints before making any …show more content…

Cyberbullying has been overlooked since there is no physical contact, but in reality it is a big deal and las driven some into depression, anxiety, and suicide. “Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 13 to 19-year-olds, after unintended injury and before homicides, and the teen suicide rate has risen recently.” ( Mantel 1 ). Unfortunately, teen’s suicide rates have increased tremendously in the past few years. Opponents argue that cyberbullying should not be a federal crime. Also, cyberbullying is not seen as a disease, and there is no cause for public panic. Cases like Megan Meier have contributed to what appears as a panic and have been a source of negativity in the news headlines. It also would be unconstitutional. High profile cases such as Maegan Meier draw Media attention and even lead to proposed legislation in Congress. Megan Meier Cyber Bullying Preventions Act was introduced in Congress in 2009 as the result of the cyberbullying of Megan Meier which ended in her suicide, which would set a prison term of two years for anyone using electronic means to bully, but it was not enacted ( Waggoner

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Someone might argue that if people do nothing against cyberbullying then it might lead to physical violence and that shouldn’t happen. In source 3 it states “ the lack of immediate emotional feedback in cyberbullying allows aggressors to often continue the hurtful behavior unchecked.” This tells us that cyberbullying happens and often continues because they don’t have emotional feedback from being there and unlike cyberbullying people “immediately see the hurt they have caused to the target” which most people wouldn’t do. What should happen is cyberbullying prevention in schools to deter people from and warn others of the effects of cyberbullying. In source 1 it states “And bypassing the Prevention Act, we’re deterring people from engaging in cyberbullying by showing such behavior punishable by crime that won't be tolerated” although I don’t agree with the punishable by crime statement I do think that people should be warned and deterred from cyberbullying in

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(Paragraph 8). With bullies i the real world we can stop them because we see who it is. With bullies at school o another physical place they can or will physically harm the child, but mental trauma from cyberbullies is even harder to cope with. We need a law against the cruelty towards others in all states if it 's for children or adults.

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Many people believe that Cyber bullying is a real and very serious problem in the community, however, I disagree. I feel that it was a waste of time and a paragraph to include cyber bullying in the school’s bully policy. stopbullying.gov defines cyberbullying as “A form of bullying that takes place over digital devices like cell phones, computers, and tablets. Cyberbullying can occur through SMS, Text, and apps, or online in social media, forums, or gaming where people can view, participate in, or share content”(StopCyberBullying. Gov) .While

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The article, "Girl 's suicide Points to Rise in Apps Used by cyberbullies," by Lizette Alvarez, she describes how cyberbullying can help lead to suicide; inbetween traditional bullying and cyberbullying people/humans can break so easily. In Florida there is growing list of children and teens committing suicide due to bullying. Due to new technology, it is increasingly difficult for parents to keep up with their children 's complex digital lives because of this, the suicide rate is going up. Although showing off your scares and razor blades isn 't the best choice, people do it anyways. Although someone might be physically strong, emotionally and mentally they may be much weaker; no matter how hard you fight or try to fight you will fall at

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Laws such as the one discussed in the article are extremely vital to end cyber bullying in our society. Without laws like these, in many cases, bullies could get away with their terrible, harmful actions because of previous loop holes and gray areas. Thankfully, these laws have made many people think twice before becoming a cyber bully. Personally, I have seen a number of my peers decide against posting a harassing comment on social media, due to fear of the consequences that these laws are enforcing.

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The article “Girl’s Suicide Points to Rise in Apps Used by Cyberbullies” by Lizette Alvarez unfolds the cattuses of Rebecca Ann Sedwick’s suicide. The point of the first section is that Rebecca Ann Sedwick had killed herself, and cyberbullying can lead to teen suicide or other punishments. The point of the second section is how Rebecca began getting bullied by kids online, and how her family attempted to stop her from hurting herself. The third section’s point is how it’s difficult for parents now a day to keep up with their child’s cyber life.

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Some people could say that kids should be prosecuted for harassment and stuff like that but all that will do is scare kids not show them what there really doing to other kids. So they may stop but they will never really understand what other kids feel and think about themselves or others. The real solution to cyberbullying isn’t criminal prosecution, its education and selective participation. (Source 2 paragraph

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Cyberbullying and the First Amendment Matthew Trotti Grand Canyon University: POS 500 2/23/16 Cyberbullying and the First Amendment In todays world and the 21st century technology is everywhere and access to that technology is at everyone’s fingertips. Due to social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter things like cyberbullying have become a new way of bullying. The definition of cyberbullying is “bullying that takes place using electronic technology” (What is Cyberbullying). This paper will talk about the topic of cyberbullying and the steps that I am required to take if I hear from a student that they are being bullied on Facebook.

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The act defines cyber bullying as inflicting hurt or psychological distress involving but not limited to the following: teasing, social exclusion, stalking, threat, intimidation and public or private humiliation. According to the act, cyber bullying includes bullying through the use of technology or electronic communication. This includes but is not limited to, any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data transmitted in whole part by radio, wire, electromagnetic systems including but not limited to instant messages, Internet communication, electronic mail. This may include the creation of webpages or weblogs where the creator of such impersonates another and posts messages under such pretense, resulting in conditions specified above as bullying. Similarly, cyber bullying also occurs when content is distributed or posted on an electronic medium accessible to one or more persons, where such results in conditions specified above as

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Is Cyberbullying Protected Free Speech? As U.S. citizens we are granted the right to free speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Oxford English Dictionary defines freedom of speech as the, “freedom to express one’s opinions without censorship, legal penalty, or any other restraint, especially when regarded as a right.” The problem our courtrooms have run into is how to dictate freedom of speech cases when dealing with cyberbullying.

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The days in which young people were able to get away from negative influences and bullying are over. According to stopbullying.gov, “Digital devices offer an ability to immediately and continuously communicate twenty-four hours a day, so it can be difficult for children experiencing cyberbullying to find relief.” Teen suicide rates have skyrocketed due to the residual effects of cyberbullying. Sydney L. Brunecz states, “Cyberbullying has become an epidemic in today's society. Cyberbullying has escalated so much that some victims commit suicide in order to escape their tormentors.”

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Have you ever had a classmate pass around an embarrassing a note to your whole class? What about someone posting it on the social media, chat rooms, instant messaging sites, where it gets shared, laughed at, seen by thousands, and it won’t go away because there are just way too many copies. This is an example of cyberbullying. Cyberbullying is when someone harasses or insults a victim through the Internet, practically anywhere that has a chatting system of some sort. People need to understand how awful cyberbullying is, to be aware of it.

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According to the Health Researching Fund, three million teens are absent from school each month because they fear bullies. Attending classes becomes increasingly harder to do, since a teenager’s Cyberbully could be in one of their classes, waiting to pick on them in school too. Brenden McCarthy reports that “When the threat of physical harm is the motive of Cyberbullying or any other online communication, it’s criminal” (McCarthy 2). It is indescribable how painful these online attacks can be, and nobody really knows the true feeling of being powerless until being planted at the other end of a Cyberbully. There is not just mental pain, but physical pain brought onto some victims, which is why Cyberbullying is criminal, and should be taken very seriously.

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Cyberbullying is bullying which happens using electronic devices. It can happen at any time to anyone around the world, with access to an electronic device. Many researches have shown that the rates of cyberbullying have increased in a global scale. As described by Kepenekçi and Çankır (2006) bullies seek the need to feel dominant and powerful. Another study done by Hasan Çelik (et al.) highlight the the effects and social aspect of cyberbullying.

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