Cyberbullying Vs Traditional Bullying Essay

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Bullying has been in existence as long as one can remember. However, bullying in the twenty-first century has taken on a different form. Although schoolyard bullies still remain, cyberbullying has become the new phenomenon. Cyberbullying can be just as petrifying as traditional bullying, though by very different means; since the violence is carried out online. The humiliation and harassment faced by the victim, reaching an audience that can be virtually limitless. Cyberbullying can happen to anyone, at any given time or at any place deriving from a single individual or a group of individuals. A major difference between cyberbullying and traditional bullying, is that we reside in a web-based culture where children have access to social media, …show more content…

Specifically, there are three commonalities between cyberbullying and traditional bullying which are described as 1) behavior is aggressive, 2) a power imbalance is present between the victim and the perpetrator; and 3) the behavior is repeated, or has the potential to be repeated, over time. Surprisingly, recent studies have shown that the effects of cyberbullying may outweigh the detrimental effects felt by victims of traditional bullying. Events of cruel actions that take place face-to-face now manifest in different forms on the Internet. For example, students may be excluded for social media sites just as traditional bullying excludes victims from real-life social …show more content…

For instance, some states have assault statutes in place when physical harm is done to another child or teenager. Whereas other states have enforced stalking statutes which include explicit reference to electronic forms. While other states have laws that specify provisions that allow schools to discipline students in appropriate and measured ways. In every state except Montana, bullying laws dictate that schools have formal policies in place that aide them in identifying the behavior and determining the disciplinary