Definition Essay: What Is A Cyberbullying?

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Cyberbullying
What is cyberbullying? According to Merriam Webster dictionary the definition of a cyberbullying is the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person often done anonymously.[1] Cyberbullying has grown rapidly over time and only continues to get worse. The effects of cyberbullying are harmful and becoming an issue in more people’s lives. What could seem like a small joke could be someone's breaking point.
Bullying others on the internet is easiest when it is done anonymously. When the person doing the bullying knows that the recipient of the harsh text will not be able to see who sent it, it is simple to say whatever they want because they won’t receive any consequence in return. There are many apps where the entire …show more content…

There are multiple signs that might suggest that a student or child is being bullied. There could be an increased amount of head or stomach aches, not feeling well, or even fake sickness so one could avoid social activities and face to face interaction. A child who is being cyberbullied might have a hard time sleeping at night or get nightmares more frequently than they have previously to being bullied. As well as sleep issues and illness, there could be a change in their diet plan such as skipping meals or binge eating.[2] Many cases of cyberbullying could be helped or stopped completely if someone had just known about the issue at hand. Being able to see the symptoms is important and can possibly save the lives of those being bullied. Being a friend to everyone around you can lighten someone’s entire day and you never know what they could be battling on their …show more content…

Whether it be emotionally, physically, or mentally, the effects of being cyberbullied are always negative and cause serious hardship for those who are being bullied. Mentally, a child could start to think depressing thoughts or consider suicide often. They will most likely think lower of themselves and have severe self esteem issues. Emotionally, those being bullied may grow to have anger management issues or constantly be depressed and cry often. On the other hand, they may continually act happy or always say everything is fine to hide the fact that they are actually emotionally aching. Physically, a child may begin to harm themselves or others around them. They may start to get into fights at school or attack even those who care about them because they are unsure of what to do. Selfharm might include cutting, punching, excessive scratching, and many other things. In far too many cases, being cyberbullied has led the victims to take their life into their own hands and commit suicide. A kid might feel that they are hated by everyone, not good enough for those who love them, or feel that the world would be better if they were no longer here, which is never the actual case.