Technology: Prosecuting Cyberbullying

When children have access to technology and to communicate to anyone, a whole new form of bullying takes place: cyberbullying. Cyberbullying can make a child feel so frightened and unsafe that they feel as though this world has gained a brand new level of danger. A child could feel so helpless that they could take their own life. A man named John Halligan informs an article about his son named Ryan Patrick who killed himself in 2003 after being threatened and bullied by his classmates online for months (“Prosecuting Cyberbullies”). This type of bullying that technology has created makes bullying a child easier because the bullies do not have to see the victim face to face. That gave the bullies more power and led Ryan Patrick to take his own

Any person with technology can know almost anything about everyone because of the Internet. Bullies can use this power to embarrass a child with personal information that would not be revealed without the Internet. Any type of bullying can hurt someone, but only cyberbullying can hurt someone by embarrassing the person in front of millions. In an article about prosecuting cyber-bullies, the author writes, “While a traditional bully might be able to embarrass his or her victim in front of a few other schoolmates, cyber-bullies … have the ability to humiliate their targets … in front of potentially thousands or even millions of viewers” (“Prosecuting Cyberbullies”). If a bully in the non-technology world showed an embarrassing photo of a victim, only a few people would have access to see. However, on the Internet, anyone can see the photo. Thousands of people, maybe

Releasing children into the world of technology can also release the children’s personal information to this world. Is allowing technology into the hands of a child worth a child’s safety, or as far as their life? Social media is used to share ideas or opinions; however, what kind of message is society teaching children when opinions encourage children in the wrong way such as telling a child that they cannot be pretty unless they are skinny or they have to participate in the newest trend, even if it is stupid or life-threatening, just to “fit in”? These influences make social media have many negative effects that could make a child have many emotional and mental issues. On an article about the positive and negative impacts of social media, the author explains, “Opponents of social media argue that such platforms… encourage self-promotion and self-centeredness … Frequent users … can suffer from stress and loneliness as a result of social media use. Social networking … has not had the transformative effect on politics and activism that supporters claim” (“Social Media”). Using social media can create children into people who rely on other users of social media to compliment their appearance. It can develop children into being self-absorbed