This is a great article, it discusses the impact on victims of cyberbullying, its psychological and physical affects. It discusses strategies that everyone can utilize to prevent cyberbullying in schools and home.
This blog will gear more towards what I found to be the heart of the article despite its title. The following are pieces of stories of the underlying affects of cyberbullying, these are just a few amongst millions that are reported and others that go unreported around the world.
In 2003, Ryan Patrick Halligan took his life at age 13. His story, pieced together by his father after his death, and poignantly reported in a web site set up by his parents in his memory (Ryan Patrick Halligan, n.d.), outlines some of the challenges Ryan faced in the months leading up to his death; among them, rumours that he was gay, sexual advances made online by a ‘boy’ whose identity was unknown, encouragement and support for suicidal ideation, and support followed by rejection from a female classmate. Many of these interactions were conducted via instant messaging.
Alex Teka of New Zealand ended her life in 2006 at age 12. Media reports indicated that in the year before she died, she was allegedly a victim of cyber bullying, and was sent abusive and threatening e-mails and text messages by fellow students at her school. The bullying allegedly escalated after her mother complained to school authorities.
Chantell, age 15, was injured in a hit-and-run accident in Brisbane. She was allegedly the victim of cyber bullying via instant messaging and cell phones, initiated by a former friend after a feud over a boy. The online violence escalated into a serious face to face physical attack which is being investigated by Brisbane police.
Megan Meier, ended her life in 2006, aged 13. She had engaged in an online relationship with someone she thought was a 16-year-old boy named ‘Josh’ on the social net working site MySpace. The profile of ‘Josh’ was allegedly created by the mother of a former friend of Megan’s, set up with the intention of gaining Megan’s trust. Just prior to Megan taking her own life, ‘Josh’ sent cruel and hurtful messages to her.
Alex Teka of New Zealand ended her life in 2006 at age 12. Media reports indicated that in the year before she died, she was allegedly a victim of cyber bullying, and was sent abusive and threatening e-mails and text messages by fellow students at her school. The bullying allegedly escalated after her mother complained to school authorities.
Chantell, age 15, was injured in a hit-and-run accident in Brisbane. She was allegedly the victim of cyber bullying via instant messaging and cell phones, initiated by a former friend after a feud over a boy. The online violence escalated into a serious face to face physical attack which is being investigated by Brisbane police.
Megan Meier, ended her life in 2006, aged 13. She had engaged in an online relationship with someone she thought was a 16-year-old boy named ‘Josh’ on the social net working site MySpace. The profile of ‘Josh’ was allegedly created by the mother of a former friend of Megan’s, set up with the intention of gaining Megan’s trust. Just prior to Megan taking her own life, ‘Josh’ sent cruel and hurtful messages to her.
The intent of cyber bullying actions is to threaten, harm, humiliate, and engender fear and helplessness in the victim unfortunately it does more than that. According to Baht children who are bullied are more likely than others to experience comparatively low levels of mental health including, lower self-esteem and social adjustment, and higher levels of psychological distress such as anxiety, depression, loneliness, withdrawn, and suicidal ideation. She also noted that when victims of bullies internalize these feelings they are likely to disengage from school and consequently their academic performance suffers. She adds that victims may also be more susceptible to illness due to the increased levels of cortisol combined with suppressed immune system functioning and reduced powers of concentration, thus affecting their academic performance due to ongoing illness or health issues.
My concern is that often times the victim themselves or others who are aware of cyberbullying will not tell anyone, thus these effects can go undetected or misdiagnosed for other issues. I agree with Baht we have to empower our children by educating them about this growing disease and ensuring them to speak out if not with an adult with someone, eventually the incident will fall on an adults ear or on someone that will seek help.
other useful links:
So often we look for the postives in technology and forget about the downfalls. I think we forget to realise that the problems students face in face-to-face interaction also goes on on the web. I wonder if cyber bullying is harder to spot then in person bullying? It seems that it might be especialy because it is so often and easily overlooked. I believe that educators have to realise how real the cyber socail landscape is to kids in order to include it in their curriculm.
ReplyDeleteToni,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for bringing attention to this issue. I was not as aware before reading your blog about the detrimental effects cyber bullying can have on young people. It is so sad to think that bullying in the form of technology communication can have such negative effects. This article puts this topic in perspective for not only parents but for teachers and in our case, further teachers as well. Thank you for opening my eyes and I look forward to reading more of your blogs.
Middle School students seem to be at a particular vulnerable age when it comes to cyberbullying. This means the issue needs to be addressed in the last year of elementary school. While it might seem premature at this age, students need to be well-informed BEFORE this kind of stuff begins. I can't imagine the hostility I would have as a parent if this happened to one of my children.
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