There are many effects of
cyber bullying that can harm a child physically and mentally. The effects I
will be talking about are: skipping school, low self-esteem, health issues,
depression/anxiety, an increase in in-person bullying, and sadly suicide as
well. I will go in order and hopefully explain what theses effects really mean
to you or your child.
When
a child is bullied at school or online they will automatically feel less
inclined to attend school, for fear of being bullied more. They may also be
scared to ride the bus to and from school because the bus isn’t as monitored by
teachers or adults. If you were harassed online, say Facebook, for being
overweight would you want to go into school? Where people can see you? The
bullies can keep the abuse going at school, online, and in your head. And
especially if the abuse was in a video or on a public post it can be shared.
The entire school could’ve seen the harassment and now the victim is scared to
go into class. Even if the victim is brave enough to go into school, they will
be distracted and nervous all day. Their learning is affected when they don’t
pay attention and their grades can reflect this. Not only are the students
worried about the bullies and confrontation they also start to worry about
grades. This stress at school can increase stress at home and in their everyday
lives.
Another
added “bonus” of cyber bullying is a lowered self-esteem due to the harassment
and insults. Especially the students in middle and high school, the self-esteem
is already low during these growth ages, bullying can bring the kids down to a
whole new level. Low self-esteem means that these students feel gross about
their bodies, intelligence, or personality in general. Students in middle and
high school are trying to find out who they are, and being ridiculed doesn’t
help to shape a healthy body/mind image. When a bully insults a students
intelligence it can make the victim see themselves as dumb and their motivation
decreases. This can go hand-in-hand with the skipping of school or deficient
grades by fault of harassment or online abuse. A student with low-self esteem
can be un-motivated, grumpy at times, and want to be alone a lot. Being alone
lets a student feel less judged and can give them time to think. Seeing a mean
post or degrading photo of themselves can bring thoughts of worthlessness or
feelings of not fitting in to their community. Students should never feel like
they are worthless or they don’t belong at school or online.
Health
issues are an interesting side effect of cyber bullying because not many people
understand why they occur. Our bodies are very weird when stressed or upset
because our immune systems are weaker and more susceptible to sickness. It’s
similar for people with high stress jobs; they are more likely to get sicker
and their bodies to age quicker. For example: the President gets greyer and
greyer as their term goes on because their job is hard. A student’s school
career is stressful anyway, but add harassment by a peer or anonymous person
can become very awful for the victim. Cyber bullying can mean more stress on
their lives and bodies, adding possibilities for sickness. If bullies bother
them 24/7 they may not sleep well, also increasing stress and the effects of
stress. Not only can depression happen, but also substance abuse and lowered
resistance to the flu and colds. It really stinks that the cyber bullies can
take over a child’s life with mean comments, rude texts, and degrading
pictures.
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| From Microsoft Images |
Another
astonishing side effect of cyber bullying is an increase in in-person bullying.
If a bully realizes that they are successful at ruining a peer online, they may
be inclined to bring it to school or the playground. The bully may feel an
increased confidence if the victim is no longer online or show their anxiety
online. The victim has been through so much at home due to harassment and
public hate messages, now they are verbally and/or physically abused at school.
One positive of this is that the abuse may be caught faster because there are
educators all around. If this happens at school I hope that the student will
feel inclined to voice their concerns. The bullies can attack on the bus, in
class, on the playground, and throughout the community. Hopefully a teacher can
help and maybe realize it is happening online as well. Online bullying is hard
enough, why must it come full circle to school?
The
worst of all effects, and the most publicized, is depression leading to
suicide. Some students feel as though their only alternative to cyber bullying
is killing themselves and stopping the overall destruction of their lives.
Suicide is never the first effect of cyber bullying, meaning that a student
will not jump straight from being bullied the first time to committing suicide.
Usually a victim will struggle with anxiety, low self-esteem, and over all
depression before they think they should give up. Suicide is never the answer and should never be the
alternative to cyber bullying. The real alternative is getting advice, help,
and making sure the bully pays for what the have done. Suicide is highly
publicized due to the fact that no one wants a teen to have to take their life
to get away from other students or anonymous culprits who wreak havoc on their
life. The bullies never know how far they are pushing a victim until the victim
jumps to these drastic conclusions.
"Cyber Bullying" <http://www.endofbullying.com>. End Of Bullying. Nuanced Media. Web. 23 May, 2013.
"About Bullying & Cyber Bullying". <http://www.stompoutbullying.org>. Stomp Out Bullying. Love Our Children USA. Web. 23 May, 2013.
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