Albertson 1

Olivia Albertson

ENGL 1001

Multimodal Essay

December 21, 2021

Cyberbullying Intervention

In the turn of the century, an epidemic has rapidly expanded its claws across the world’s

surface. With this new technological age came a rampant, life-threatening disease that is better

known as cyberbullying. Although bullying has always existed in many different forms in the

past, this new mechanism allows for much more severe and persistent cases of persecution.

Cyberbullying can be defined as any online harassment from one person to another that occurs in

the form of outing, stalking, death threats, creating fake profiles, sharing inappropriate photos or

videos, etc. In many cases, bullying in the digital world is also taking place in the classroom

among peers. This cruel act has resulted in an increase in depression and suicide among the

younger generations, and it is a continuously increasing problem in society that desperately

requires more attention. The overwhelming majority of victims are not receiving the support they

need, which has evidently had negative and potentially lethal outcomes. The most heartbreaking

aspect of this issue is that it is very preventable, yet it remains a consistent threat in school

settings. There is a long-standing argument about whether schools should be allowed to insert

themselves in cases of cyberbullying. Some people believe it is an invasion of privacy and that

parents should be held responsible to handle the situation on their own. However, due to the

seriousness of the cyberbullying epidemic, with negative effects on both students’ personal lives

and their school environments, I believe schools should be legally permitted to intervene in any

and all cases of cyberbullying.

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The proliferation of cyberbullying in recent years has astronomically increased the rates

of depression and suicide in our youth. After conducting extensive research on teenage students

in the United States, a study by Hinduja & Patchin (2018) found that both “targets and

perpetrators of cyberbullying were more likely to think about suicide, as well as attempt suicide,”

in comparison to their peers who had not been involved (Nixon). Victims are around 1.9 times

more likely to attempt suicide, while cyberbullies are 1.5 times more likely, which demonstrates

the mutually negative outcome on both ends of the cyberbullying complex. Not only do victims

suffer from constant harassment, but perpetrators clearly have internal issues that require just as

much attention and support. This exchange between victim and perpetrator causes students to

feel isolated, scared, and hopeless, which leads to these unfortunately common suicidal thoughts.

Many issues between peers online translate directly into the classroom, which constitutes an

extremely unhealthy school environment. In fact, the same study found that “80% of students

being cyberbullied are being bullied in schools” as well (“Bullying”). Cyberbullying and

in-person bullying are not mutually exclusive in and out of school grounds, so they need to be

addressed concurrently to ensure the problem is viewed in full. Therefore, teachers and

administrators must be given permission to suitably intervene in instances where their students’

abilities to exist in a safe and healthy learning environment are threatened.

The urgency for school intervention in instances of cyberbullying is clear, but how

exactly should it be carried out? Through my own research in the form of a distributed survey, I

asked my participants which methods of mediation they believe would best encourage others to

have a more positive internet presence, thus forming an overall healthier school environment.

My results demonstrate that the majority of respondents believe all the proposed solutions would

help mitigate cases of cyberbullying in school. These means of intervention include conferences
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with the parents of both the victims and perpetrators, school-wide assemblies to educate students

about cyberbullying culture, and adding cyberbullying awareness to the school curriculum. Out

of the three individual options, the participants believe conferences would be the most successful

in preventing further harassment (Albertson).

Additionally, a 25-year-long research study on the impact of intervention programs across the

United States, Europe, Australia, and South Africa found that methods, such as parent meetings

and training, consistent disciplinary methods, and rule setting, “reduced rates of bullying others

by 20-23% and victimization by 17-20%” (Myers). This international study is exemplary proof

of the effectiveness of these approaches because it crosses typical barriers, such as the different

cultures in which cyberbullying takes place. It expresses that no matter the geographical location,

these steps taken in an attempt to decrease cyberbullying within schools truly do work.

Another interesting result from my survey is that almost ⅓ of participants chose the

intermediate answer when asked if they believe schools should be legally allowed to intervene in

cases of cyberbullying among their students. I provided them with the answer choices of “Yes,”
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“No,” and “It depends on how severe the cyberbullying is that is taking place,” and 8 out of 26

respondents selected the third option (Albertson).

I decided to offer an option that lies between a firm yes and no because it is an extremely

popular counterargument in this discussion. As exemplified by my survey results, some people

believe that intervention allowance should depend on how extreme the case of cyberbullying is.

Common reasoning behind this logic is that some harassment is not “bad” enough to be

considered significant, so people conclude cyberbullying should “only be brought to the attention

of school administration” when it “causes a substantial disruption at school” (Yohnka). However,

almost all bullying starts out small, then gradually becomes a more serious concern. Instead of

waiting for a situation to reach a certain level of cruelty, schools should take immediate action to

stop the problem before it worsens. Even if it remains as only a small issue, any source of harm

in a student’s life should not be passed off as an inconvenience to the school community.

Another point of opposition as to why some people believe schools should not be

permitted to intervene in cyberbullying cases is that it invades the privacy of students, and/or

violates their First Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech. This is a very valid point,
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considering the majority of cyberbullying takes place on personal mobile devices and computers

outside of school hours. However, this is a multifaceted issue, so we must weigh the pros and

cons of school intervention while looking at the complete set of circumstances. Yes, most

cyberbullying does occur off of school grounds, yet it still heavily impacts the entire school

atmosphere and the student’s experience during school hours. Therefore, it translates into

becoming the school’s issue as well if their students do not feel safe and welcome during the

school day. Lastly, some people argue that if cyberbullying takes place outside of school, then

the responsibility falls solely on parents to address the situation and punish their children

accordingly because “parents are the first educators of their children” (Gordillo). In this

counterargument, the opposition fails to take into account that bullying is learned behavior, thus

many children learn from the example their parents set in the first place. Therefore, we cannot

rely on the parents of perpetrators to educate their children and influence changed behavior.

Additionally, even the best parents are most likely not adequately trained to resolve these

complex and serious conflicts between teens to ensure the stoppage of further harassment.

Ultimately, school intervention in instances of cyberbullying, no matter the severity of the

situation, is undeniably necessary to stop the issue in its tracks before it is too late. When the

lives of our youth are at stake, proactive measures must be taken. The positives of intervention

heavily outweigh the negatives in any given case of cyberbullying, and each and every form of

awareness and education is better than ignoring the problem altogether. Silence in cases of

harassment has had its place in society for far too long, so it is time to step up and end the cycle.

As the organization of Needham Youth Services eloquently stated, “If we can get kids to be more

thoughtful about making decisions about what they post online, then we have done a good job as

parents and educators.”

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Works Cited

Albertson, Olivia. “Cyberbullying Intervention Survey.” Survey Monkey, 25 Nov. 2021.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WK568JZ.

“Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Suicide Statistics.” Megan Meier Foundation, June 2021,

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5b33ed96372b964a1d83073a/t/60d619fd4d52ae0ca

2c07a3e/1624644094476/Updated+Statistics+2021.pdf. Accessed 5 Dec. 2021

Gordillo, Miguel. “Point/Counterpoint: Should Schools Be Held Responsible For

Cyberbullying?” ISTE, Apr. 2011, https://www.iste.org/node/6714. Accessed 23 Nov.

2021.

Myers, C.-A. “Cyberbullying across the Lifespan of Education: Issues and Interventions from

School to University.” Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 1217.

https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16071217. Accessed 23 Nov. 2021.

Nixon, Charisse L. “Current Perspectives: The Impact of Cyberbullying on Adolescent Health.”

Adolescent Health, Medicine and Therapeutics vol. 5 143-58. 1 Aug. 2014.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4126576/. Accessed 5 Dec. 2021.

Yohnka, Edwin. “Should Schools Punish Off-Campus Cyberbullying? .” Upfront, The New York

Times, 9 Oct. 2017.

https://upfront.scholastic.com/issues/2017-18/100917/should-schools-punish-off-campus-

cyberbullying.html#1140L. Accessed 23 Nov. 2021.