Final Assessment - Academic Report

Le Dien Truc Vy_SWS00233

KOOKABURA 5
Due date: Friday. 17/12/2021 at 6.00pm
Word count: 1464
Number of pages: 7

Cyberbullying: The crime behind the screen

Abstract

Cyberbullying (harassment on social networks) is widely recognized as a serious social

problem, especially for adolescents. This paper looked at different aspects of the problem. A
definition for the term cyberbullying is provided, differences between traditional bullying and
cyberbullying are explained, explanations motives for the issues are considered. Overall, 36.5
percent of people feel they have been cyberbullied in their lifetime, and 17.4 percent have
reported it has happened at some point in the last 30 days. Factors such as age and gender do not
appear to predict cyberbullying victimization. Evidences suggest that victims are suffering
psychosocial harm and behavioral problems. The report concludes by highlighting concerned
points in cyberbullying research and recommending how future research can address these
issues.

Keywords: cyberbullying . victimization . psychological harm . behavioral problems

1. Introduction

Bullying is always a controversial issue in society, this is considered a behavior that certain
people squeeze people they find weaker than them because they want to gain some sort of power.
In the past, only physical bullying was common. However, in the age of industry 4.0, this
phenomenon has matched the pace of technological advancement, making it harder to control
and prevent. Modern means as smartphones, social networking sites, applications have allowed
bullying to spread out in the virtual world. A new form of abuse has emerged, referred to as
“cyberbullying” (Hinduja & Patchin, 2008). This essay focused on the reasons why
cyberbullying needs to be taken seriously as face-to-face bullying. As a matter of that, it will
provide background information about cyberbullying, defines the problem, looks at the
consequences, and discusses possible solutions to prevent it.

1. What is cyberbullying?
1.1. Definition of cyberbullying
Sameer Hinduja & Justin W. Patchin defined cyberbullying in Bullying Beyond the
Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying, as “willful and repeated harm
inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices”. According to
Willard (2004a), cyberbullying can take different forms, with the main forms ranging from mean
comments online (22.5%), spreading rumors (20.1%), and posting sexual remarks (12.1%), other
(45.3%) such as calling by offensive name, receiving physical threat, having private images
shared (Sameer Hinduja & Justin W. Patchin, 2019). Cyberbullying can occur through
messaging, applications, social networking sites, gaming forums, or where people can
participate, share content, and comment. It mostly relates to appearance, academic achievements,
racism, etc. (GLESEN & Harris, 2005).
1.2. Cyberbullying versus traditional bullying
Any form of bullying can leave physical and psychological sequela. Anxiety, depression,
low self-esteem, behavioral difficulties are just a few of the challenges cyberbullying teenagers
have to face for the rest of their lives (Hinduja, 2018). However, cyberbullying is particularly
harmful. Unlike face-to-face bullying – which requires a certain distance to have a physical
impact on the opponent, victims are also aware of their bullies. Cyberbullying allows the bully to
threaten victims any time, whenever they join into cyberspace (Karenina & Barus, 2019). In the
virtual world, users can hide behind pseudonyms and unreal profile pictures to disguise
whomever they want, this is also why cyberbullying is crueler (Lawrence, 2015). Furthermore,
some people who would not abuse others face-to-face are still likely to commit cyber violence
because they believe that they could escape punishment (Beran & Li, 2005; Willard, 2004b).

2. What motivates cyberbullies?

Cyberbullying’s causes are rarely simple, but researchers have identified some of the
most common factors (Rahmat Syah & Hermawati, 2018). Studies of adolescents in United
States and Macau have reported that bullies are more anxiety and depression than other students
do (Juvoven, 2003; Stein, 2007; Kowalski & Limber, 2013; Weng, 2017). It is rooted in
perceptions of status that bullies often try to put their victims down to feel superior. Bullies felt
powerless about things that happened surrounding them. Thus, they release self-hatred to people
as a form of projection to battle their inner insecurities, which are considered as their defense
mechanism. In addition, a trauma in the past could produce brutal bullies. Studies have proved
that there is a strong connection between previous victims and current cyberbullies (Mawardah
& Adiyanti, 2016). Bullies are often victims of child abuse in the past, which was associated
with corporal punishment or inconsistent discipline (Wolke D, 2013).

2.1. Mob justice

Mob justice is known as the practice of the public directly enforcing the law by
convicting and executing judgments against the people they believe are guilty, they simply takes
the law into their own hands (Ng’walali & Kitinya, 2006). Mob justice online is even more
dangerous when citizens look at some photos or texts without context and quickly identify these
as evidence to convict someone. In 2018, Yang Ye Won – a Korean Youtuber, accused a studio
owner of posting her sensitive photos without permission. It produced a wave of outrage, citizens
decided to collect signatures to put pressure on The Blue House to sentence the man. After that,
the man committed suicide and it turned out he was innocent. At this time, mob justice is the
most ruthless cyberbullies hiding behind the name of justice.
2.2. Bystander effect
A bystander is used to describe someone who witnesses bullying but does not take
appropriate actions (“Bystanders’ Role in Bullying,” 2013). According to Bommel et al. (2012)
the negative account of the consequences of the bystander effect undermines the potential
positives. Emotionless stares easily push victims to negative thoughts. They believe they deserve
to be criticized and doubt themselves. For them, the silence can be seen as a clear demonstration
of their worthiness. However, there are many reasons why a bystander does not want to interject,
even if they believe that bullying is wrong (Latane´ & Darley, 1970). They may be afraid of
becoming the bullying targets themselves as retaliation. They also might fear that speaking up
could lead to unintended consequences. “Very little research has been done around bystanders to
Cyberbullying, however students would still have considerable opportunity to demonstrate
positive bystander behavior in cyber space” (Thomas, 2012, p. 7).
 3. What are consequences?
With the brutal cover, social media provide, cyberbullying brings a deeper impact
compared to other forms of bullying. According to research, 32% of teenagers who are the
victim of cyberbullying report suffering at least one stress reaction. In addition to feeling tension,
they also feel ashamed, hurt, and even shift the blame on themselves. People who experienced
violence lose self-esteem, fighting with feeling helplessness every day due to being unable to
stop it. It was proved by TechJury statistics that 66% of victims have feelings of powerlessness.
According to WebMD, those who have been cyberbullied can have emotional, concentration,
and behavioral issues. This may cause poor performance in school or at work. Moreover,
Hinduja & Patchin (2018) found that students who experienced violence or cyber-violence were
twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts than others. For instance, Korean actress-singer Sullie’s
suicide in 2019 is a wake-up call for cold-blooded netizens. Sulli, whose real name is Choi Jin-Ri
is a prime example of cyberbullying victim. She always receives negative comments on social
sites for being herself. She used to share on her TV show – Jin Ri Store “I am exhausted but no
one truly cares. I feel lonely”. Tragically, these heartbroken confessions were made fun of at that
time and people only feel regret when she decided to kill herself at the age of 25. The problems
are not only harmful psychologically and emotionally but also physically. Fekkes and his
colleagues proved that bullied children were more likely to have stomach pain, sleep disorders,
tension headaches, somatization after a long period of suffering. Studies have also shown that
these effects lasted into adulthood (Hager and Leadbeater, 2016).

4. What are solutions?

“Free To Be Online?” project held by Plan International recorded online harassment
experiences of over 14,000 girls across many continents. The result showed that 58% of them
used to be cyber-violent victims. However, gender does not affect the probability of being
bullied online (Larrañaga, Navarro, & Yubero, 2018). As more is understated how bullies choose
their “prey”, prevented solutions are becoming more effective. Card & Hodgeds (2008) claimed
that people who lack social skills tend to be chosen as violent targets, and this phase may also be
mirrored in cyberbullying (Gradinger, 2012). Thus, improving communication skills could result
in building relationships, expanding social circles, and also in a long-term reduction of
cyberbullying (Ortega-Ruiz, 2012). Furthermore, awareness-raising and education on
cyberbullying. Students have to increase their awareness of cyberbullying, particularly for
females (Elçi, 2019). Workshops and programs can help victims identify cyberbullying signals
and know how to deal with them. For example, the ConRed program has been done effectively
before. The need for empathy training in reducing cyberbullying behavior was highlighted by
previous studies (Ang, R.P, 2010). Particularly, both cognitive empathy and affective empathy
had strong connections with cyberbullying (Schultze-Krumbholz, 2016). This also minimizes the
bystander effect. Stopping cyberbullying is not just about calling out bullies, it is also about
conscious that everyone deserves respect – virtual life and real life.

5. Conclusion:
As a result of the digital age, technology plays an indispensable role in human lives,
which is related to education, entertainment, and socialization. Unfortunately, this development
also creates conditions for deviant behavior worms its way. The issues of bullying and
cyberbullying can only be diminished and not eliminated completely cause they have become a
deep-seated problem in our competitive society. This essay has reviewed and analyzed the
available research on cyberbullying events, motivations of bullies, comparison of traditional
bullying versus cyberbullying. It also showed thoughts of who are bystanders to events of
bullying. Distinctively, it proved that emotional responses to any form of bullying can escalate
to suicidal thoughts. These permanent mental effects are what we are striving to eliminate. For
these reasons, cyberbullying is a matter that needs the concern of the pressing public.

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