F5C 10 Angelica Ho

A New Form of
bullying
In June 2023, a young mother committed suicide because of criticism on
her behaviour on the social media after her six-year-old son was run over by a
teacher’s car. The young mother chose to commit suicide later. This is a case
of cyberbullying, which is an abusive use of digital technologies. Different from
traditional bullying, it can happen at any time in any places. Therefore, in my
opinion, cyberbullying is more serious than traditional bullying as it affects the
victims detrimentally, is difficult to stop and hard to escape from.

Firstly, cyberbullying can cause deeper emotional pain. A research done

by Ybarra and Mitchell reported that cyberbullying victims have higher
depression rates than traditional bullying victims. This results from the
anonymity and distance created by the online environment, which emboldens
cyberbullies. Therefore, there will be more extreme and deadly attacks to the
victims. As a result, the victim will experience more severe pain than victims of
traditional bullying.

Secondly, cyberbullying is hard to stop since the Internet runs 24/7. It

operates non-stop and may escalate the seriousness of cyberbullying. A
research done by National Center for Education Statistics showed that about
22 percent of 12-18 year-old students interviewed have reported having been
bullied at school in the last school year. The access to digital devices means
that the victims can be targeted at any time in any locations. They may be
bullied even when they are at home. In contrast, traditional bullying can only
happen at a specific time and location, such as during recess time at school.
Therefore, cyberbullying is more difficult to stop than traditional bullying.
 Some people may think that traditional bullying is harder to recover than
cyberbullying. However, since social media and online performs are being
more common nowadays, victim will find it challenging to escape from
cyberbullying. As we use our phones every day, it is hard not to check the
updates. This may have a long-lasting effect on the victims’ mental health and
well-being.

In conclusion, compared to traditional bullying, cyberbullying has a more

severe impact on victims, is challenging to prevent, and is hard for victims to
get rid of. To prevent cyber bullying, we should think twice before we
comment. We should not say anything that may hurt others. Most importantly,
if you are experiencing cyberbullying, seek help from teachers or parents.

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