The effects of cyberbullying
A new study conducted in Finland revealed the fact that the act of cyberbullying can have a huge influence on both the victim and the perpetrator. Cyberbullying represents the repeated act of harassing someone over the phone or online. The phenomenon will result in physical problems such as headaches and psychological problems such as emotional difficulties. This happens for both of the people. A study was conducted in the United States of America, on children with ages between 10 and 17. They were asked about their online experiences.
Three percent of them said that they were both targets and aggressors, 4 percent stated that they were the victims of cyberbullying, and 12 percent stated that they were the aggressors. The researchers said that there is a huge difference between cyberbullying and regular bullying. According to them it is far more difficult to escape the cyberbullying than the regular one. The next problem is that the one who bullies the other person is anonymous, which means that there is no possibility for the bully to be punished. Another reason why the cyberbullying seems to have such a huge impact for the victim is that the number of “witnesses” is way larger than in the case of the regular bullying.
Andre Sourander, of Turku University in Finland and a group of his colleagues all from Finland gave a survey to 2,215 Finish children with ages from 13 to 16. The children were asked to provide such information as general health, substance use, demographics, and bullying behavior and psychosomatic symptoms which are usually associated with bullying such as abdominal pains and severe headaches. The questions focused on the cyberbullying and cybervictimization. The results were similar to the ones made in the Unites States of America. From the group of Finish children, 5.4 percent of them acted both as a victim and as a bully, 4.8 percent were victims, and 7.4 percent were the aggressors
Many of the people who were victims online lived in a family with problems. Many of the children who suffered from online bullying faced difficulties when they had to maintain their concentration, to express their emotions, or when they had to get along with other people. They also had the symptoms which are usually associated with bullying: abdominal pains, headaches, sleeping problems, and having feelings of insecurity. The interesting thing is that the cyberbullies had many similar symptoms. They too had headaches, abdominal pains, had difficulties in getting along with other people, and felt insecure on many occasions. The bullies also had the habit of drinking and smoking, which was different in the case of the victims.
The results showed that both the aggressors and the victims suffer from various psychiatric problems which are a result of the bullying. Both of them had thoughts about suicide and both of them felt headaches and abdominal pains. The truth is that bullying can have devastating consequences for the victims. Such is the case of Phoebe Prince, a 15 year old girl who committed suicide after being constantly bullied by her colleagues at school. Two groups of students constantly bullied her over a two month period, and finally she decided that the best way to solve this problem was to end her own life. This happened in a high-school from Massachusetts, but bullying occurs all over the world, not just in the United States of America.
A legislation against bullying was soon adopted, but the problem is that the changes occurred after it was too late. Nine students were charged with harassment; however what puzzles the most is the cruelty of many of the children.
The phenomenon of bullying was first studied in 1970, in Norway after various students committed suicide as a result of being constantly taunted by other students. It is said that the main reason why bullies act this way is because they want to be admired and they want to be dominant over the others. Specialists believe that in most of the cases, this is more of a cry for help because most of the bullies want affection. They lack it at home, and as a result they cope with this problem in a destructive manner, making the other people around them suffer. The bullies do not choose victims at random; in fact they always choose the persons who known that are more solitary, and who will not be defended by other people.
However it is not certain why they pick certain students, and according to some experts, the choice might be a random one. A bully might choose to pick on a student because he does no like the color of his shirt, and the other day he might pick on another one because he does not like what type of hat he is wearing. Experts believe that cyberbullying is much more dangerous because it can occur at any moment, not just on the school grounds like in the case of the regular bullying. In the case of the regular bullying the victims are safe while they are at home, but in the case of the cyberbullying the situation is different because they can be attacked at any moment. There is a fear for safety in both cases of bullying but in the case of the cyberbullying the fear lasts for longer periods of time.
The problem with both types if bullying is that in many cases it happens because it is the “cool” thing to do. Some see other colleagues bullying other students and they see the power that the bully has. They want to have that power, they want to be dominant over other people and they do it, without thinking about the punishment which the victim has to suffer. In many cases the behavior is taken from the parents, and the driving is the best example. Almost everyone will bully a slow driver, by swearing and yelling at him and the children see this as the proper way to act with the ones around you.
