Cyberbullying in the U.S.

Cyberbullying in the United States: An Exposé

By Alex Hulka

According to www.stopbullying.gov, “Cyberbullying is bullying that takes place using electronic technology. Electronic technology includes devices and equipment such as cell phones, computers, and tablets as well as communication tools including social media sites, text messages, chat, and websites.” Across the United States, cyberbullying is a growing danger, and leads to such atrocities as drug-abuse, violence, and suicide. For the 17.2% of students who have been victimized by cyberbullying, the effort to quell its influence in our daily lives is an ongoing struggle.

For the 14.0% of boys and 20.4% or girls who have experienced cyberbullying first-hand, living happily has become a struggle. Since over 50% of cyberbullying victims feel angry, frustrated, or even scared, it is clear that cyberbullying takes a strong emotional toll on its victims. Although extreme reactions to cyberbullying are relatively rare, those who have experienced cyberbullying are 49% more likely to commit suicide. Along the same lines, on a commonly used scale rating self-esteem from 1 to 4, four being the best, cyberbullying victims score an average 2.67, while non-victims see a considerable jump of .34 points to 3.01. Thus, cyberbullying does have a profound effect on the mental and emotional state of those affected.

The rate and severity of cyberbullying depends heavily on the race, age, and gender of both the victims and the bullies. Of the three most common races on the United States (white, black, hispanic), whites report being cyberbullied the most at 21.2% while whites and blacks tie for being the cyberbully at 8.7%. In individual schools, however, hispanics report being cyberbullied at an astounding 14.8%. Among the three common age groups (15-18, 18-25, and 25+), 15-18-year-olds are the most common bullies, with slightly over 10% of people admitting to the action. The most common types of bullying include slander and blackmail. More often than not, the cyberbullied are females, while the cyberbullies are males. Although an incredible 25.1% of females report being cyberbullied in their lifetime, only 21.3% admit to cyberbullying someone else. On the other hand, 16.6% of males claim to have been cyberbullied, while almost 18% have bullied another person.

Cyberbullying in any form has the potential to inflict damage to anyone. This is why it is important to be careful with what we do on the internet as we don’t know how somebody might react. As CEO of Girl Scouts of America announced, “Cyber bullies can hide behind a mask of anonymity online and do not need direct physical access to their victims to do unimaginable harm. Unless and until our society recognizes cyber bullying for what it is, the suffering of thousands of silent victims will continue.”

“Cyberbullying Quotes.” NoBullying.com. No Bullying, 2014. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://nobullying.com/cyber-bullying-quotes/>.

“Cyber Bullying Statistics of 2011.” Graphs.net. Graphs, 2011. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://graphs.net/cyber-bullying-statistics-of-2011.html>.

“What is Cyberbullying.” StopBullying.gov. Government, n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://www.stopbullying.gov/cyberbullying/what-is-it/>.