Cyberbullying is an epidemic that plagues many American teens. In today’s Wi-Fi world of instant communication and text messaging, bullies operate behind a shroud of anonymity. Text messages are used as weapons to level insults and spread rumors, and they allow bullies to penetrate the sanctuary of the home.
Research has proven that the main reason that kids bully via text-messaging is because they believe it is funny and harmless. The effects of text-bullying are hardly comical and never harmless. Text-bullying can have a profound impact upon a child’s emotional and psychological well-being, and can cause lasting damage. This form of abuse can rob children and teenagers of self-esteem, isolate them from friends and family, harm academic performance, and in extreme cases, prompt victims to commit suicide.
Text-message bullying is particularly dangerous. Cell phone use among teenagers has increased dramatically. Text-messaging has replaced email and instant messaging as the preferred means of communication among teenagers and young adults. This has increased the field of targets. Moreover, text-bullying is more difficult to track. For the perpetrator, it’s easier to conceal one’s identity. For the target, it’s more difficult to trace a phone number, and to block it.
Education is the best means of preventing this problem. Teenagers must be taught that this behavior is unacceptable, and targets must be taught how to deal with the situation if they are victimized. Delete it. Don’t forward it. Report it.
Written by: Drew McLaughlin
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