Cyber bullies use an imbalance of power, aggression, and negative action. There are two general tpes of cyber bullying that occur. The first are direct attacks. These are sent directly to a person and can be in the form of:
- Harrassment - repeated sending of offensive, rude, and insulting messages
- Flaming - online "fighting" that uses electronic messages with angry, vulgar language
- Stalking - repeated sending of messages that include threats of harm or are highly intimidating, or the use of communication technologies to make a person afraid for his or her safety
- Denigration - distribution of information about another that is derogatory and untrue through posting on a Web page, sending digitally altered photos, etcetera
- Impersonation - breaking into an email or social networking account and using that person's online identity to send or post vicious or embarrassing material to/about others
- Outing and Trickery - sharing secrets or embarrassing information, or tricking someone into revealing secrets or embarrassing information and forwarding it to others
Unfortunately, cyber bullying is on the rise. The most recent studies have found that 42% of students have been bullied while online, meaning almost half of students in today's schools have experienced cyber bullying. 1 in 4 kids have experienced it more than once. The number of bullies has begun to outnumber the victims. Fifty-three percent of students admitted to saying mean or hurtful things about others online.
The following graph shows where cyber bullying is taking place today.
Graph from the Cyberbullying Research Center
As you can see, email, social-networking devices, and chat rooms are among the top places where cyber bullying occurs. Cyber-bullying through mobile phone usage, though, is not far behind. (The reason the numbers don't calculate to 100 is because multiple responses were considered.)
This next graph makes it obvious that females are more often victimized than males. An interesting note is that females reported being the bully more often as well.
Graph from the Cyberbullying Research Center
Why is cyber bullying so widespread among adolescents? This type of bullying has some characteristics that make it especially appealing to this age group.
- Anonymity - Without serious investigation, it is difficult to determine the bully's identity. A bully can get more personal with his or her victim from an impersonal distance.
- Accessibility - Cyber bullies have access to their victims 24 hours a day
- Punitive Fears - The majority of cyber bullying is never reported to adults. This may be due to fear of backlash from tormentors, the embarrassing nature of much bullying, or even fear that their technological privileges will be revoked.
- Bystanders - There are almost always witnesses present during physical bullying. With cyber bullying, the number of bystanders, or people the information can be shared with, is exponential.
- Disinhibition - The bully is not face-to-face and may be given more confidence.
Terms and Definitions from:
Belsey, Bill. “Homepage.” Cyberbullying.org. Pure Sight. Web. 28 May 2011. <http://www.cyberbullying.org/>.
Other Resources:
Hinduja, Sameer and Justin W. Patchin. “Cyberbullying: Identification, Prevention, and Response.” Cyberbullying Research Center 2010. 20 May 2011. <http://www.cyberbullying.us/index.php>.
“Research.” Cyberbullying Research Center. 2011. Web. 20 May 2011. <http://www.cyberbullying.us/research.php>.
“Cyberbullying.” National Crime Prevention Council. U.S. Department of Justice. 2006. 23 May 2011. <http://www.ncpc.org/cyberbullying>.
