I have written various articles for newspapers, notes, social media sites, newsletters and more on the phenomena that still is the elephant in the room: Cyber bullying. The reason therefore is because it is an alarming issue that is happening in our online community, especially amongst teens and children. Cyber bullying can affect anyone at any age, no matter your gender, race, religion, income, social status, at any time, day and no matter where you are around the world. Why is Cyber bullying a scary problem? In contrary to Bullying, Cyber bullying happens 24/7 and can reach any house hold at any time. It can be hard to trace the bully because with the use of technology, some social media sites have the option of remaining anonymous or by creating fake pages using pictures and names of other people to hide their identity. According to Stopbullying.gov Cyber Bullying is defined as "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.Examples of cyberbullying include mean text messages or emails, rumors sent by email or posted on social networking sites, and embarrassing pictures, videos, websites, or fake profiles." Often because this issue is ignored or not talked about, it fuels up to become an issue that is hard to tackle. Teenagers all over the world have access to technology, and social media websites including the use of the internet. The internet made it easier for us to connect with the world, buy merchandise, keep track of everything that is happening, and be the first to know any news or gossip all over the world. This all sounds great, but what happens when the use of the internet can become a danger for teenagers and children? Cyber Bullying happened to me In February of 2015 I have experienced Cyber Bullying for the first time. I never imagined that it would be something that can happen to me. I always had the idea that bullying and cyber bullying happened to kids or teenagers who often were either isolated or were easy targets. I was very much involved in Service and Volunteer clubs, was an outstanding student, was awarded various times and had a great group of friends. What I did not know was that Cyber bullying can happen to anybody, despite how successful you are, how many friends or popular you might be, income, social status, race, gender, age and is not easy to stop. I started getting really mean and hurtful comments on the popular social media website Ask.fm. Ask.fm is a website that is created to give users the opportunity(by creating an account), to ask each other questions or give comments with the option of remaining anonymous. I had an account on ask.fm but never got any hurtful or mean comments. I did not have enemies or problems with anyone (that I was much aware of). I never knew until today who was the person sending me those mean comments and hurtful messages. I always thought of myself as a person with a strong confidence and I never thought that those comments would affect me in any way. To be honest, as confident as you might be or show, sometimes subconsciously those comments to have an affect on you (either long term or short term). The reality is this: It is very hard to deal with a problem that is growing day by day and no one is taking action. So what did I do about it? Shortly after this happened, I posted a post on Facebook where I told my story with the comments I received anonymously on Ask.fm and the reaction I got was amazing. I had people who I never talked with message me with their stories of their own struggles with Cyber bullying and Bullying. It was then that I realized that this is a big issue that we are not talking and doing something about. I had the chance to give a presentation of social problem to the Kiwanis Club of Aruba, and that was the very first time that I shared my story and talked about what is Cyber bullying and what we as parents, teachers, friends, and online users can do about this issue. Later on I started giving the same presentation to various organizations, and I am still planning on reaching schools and the world. I wrote various articles in the local newspapers about this issue and after that I saw a lot of people talking about it on social media, radio hosts talking about this topic and even had organizations starting awareness campaigns on Bullying and Cyber Bullying. How can you help stop/prevent Cyber Bullying?
To understand more what is Cyber Bullying and know what you can do, feel free to visit these resource websites:
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My name is Keyla and I am a second year university student studying social work. I blog about social media, lifestyle, health, beauty, love, relationships, career and student life-hacks. Leave a comment and give my articles a ❤️ or 👍🏻 and don't forget to share to show your support. 😘, Keyla Publication Dates
March 2018
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