Cyber Bullying: A Growing Issue

Have you ever been cyber bullied? If so, by now you should know that you're not alone. According to the i-SAFE foundation, over half of adolescents and teens have been cyber bullied. Cyber bulling is a growing issue in today's society, but why? Why is it that people feel like bullying others? Is it because they find it fun? And if it is, why do they want to have fun at other people's expense?

Back in 2013, there was a 12 year old girl who was a constant victim of cyber bullying. This caused her to commit suicide by climbing a tower and jumping to her death. During the investigation into her suicide, one of the lead suspects posted on her Facebook wall saying "I bullied Rebecca (the 12 year old) she killed herself" and followed that statement with "IDGAF" (I don't give a f***). Sheriff Grady Judd, the sheriff behind the investigation, was disgusted and had decided to arrest the girls who bullied Rebecca. The girls were charged with aggravated stalking, which is a third degree felony. But, even though it might seem those girls were let off easy, but the sheriff's act of arresting the girls was an emotional reaction. Legally, he could really do nothing because the girls hadn't actually committed any crimes. The girls are protected by the first amendment, the freedom of speech, even hate speech.

The truth is, cyber bullying is not a crime in any way. Because of that, people feel that they can get away with it. They feel a sort of freedom they otherwise wouldn't if they were talking to someone in real life. In other words, they hide behind the safety of their own keyboards while saying nasty things to innocent people. In actuality, cyber bullies are basically chihuahuas. When they're on the other side of a window, staring at someone walking down the street, they bark...loudly. But as soon as you put them outside and near what they were barking at, they try to run inside so they can continue barking safely.

There are a few different types of cyber bully. There are people who flame, those people tend to be involved in big fights and refuse to back down until they're the "winner".

Next are the people that denigrate others. Those people like to spread hateful messages about others and are entertained by the other person's feeling pain.

There are even people who trick others into giving up personal information about themselves. Some information might be their name, address, some perverts even trick women into sending quite revealing pictures of themselves by saying things like "oh, well we'll never meet in real life anyways, so it doesn't matter". Some of those people release those pictures to publicly humiliate the woman.

Others enjoy harassing other people to get a reaction out of them. These people enjoy repeatedly sending malicious messages to their "targets".

Finally, there are the cyber stalkers. These people repeatedly harass and threaten to harm people. Their only intention is to make your life as miserable as they possibly can.

Obviously, there are a lot more types of cyber bullies. I could write a book about all of the different types of cyber bullies. This means that some times the Internet can be a dangerous place, but there is one place that is worse than the Internet.
That is real life. Real life is much more dangerous. More people are bullied in real life than online. People have been beaten in real life because they're different. I feel pain for every person that has to live with bullies. This world we live in is a cruel one.

I found what a popular YouTuber named Ryan Higa (NigaHiga) said about this to be quite interesting. He said "treat people like they're dying". Basically what he meant was that when someone is dying, they get a certain respect and kindness they wouldn't get if they were perfectly fine. Why wait until they are dying to show that kindness and respect? Why not show it to them now? Wouldn't the world be such a better place if we all treated each other like we were dying?

I wish I could make a difference in this world, but sadly I am just one man. Hopefully, some people could spread the word. If there's anything I want people to get from reading this, it's that people should respect and try to build each other up, not tear each other down.