Cyberbullying: A Silent Killer

Lively and delightful Sarah, was all busy; happily celebrating her fresh engagement days. One second she imagined spending romantic moments with her fiancé while the other minute she'd eagerly wait and check her inbox if any message from her partner has popped up. Apart from this, she was a very cheerful girl among her friends and loved by all her pals. Her life was progressing very smoothly. While amid these happy moments, occurred quite an unpleasant incident. One morning, Sarah just opened her Instagram only to approach a heinous message by an unknown person. As if a dagger had hit her heart right in the middle, yes that was the tendency of the pain she felt, leaving behind an unhealable injury. That's how severely "Cyberbullying" hurts a person. Never was Sarah the same cheerful youngster and her life was now as if a completely dark hole. How does it turn our life upside down and its impacts? which countries is it majorly perpetrated in and how can we overcome it or reduce it? All of these questions are answered shortly as you'll move on to reading my article.

What is it?

Cyberbullying is online bullying done via electronic media by doing online harassment, threats, insults, saying abusive words, sending mean messages, leaking private pictures or images, and spreading rumors regarding the targeted person. It's done anonymously and aims to embarrass and hurt the receiver. 

The statistics below give a more concise idea of how every social app is misused to cyberbully. It's with great disappointment to watch the social platforms which were developed for human leisure and entertainment are now being used to hurt others. 

Where does it prominently occur?

Cyberbullying is swiftly spreading globally and negatively influencing the lives of people from youngsters to adults. The graph shows a vivid picture of where does this crime prominently occur:

EFFECTS

the social behavioral change is the top of the loss from all the negative influences of this crime on the poor victims. The teens start isolating themselves from families and particularly avoid public gatherings. They even deactivate their social media accounts in fear and fright to escape any further threats or hurtful messages. Such people are also more concerned about their privacy and feel insecure while surfing through the internet. Furthermore, the victims even tend to get become nervous about receiving random messages or general emails.

Suicidal thoughts and attempts are another unfortunate aftermaths of this heinous crime. There is an enormous number of teenagers who have suicide because they couldn't endure the hurtful bullying in schools or colleges. Amanda Todd,  a Canadian high school girl was also one of them who hanged herself because she was being blackmailed for exposing her private images. Such people are mentally tortured to an extent that death appears to be the only refuge for them. A more recent incident in the year 2021 was when a New York teen named Riley Basford killed himself after he was threatened by leaking his sensitive pictures at the condition of paying 3500 dollars.

It is immensely upsetting for such heartbreaking incidents to occur but that's how traumatic it turns out. It's with sheer shame to see how easily the culprits play with the emotions and mind of the targeted person. As I move on to the last negative impact, it's the " changes in health as well as emotions". Since the victims consistently deal with panic and tense thoughts roaming in their minds, they counter more depression, anger, and anxiety. Consequently, it leads to an apparent drop in appetite and one feels less hungry. Such health problems are even accompanied by sleep disorders. Children tend to perform poorly in school and their academic grades decline too. Most importantly they suffer through extremely low self-esteem.

it's not wrong that all these consequences are interrelated. How terrifying would it be if we come across this most terrible kind of bully? Questions like "who could it be? What did I ever do to someone to deserve this? What if this person leaks out or misuses my privacy? I was always a good friend to everybody and never an enemy then why did it happen to me?" But there's no answer to our questions . Even though with time we might've healed it's like a scar that gets refreshed every time we remember it. But don't forget " the strongest hearts have the most scars"- Jeff Hood

How to reduce its rate?

For the parents:

There are certain ways via which parents can try to ensure their children are safe and secure from this silent crime.

Firstly, build trust and an emotional bridge between you and your kids. Talk to them frequently and try to build a friendly attitude so they're never reluctant to share any secretive stuff. 

Secondly, build certain rules and boundaries for them. Convince them to abide by such rules. Limit their usage of the internet and keep a track of their accounts' activity on various apps.

Thirdly be understanding. Don't blame them if in case they confront any online bullying and don't ignore their complaints either. Try your best to assist them and investigate the period since they had been facing it. Ask them not to respond to such messages. If the situation gets extreme and bullying continues then be all set to take legal action 

For those children or young girls who are threatened :

>Don't hide it from your adults and share with them whatever's disturbing you.

 >Don't accept friend requests of unknown people 

> never share inappropriate pictures or videos

> Don't try to reply to any hurtful comment or message instead take a screenshot so to keep a piece of evidence. 

>Complain to your country's cyberbullying helpline right away. 

>Try not to post pictures or any stories related to private life publicly we never know whose loyal to us or who's jealous 

> Don't take those mean words personally and try to move on.