Cyberbullying Essay Example

limit reflection on words and actions, leading to increased cyberbullying among teenagers. Cyberbullying refers to harassment or bullying using technology. The long-term effects of cyberbullying on high school and college students, as well as its influence on social networking, have not been thoroughly examined yet. This study aims to investigate how cyberbullying affects transitioning students from high school to college through Facebook and whether it persists beyond this time period.The objective is to improve our comprehension of how bullying affects interpersonal communication on social networking sites. To achieve this, the following research questions were proposed: 1) What are the impacts of bullying on students through Facebook? 2) How does bullying on social networking platforms affect academic performance in school? Previous studies have provided background information about cyberbullying's influence on relationships and its prevalence in society. According to Houghton and Johnson (2010), Facebook has 350 million users, mainly college students. Originally created for college students in the late 1990s, Facebook is now accessible to anyone who can create a profile (North, 2011, p.1285). People use Facebook for various purposes such as staying connected with friends and family, making new friendships, and sharing their interests by posting updates, images, comments, and private messages (Pempek et al., 2009, p.227). The primary reason college students use Facebook is for interacting with offline friends (Pempek et al., 2009, p.227). The prevalence of cyberbullying among teenagers is increasing due to their increased time spent on social networking platforms like Facebook. Researchers are currently examining the link between bullying and these websites.(2014), cyberbullying is defined as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, or other electronic devices".

Despite being a relatively recent phenomenon, there is still no consensus regarding cyberbullying. In 2005, the second Youth Internet Safety Survey (YISS-2) was conducted which revealed that 9% of young internet users reported encountering online harassment. This included bothersome messages and sharing personal information with others. Both boys and girls were victims of bullying, but it was found that girls were more likely to be harassed. Furthermore, a survey in 2006 examined teens' experiences with online contact by strangers and cyberbullying using data from the Pew Internet American Life Survey. The results showed that over 25% had experienced cyberbullying and 30% had been contacted by strangers. This study aimed to identify the most affected population by focusing on high school to college transition students to determine if cyberbullying persisted after this period. Previous research has also indicated that one in three adolescents encounter some form of cyberbullying. Similarly, another study among undergraduate students found that the majority of male students knew someone who had been cyber-bullied (Walker, 2011). Additionally, Finkelhor et al.'s (2014) study provided a definition for cyberbullying as "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones or other electronic devices".According to Sengupta & Chaudhuri (2011), approximately one in seventeen students experience harassment or threats, but it is important to note that many cases go unreported. In their study, Sengupta & Chaudhuri found that 63% of reported cases described students feeling disturbed, embarrassed, or stressed due to unwanted contacts rather than being bullied. This suggests that teenagers have different interpretations of bullying and may downplay incidents, making data collection and analysis challenging.

The objective of the study was to examine the

effects of bullying on high school and college freshman students within a specific population. The prevalence of cyberbullying is increasing with the rise of social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Zay (2011) suggests that future generations might rely more on social networking for personal interactions instead of traditional methods.

In recent years, there has been an increase in young people admitting to posting offensive remarks online, contributing to the rise in cyberbullying cases. Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying can reach a wider audience and has become a significant problem in schools with negative impacts on victims' well-being. In some instances, parents and officials have resorted to legal action as a response.

It should be noted that online speech is subject to the same limitations as speech in person or print according to First Amendment rights considerations.In our study, we utilized Knapp's Theory of Coming Together and Falling Apart as a theoretical framework to focus specifically on the Falling Apart aspect in relation to online friendships. The process involves stages such as initiating and experimenting, which are crucial for forming relationships. Our goal was to understand why individuals who were once friends may choose to bully each other by examining the phenomena of escalating, integrating, and ultimately falling apart in these relationships.

Throughout our research, we identified five stages involved in a relationship falling apart: differentiation, circumscribing, stagnating, avoiding, and ultimately ending. To conduct our study, we analyzed various communication patterns and behaviors exhibited by individuals within online friendships. We employed a phenomenological research design to gain a deeper understanding of interpersonal communication on social networking sites and its impact on face-to-face relationships.

Phenomenology involves studying how individuals perceive the

world when they liberate themselves from preconceived notions and beliefs. Our study included 44 undergraduate students from a higher education institution located in central Texas. The majority of participants were white females; however, our research analysis also included participants who were African American, Hispanic, and unidentified. Most participants fell within the age range of 18-22 years old.The collected data was analyzed by several researchers to ensure that participants' responses were in line with the predetermined categories.The text examines different categories relating to experiences on social media platforms, particularly Facebook. These categories were determined by a team of five student researchers and one faculty member who analyzed participants' responses based on their own observations of patterns and themes. To maintain objectivity and minimize research bias, our study followed the steps of phenomenological research. As undergraduate students with various connections to the higher education environment, we collected data for two weeks and received 44 survey responses. Using a phenomenological approach, five researchers examined participants' responses to survey questions regarding experiences of cyberbullying on Facebook. The first question focused on instances where participants or people they knew had encountered bullying on the platform. From analyzing these responses, three main categories emerged: bullying contexts, bullying experiences, and coping mechanisms for dealing with bullies. The category of bullying experiences included subcategories such as friends' experiences, witnessing bullying with friends, and having knowledge but no personal experience. Table 1 presents the frequency distribution of class responses concerning encounters with intimidation.The text describes various categories of participant responses regarding their experiences with cyberbullying on Facebook. These categories include friends' experiences, witnessing incidents with friends, having knowledge but no personal experience, relationship or

ex-relationship issues, not experiencing bullying, and feeling unsure about certain situations. A total of 43 participant responses were collected. Among these categories, "not experienced bullying" received the highest number of responses (23), while the subcategory labeled as "knowledge but no experience" had five relevant participant responses. One participant exemplified this category by stating that although they have never been personally cyber-bullied on Facebook, they frequently observe such occurrences. Three subcategories garnered equal numbers of four responses each: "friends' experiences," "witnessed with friends," and "relationship/ex-relationship." Under the subcategory of friends' experiences, one respondent shared a story about their friend being bullied on Facebook due to her perceived lack of attractiveness for a particular guy. In terms of witnessing incidents with friends on Facebook (subcategory: witnessed with friends), four participants recounted firsthand experiences. For example, one individual described observing a conflict between their friend and another girl who engaged in a romantic relationship with their ex-boyfriend despite knowing he already had a girlfriend.Finally, in the subcategory of "relationship/ex-relationship," four respondents shared their experiences. One respondent mentioned severing communication with a female acquaintance due to threats from her former boyfriend. Another person mentioned being harassed on Facebook by their friend's ex after a breakup, leading them to block him. The remaining three responses came from the "bullying contexts" category, specifically the subcategories of "bullying pages (i.e., Facebook, Myspace)," "sexual orientation," and "interfering with cyberbullying." Table 2 provides the frequency distribution for these responses. Among these categories, the subcategory with the highest number of responses (2) was "bullying pages (i.e., Facebook, Myspace)." Participants shared instances where anonymous individuals created pages to post hateful content about others. In high school,

some peers created Myspace and Facebook pages dedicated to sharing pictures of pets and voting on attractiveness. This behavior felt like bullying to me. There are two distinct subcategories within this issue: "sexual orientation" and "interfering with cyberbullying," each receiving one response. The respondent in the "sexual orientation" category expressed feeling bullied and violated as a homosexual individual when phrases like "that's gay" were used.
The text discusses two subcategories within the broader topic of dealing with bullies: "drastic measures" and "did not add bullies." Table 3 illustrates how these responses are distributed in this specific category. The subcategory "did not add bullies" had the highest number of responses (2) among all participants, indicating that some individuals were cautious about adding potential bullies on Facebook to avoid experiencing bullying. On the other hand, the subcategory "drastic measures" had the lowest number of responses (1), describing a situation where a person deleted a friend who repeatedly left rude messages on their wall after breaking up with their ex. Despite no longer being friends, this person remained on their Facebook without engaging in further acts of bullying.

In addition, Survey Question Two specifically focuses on experiences during high school as part of the study's main objective to examine how cyberbullying affects academic performance within an educational setting. Participants' responses to the research question regarding the impact of bullying through social networking on academic performance resulted in two main categories. The first category, labeled "related experiences," included subcategories such as "technology not available at high school," "face-to-face bullying," and "students not affected." Table 4 presents the frequency distribution of responses for each subcategory.The subcategory "technology not available at High School"

had the highest number of responses (6) compared to other subcategories. Both "face-to-face bullying" and "not affected" received 2 responses each. One response in the "face-to-face bullying" category described experiencing regular intimidation but not cyberbullying. In the "not affected" category, another response expressed indifference towards others' opinions and emphasized a distinction between beliefs and actions. The second main category, titled "bullying affects," remained unchanged. Table 5 presents the frequency distribution of responses related to the effects of bullying. Among these, five participants discussed how bullying impacted their friends' performance or overall experience. One participant shared their younger sister's experience with cyberbullying, which resulted in significant consequences on her academic performance and necessitated changing schools. The subcategory "personally affected" only received 2 responses from participants. One participant mentioned being told to die, which greatly impacted their mental well-being.
Our research primarily focused on examining the effects of bullying in various contexts such as social media platformsWe collected feedback from 44 participants who shared their experiences and answered our research questions regarding the impact of Facebook bullying on students and how cyberbullying through social networking affects academic performance at school. The findings for Research Question One revealed that although most participants had not personally experienced cyberbullying, they had witnessed it in various forms. The first category included three subcategories: "bullying contexts," "bullying pages," and "sexual orientation." Many participants mentioned being aware of bullying pages, with one participant sharing an interesting response about a high school where derogatory content about girls was posted on a page. Another participant mentioned experiencing bullying based on their sexual orientation, while another person shared a severe incident that required intervention. In the second

category, one participant observed cyberbullying on Facebook but did not experience it themselves. They mentioned removing a disrespectful friend from their social media network to deal with the issue.They provided an explanation that a friend of their ex would post rude messages on their Facebook wall until they took action. Many years ago, there was an incident between myself and someone who I am still not friends with on Facebook; however, they no longer harass me. The main focus of the research question was to explore how cyberbullying through social networking platforms impacts academic performance in school. According to the study's results, cyberbullying has a negative effect on academic performance. One participant shared a personal experience where their sibling had to switch schools due to the torment they endured. The findings became more intriguing when participants discussed bullying related to sexual orientation, relationship issues, and specific social media platforms created for targeting individuals or groups. When considering Knapp's Stages of Coming Together and Falling Apart, most participants did not follow a typical progression in their responses. Only one person mentioned taking extreme measures by unfriending someone on Facebook, while others hesitated to add certain individuals as friends out of fear that they may be bullies. The text implies that social networking sites have different approaches to communication and relationships, which can impact the higher education community and those interested in social networking relationships.It is recommended for high schools and colleges to take proactive measures against cyberbullying by hosting information literacy sessions for students. Future research could include a more diverse sample, focusing on racial and ethnic diversity within universities. Additionally, future researchers should aim for

an equal number of male and female participants from each academic category in order to obtain a broader level of engagement and observe more problems related to cyberbullying. The majority of attendees at the university did not personally experience bullying. However, some witnessed others being bullied and only a small portion had firsthand experience. Future research workers can analyze the relationship between Knapp's Stages of Coming Together and Apart further.

References:
- Bogdan.R. and Bickler.S.K. (1998)
- Denzin.N.K. (1978)
- Gall.M.D., Gall.J.P., and Borg.W.R. (2003)
- Holladay.J. (2011)
- Houghton.D.J., and Joinson.A.N. (2010)

The following text contains references to different articles and sources discussing various topics related to technology, the law, social networking experiences on Facebook, online torment for teens, online communication and adolescent relationships, cyberbullying with undergraduate university students, and the benefits of Facebook.
Privacy, Social Network Sites, and Social Relations.Journal of Technology in Human Services, 28, 74-94. Retrieved from doi:10.1080/15228831003770775.
Kite.S.L., Gable.R., and Filippelli.L.(2010)

Social intercourse :From recognizing to goodbye. Boston :Allyn ,
Kornblum.J.(2008)

Cyberbullying grows biggerand meaner .01. Retrieved from http://www.USAtoday.com,
North.E.E.(2011)The article "Technology & the Law" can be found on pages 18-21.It was retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com.
Pempek, T. A., Yermolayeva, Y. A., & Calvert, S. L. (2009).The study "College students’ social networking experiences on Facebook" is published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, volume 30(3), pages 227-238.The DOI is: 10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071.
Sengupta, A., & Chaudhuri, A. (2011).The research paper "Are social networking sites a source of online torment for teens?Evidence from survey data can be found in the Children and Youth Services Review [1]. In the publication "Online communication

and adolescent relationships" in The Future of Children journal, the authors discuss their findings [4]. An exploratory study of cyberbullying with undergraduate university students is explored in an article published in Techtrends: Linking Research and Practice to Improve Learning [5]. The topic is further discussed in an article titled "What sticks & rocks can't do.Facebook will-and more!" published in USA Today Magazine [6].

References:
[1] Volume 33(2), pages 284-290. DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.09 011
[4] Volume18 (1), pages119-146. DOI: 10 1353/foc..00006
[5] Journal volume55 (2), pages31-38. DOI: 10 1007/s11528-2011-0481-0
[6] Volume 139(2790), on page 56. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/.