The purpose of this research will be to establish if there is a difference in cyber-bullying children and adults. The thesis statement that will guide this research will be that there exists a very significant difference in cyber-bullying a child and an adult. Literature review will be used to identify and present the informational gap. For every study referred to in this research, there will be an evaluation of its flaws and shortcomings so that there is a clear identification of the value of this research.
Introduction
Bullying is a major problem in many schools and even the society, as a whole, for both the adults and children students. However, it is the emergence of cyber-bullying that has even taken this challenge a notch higher, with many people now becoming victims of online bullying. This problem has been enhanced by the continued accessibility to advanced technology and the internet. Both the adult and young children do face cyber-bullying. Bullying is not only a teenage probe but adults go through it too. However, this research will establish that there is a significant difference in cyber-bullying for the children and the adults.This research will seek to find out whether there is any significant difference in cyber-bullying adults as compared to children. The two go hand in hand and the research seeks to identify ether they are different in any way. The research will be premised on the hypothesis that there is a significant difference in cyber-bullying adults relative to children.
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Informational Gap in Current Literature Review
The topic of cyber-bullying has attracted huge focus from the researchers all over. Many studies have been published on this topic. However, a lot of the existing research reports on cyber-bullying concentrate on a specific demographic component. There are numerous studies on teenagers. For instance, most of the existing studies focus on the cyber-bullying of children while others pay attention to the case of adults. There is no study published that analyzes the difference of cyber-bullying in the case of adults and children. This information is highly needed by the policy-makers in schools and the society who are charged with the responsibility of addressing the issue. Therefore, it is not good to continue having such an informational gap in the current literature. The information is needed in order to come up with customized policies and measures aimed at tackling cyber-bullying for children and adults differently so that effective results can be achieved ( Keith & Martin, 2005) .
Studies report that bullying has been in existence for a very long time. According to the existing statistics for the United States of America, virtually five million children have been victims of bullying. This statistic does not give the number of adults who have been victims of cyber-bullying ( Mesch, 2009) . There is a clear understanding of there being a draw towards analyzing cyber-bullying that is committed to children. The reason behind this trend is the perception that adults do not experience cyber-bullying since they are intelligent and well-formed enough to counter such actions, and rise above.
Some studies have indicated the difference in cyber-bullying girls relative to boys. Such studies state that girls are more vulnerable than boys to cyber-bullying. However, the studies that give this analysis remain insufficient in terms of providing information on the difference, based on age, in cyber-bullying children and adults. Researched reports show that many boys usually engage in physically-intensive bullying while the girls experience relationally-intensive one ( Broubacher et al., 2009). Notably, research reports have established the fact that differences in cyber-bullying, which are premised on gender, do feature even in early childhood. It is worthy to observe that females also can face the effect indirect cyber-bullying. Through the use of new technology, cyber-bullies have sophisticated ways of accessing their prey.
The need for knowing the difference in cyber-bullying adults and children is always evident in the ineffective means of preventing this vice, which are normally formulated and implemented by the policy-makers. Since the age-based differences are not known, there is always a flaw in choosing the measures that suit children and those relevant to adults ( Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007) . Importantly, studies report that the various prevention programs have indicated the ability of reducing cyber-bullying in children.It has been established that gender has no significant relation to bullying. It is noted that the relationship between the bully and victim usually starts to be seen during the pre-school years. The aggressive behaviors, which are normally shown by the children, are not in any way related to one’s gender.
This study breaks away from the common approach taken by the researchers and focuses on the question of whether a child’s experience of cyber-bullying is different from that of an adult. On the advice of even more research, younger children may report higher rates of victimization because they have not yet acquired social and assertiveness skills to combat bullying incidents and have the ability to discourage further incidents ( Slonje & Smith, 2008) . In Cyber-Bullying: Creating a Culture of Respect in a Cyber world, t here was a strong opposition to some research and the outcomes, when it comes to age preferences of when to intervene. These age differences in children’s understanding of cyber bullying make it difficult for me to draw firm conclusions about research that has been done that shows a true decline in victimization as children grow older. Vandebosch & Van Cleemput (2008) has acknowledged that a single instance of serious harassment can be regarded as bullying under certain circumstances regardless of age social economic status and area.
Conclusively, this study will analyze the hypothesis that cyber-bullying in adults is significantly different from the one in children. In fact, the manner in which a child may handle a technological device is not the same to that of an adult. Furthermore, children have no intellectual capability of identifying a dangerous person on the internet when compared to adults. An adult can, in some occasions, can identify a dangerous person through his or her way of talking online hence avoids him or her. Therefore, children are highly vulnerable to cyber-bullying more than even adults.
It is a known fact that children have been bullying each other for a long time. However, with the technological advancements, it became worse. Everything about a person can be made public on the internet. Adults bully each other, and there are also the shameless adults who bully kids. Anyone can be bullied online. Therefore, it is necessary to exercise a lot of care while using the internet to chat with friends. According to the National crime Prevention Council research (2007), seventy three percent of adults admitted to being victims of cyber bullying. There has been an increase in the number of adults who use the internet and mostly social media. Therefore, it means that both adults and children go through the effects if cyber bullying.
Differences in adult and children cyber bullying
First and foremost, the grown-ups can gather the courage to confront the bully online. It is something that children cannot do because of fear. Children can choose to withdraw from their friend and even family. The adult can try to hide the problem by dealing with it alone. However, this can also have an adverse effect on the person being bullied.
Secondly, given that children cyber bullying is something that is common, it is easy for children to reach out. There a little research that has being done about adult cyber bullying. Therefore, adults find it embarrassing to come out in the open about being a victim. Some of the people who are bullied are seniors and it becomes hard for them to open up.
Thirdly, parents, teachers can fall prey to the cyber bully. However, their ca is not as simple as children. Adults can lose their job when certain information about them is leaked online. When a bully post nude pictures about an adult it can completely ruin their career. Moreover, it can reduce the chances of that person getting a job in future. Cyber bullying behavior does not decrease as one gets older. Individuals at the lower ages or higher ages can fall prey to cyber bullying.
Lastly, adult cyber bullying can have adverse effects on a victim than children cyber bullying. If the person is married and has kids, it will be hard to face his family and more importantly the kids who may have seen the pictures or posts circulating online.
Adult cyber bullying
Cyber bullying occurs when an individual uses the Internet to continuously hurt another person with their behaviors or words. There is no doubt that adult bullying has become prevalent in recent times ( Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007 ). The internet has made it easier for people to become mean to each other. More and more adults are being harassed online.Contrary to the prediction that cyber bullying and cyber victimization rates would decrease with age, the results revealed that cyber bullying behavior did not differ between individuals at the lower or higher end of the age range ( Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007) . The sample that was used in the study was in the age range of eight years. The range does not help in detecting whether there is decreased cyber bullying. It is especially true given that there are more adults communicating using online methods. In adults, there is no difference in gender when it comes to cyber bullying. Both male and female were at a risk of being cyber bullying victims. There are findings that show there is a similar rate of cyber bullying behavior on both male and female. Relating to self-esteem, it is evident from research that the bullies also have issues with self-esteem. From the findings, moderate cyber bullying does not have dramatic variability on reduced self-esteem levels compared to severe cyber bullying.
It is important to look for mild or severe effects of cyber bullying in victims. Investigating further reveals that bullies and victims have exclusion and insults are the common behaviors. Exclusion is a common experience for online users. However, impersonation and stalking can be severe and may have criminal charges. According to research, there are benefits of using mobile communication. However, it can be that adults have different ways of approaching Internet use compared to children. it is necessary to conduct further study to find out if there is a difference between the adult and children cyber bullying. It is important to come up with research on how bullying affects adults.
There are studies that about 20-40 show that school children have gone through bullying and become victims. Only about 2-21% of children reported to have been a cyber bully. It is believed that cyber bullying decreases with age. However, there are studies that show that cyber bullying increases in the middle teenage years. Moreover, studies that use adult samples use different methodology or have wider age range compared to the age range used in adolescent samples. Therefore, it becomes hard to assess the validity of the study. According to studies, 35% of adults have been victims of cyber bullying. According to studies by the National crime Prevention Council only done on Australian males, only about 10.7% were bullied in their places of work.
Children cyber bullying
Children cyber bullying has been in the limelight for a long time. It is for this reason that there are numerous studies that have been conducted to come up with ways to put an end to it. There are studies that show a relation between low self-esteem and bullying ( Raskauskas & Stoltz, 2007) . Additionally, there are also studies that show what the victims of cyber buying can do to get help. Some of ways children who are bullied can get help include talking to their parent or a counselor. Withdrawal is not advised since it can have adverse effects on the child. Children just like adults have the same effect to cyber bullying. However, the only difference comes in how they handle the situation.
Negative effects of cyber bullying
Cyber bullying is no longer an adolescent problem; even adults go through it. There is no doubt that cyber bullying has adverse effects on adults and children. However, most of the time people focus on children cyber bullying. There are numerous effects of cyber bullying for both kids and adults as well. A majority of the victims have to deal with self-esteem issues. Cyber bullying has got the attention of the media and even researchers. Cyber bullying research has taken a different direction. It is important to carry out a study on adults which is an uncommon population to be affected by cyber bullying (Hoff & Mitchell, 2009). It is necessary to conduct out studies to find out whether adults are affected by self-esteem issues when they go through cyber bullying. However, the research on cyber bullying in adults is increasing by the day.
Bullying is a problem that affects the society as a whole. However, it is not taken with the seriousness it deserves. It is important to find ways to put an end to cyber bullying. Bullying is known to be a problem that affects teenagers. However, older adults can be bullied at work, college or online. Someone who bullies can create a fake account just to spread information about another person. Most bullies think that their actions are funny. They do not think about the consequence the bullying on the victim (Hoff, & Mitchell, 2009). Bullying can have adverse implications for the victim; both children and adults will feel pressure, depressed, have low perception about themselves. Low self-esteem is also a consequence of cyber bullying. Additionally, the individual will develop increased feelings of loneliness, depression, and health problems.
It is evident that there are adverse effects of cyber bullying. The victims of cyber bullying can indulge in alcohol or drugs. Additionally, the kid or adult can become frustrated. For children, they will skip school thus affecting their performance. Stress is also another effect of victims of cyber bullying. Most of the cyber bullying victims will feel depressed, frustrated, angry and sad. Additionally, it reduces a person's self-confidence. There are studies that are linked to cyber bullying and low self-esteem, school violence, even academic difficulties. Victimization also makes an individual to develop suicidal thoughts.
Dealing with cyber bullying
Document any messages that have been sent by the bully. Confiding in someone will help an individual to cope with the effect of bullying. Withdrawal, on the other hand, will have serious effects. Furthermore, withdrawing will give the bully more room to bully other people. It is important to talk about the problem and, thus put a stop to the problem. The main difference in adult cyber bullying and children cyber bullying is that adults may be ashamed to admit what they have a problem. Children, on the other hand can tell their parents about it since it is considered a normal thing. Given their age adults can be embarrassed to tell anyone about what they are going through.
How to stop cyber bullying
It is true that putting an end to cyber bullying is not easy. However, it is something that can be done. The first thing one has to do is to have evidence of the post, messages, comments and pictures. Secondly, one should contact the service provider, whether it is Facebook or a cell phone company. The cell provider can trace the messages to the sender. It is also necessary to be familiar with the terms of service of a site before after signing up. A majority of the sites do not allow any kind of harassment. By reporting the harassment, the bully is removed from the site. Therefore, it cam end the vice in the society (Hoff & Mitchell, 2009). One should not respond to any messages. Telling the bully to stop the bullying or harassment can also help in solving the problem. In case the bully does not stop, it is advisable to make further action. Reporting the matte to the authorities can help tack the person sending the messages.
According to Annenberg public policy research female youth are more likely to be bullied. There is a high rate of girls who are victimized. There are also findings that indicate that those who bully are troubled. According to the national crime prevention council survey (2007), Teenagers in the age bracket of 13 to 17 spend more of their time on the internet. They communicate with their friends using instant messaging and text messaging. According to the survey, about 78% of teenagers have used the internet for over three years. Female teenagers go through bullying more than the male teens. According to the national crime prevention council, 77% of the bullied teens report having been bullied by someone well known to them.
According to Hinduja & Patchin (2014), cyber bullying is an aggressive, intentional act that is carried out online by an individual repeatedly towards another person. It can be done on email, social media, chat rooms, instant messaging, pictures, text messaging and even websites. Cyber bullying can take several forms not only sending hurtful texts. It can be done by revealing personal information about another person. In Hinduja & Patchin (2014), 35% of the of adults have been victims of cyber bullying. However, there are only a handful of studies that dwell on cyber bullying in adults. Cyber bullying in adults is something that has been studied to determine whether it is the same as cyber bullying in children. This paper examines the differences between cyber bullying in children vs. adults. According to Hoff and Mitchell (2009), 20% of the adults have reported being involved in cyber bullying behavior. These are just some of the few studies that address the issue of cyber bullying in adults.
What to do after being bullied online
Cyber bullying takes places online. The bullies use social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, and even text messages. Cyber bullying usually takes place between teens, kids or pre-teens and even adults. It can be done through spreading malicious rumors about another person, spreading embarrassing pictures and even videos. Cyber bullying just like traditional bullying has negative effects on the bullied person. Therefore, it is important to deal with the problem early enough to avoid adverse effects like death.
Cyber bullying causes
Cyber bullying takes places across different mediums. There is an increase of harassment in chat rooms since that is where most people hung out these days. People spend a lot of time online, and thus it increases the chances of being bullied. More and more people are joining social media sites and even video sharing sites. As such, there has been an increased number of cyber bullying. Cyber bullying is also happening on gaming sites. Given that it is done online, cyber bullying can take place at any time. According to Hoff and Mitchell (2009), the target can be reached easily at any time. Therefore, someone can be bullied at night or during the day. Therefore, it is not easy for parents to monitor what their kids are doing.
Technology has made people available online 24/7, therefore, increasing their chances of being bullied. Additionally, it is easier to type hateful words than to do it face to face. Moreover, bullies feel that they cannot be identified thus increasing their behavior. Unlike children whose online behavior can be monitored, adults have the freedom to do whatever they want online. The parent can protect the child from cyber bullying by taking part in the children intent experience.
There are many studies how to prevent cyber bullying in schools for children. Adults, on the other hand, have to deal with the problem themselves. It is up to the adults to take the initiative to report the matter. Children have a wide range of places they can report the problem. Adults who are being harassed online have been ignored. There is no study showing how adults can prevent cyber bullying. A lot of focus is put on kids cyber bullying. According to Hinduja & Patchin (2014), schools can educate on how to use the internet responsibly. It has to be made clear to the students that anyone who is involved in the vice will be punished severely. There should be signs to remind the students about the rules they should use while online. It must be made clear to all students that cyber bullying is not acceptable and anyone involved in it will be punished. Anyone who is found bullying others should be used to set an example for others who may think of committing such a vice. Condemning the behavior will also go a long way in putting an end to cyber bullying.
What to do in case one is victim of cyber bullying
It is important to have a relationship with someone the victim trusts such as a parent, friend or colleague. Such relationships make it easy to discuss what an individual is going through. Both children and adults should not engage in arguments with the bully since it will make the problem worse. The bully may go ahead to spread hurtful texts about the victim. Using account privacy settings will reduce the risk of victimization. Additionally, it is necessary to keep an evidence of the messages, picture, and texts since it will help in solving the problem. Such evidence can be used to trace the person who started the victimization. Furthermore, the information can be forwarded to the company to help put a stop to the actions of the bully.
Ignoring the actions of the bully can help put a stop to it. A majority of the bullies will be encouraged to continue when they see the victim being affected with the name calling. Not opening the messages will make it impossible for the words to hurt you. One can also block the bully. One should not be ashamed since there is no wrong done. The bully just likes to make other people feel bad about themselves. Most of the bullies have problems of low self-esteem. The pictures and messages can be spread quickly to people. It becomes difficult to trace the bully since one cannot know the origin of the message. It is for this reason that cyber bullies continue with what they are doing (Hoff & Mitchell, 2009). There is no doubt that cyber bullies also have their share of problems. Some of them bully others to make them feel good.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there is no study to prove that adults are being cyber bullied. Perhaps, it is assumed that adults are old enough to handle such matters. On the other hand, there are numerous studies carried out on children cyber bullying. The studies have been conducted for different age groups. It is necessary that further research has to be done to find out how adult bullying can be handled. In as much as adults know the places to go in case they are harassed, but it would be a good idea to conduct research on the matter. Given that there are few studies on the problem of adult cyber bullying compare to children cyber bullying; it was not possible to find significant differences between the two situations. The issue can be clear if there were numerous studies. The studies would shed light on the problem that the adults are going through. Both adults and, children and teenagers can help put an end to cyber bullying. Bullying can be prevented if the victims can come out in the open and speak about what they are going through online.
References
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