Bullying can be defined to be a form of verbal or physical aggression mostly where there exists an imbalance in power (Guckin and Corcoran, 2016) . The attack in most cases is repeated over a lengthy period. This form of hostility involves chiefly the youth and young kids. When this harassment becomes digital and different technological devices are used in harassment, embarrassment, and threats; then we call it cyberbullying. Just as in physical bullying, cyberbullying targets mostly young people. Adults sometimes get involved, but when this happens, in most cases it is referred to as cyberstalking or cyber-harassment. Cyberstalking is a crime punishable by law (Guckin and Corcoran, 2016) .
Cyberbullying can happen in the form of email, online post or messages. Anonymous cyberbullying is the most feared as it can become awful in some cases. This attack is mostly down to the more significant number of audience it can reach. Targets of this aggravation feel like they have no way out of it as it follows them wherever they go (Guckin and Corcoran, 2016) . A pure mockery on a picture online can get to thousands of people in a brief time. Shared, reposted, and liked a post on the internet get to people quickly some not known to the victim. The fact that it is a 24/7 network that spreads like wildfire and is very public makes cyberbullying extremely harmful.
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How common is it?
Altered measurements have come up to point out how common cyberbullying is among the youth today. The Disease and Control Centre for example estimates about 15.5 high school going students to be affected. Compare this to the number of students experiencing personal bullying which is at 20 percent, and we see cyberbullying isn’t too far behind (Raatma, 2013) . Others claim that 87% of the youth today have witnessed cyberbullying. In a group of 5, the chances are that one has been subject to cyberbullying.
According to an extensive study done on kids aged 9 to 11 years, 11% of kids have fallen prey to online harassment. 10% of this had the experience more than two times in a year (Raatma, 2013) . 18 percent of the bullying is said to have happened via email, and a close 17% occurs through chat rooms. Instant and text message bullying is less familiar with both below 13% while ill comments on websites lie at 11%. The least common is humiliating photo sharing which is at 7%.
A good number of victims say they have no idea how the mistreatment took place with over 22% claiming that it was in a different way not mentioned above. Most victims have no idea of what to do after falling prey to the bullying. Kids today become targets because out of three kids one likely feels accepted more on the social media platforms rather than in real life. And yet on the social media networks, 34% of users fail to enable their privacy settings.
Who is affected?
Most affected parties in the cyberbullying instances are innocent toons or persons. In the school set up almost 75% of the victims claim to suffer harassment as a result of their looks. Memes and harsh words are shared in relation to a deformity on the affected individual’s body. When a kid looks different the others use the difference as a tool to abuse and mock this individual. Another set of affected persons are the minority in regards to race and religion. Different religions and beliefs have been used in social forums to harass about 26% of the victims (Guckin and Corcoran, 2016) . Even the autistic persons reported having been hassled online as a result of their condition.
Gender is also another area with a large percentage of affected persons. In boys the rate of cyberbullying stands at about 28% while it is next to 41% among girls. Girls who are more drawn to social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat are easier targets. Boys with their gaming consoles also get trapped in the net.
Another set of victims are the mean teens who get bullied as a result of their selfish nature. The perpetrators usually are seeking revenge. Since they are not able to fight back physically, they use the internet to humiliate their oppressors (Rzepa and Przybylska-Duda, 2016) .
Theories .
The bullying concept can fast be explained by the Social Ecological theory. This theory bases its idea on victimization and the oppression. In its perspective, bullying is understood to be set in large social groups such as schools, families, communities, and neighborhoods (Raatma, 2013) . This framework suggests looking at cyberbullying should be studied about an individual’s family, peers, school, and the broader community. Vulnerable parties in the society such as girls, the physically challenged, and those challenged socially are most likely to suffer this harm. The need to belong to a specific organization motivates most of the bullying comportment. The need to belong comes out differently among the different stages of development (Raatma, 2013) .
The social cognitive theory is another that explain this on-net mistreatment of people. We all believe in specific causes to different events in our lives. The thinks dictate our responses to others and situations. Bullies have an unfriendly ascription towards others in dubious circumstances, and their answer is always that of aggression (Deschamps and McNutt, 2016) . Social cognitive theory gives birth to moral disengagement, where one behaves contrary from his or her believes and ethical principles.
Change in cyberbullying.
When the internet came into existence, most teens turned to digital bullying. During the 2000s, boys used to post pictures of girls on the internet to humiliate them; vacation videos with foul comments; selfies with homophobic captions. On Formspring where users could post anonymously, some bullies went as far as making death threats. In that age hecklings started in a school setting would find their way to the internet. The provocation was visible to the receiver, teachers, and parents and where applicable the perpetrators were disciplined in schools mostly.
Over the decade the process has changed to fall exclusively online. Cyberbullying has become a full spread virus with more significant numbers regarding victims and perpetrators (Rzepa and Przybylska-Duda, 2016) . Before it was difficult to access social media sites as one had only an hour to log in and out at their parents discretion. Today with unlimited access to data and the evolution of mobile phones, we have more time online, and it is difficult to escape internet damage (Deschamps and McNutt, 2016) . Today even the friends we meet in real life are not trustworthy; they have a higher chance of mocking you online without your knowledge.
A decade on and social media sites have done little to help this case. The only help offered so far has been the blocking option and the decision to report aggressive cases to the administrators. 71 percent of Brits think that the social platforms don’t provide enough to combat cyberbullying according to the Ditch the Label study (Raatma, 2013)
. This is the case even when research has revealed that cyber victims are two times likely to inflict self-harm or suicide.
A victim of the decades bullying once described today’s crimes as having a drip feed effect as opposed to the one-time injection of the past (Deschamps and McNutt, 2016) . It is also more difficult to find and punish the offenders right now. Society today is very negative online, and at times we don’t even notice it; even on that which matters less, we are still critical.
Credibility .
The first source used is the article Cyberbullying: What is the problem? This article is derived from the Canadian Public Administration journal which is a peer-reviewed journal that is published by the Institute of Public Administration of Canada every quarterly. Authors Ryan Deschamps is a legit course instructor at the University of Waterloo and has lots of works on politics, and social media.
Dr. Conor Mc Guckin, a professor at Trinity College Dublin, is a specialist researcher in bullying and victim problems affecting youth and children. He gained his Ph.D. in research works related to bullying. Hence I chose my second article by Guckin and Lucie Corcoran who is based in Dublin Business School and has vast experience in psychology with over 34 articles written.
The third book by Lucia Raatma is one that has been credited for its in-depth examination of different types of bullying. The author is a holder of a bachelors in English literature from the University of South Carolina and a New York University master’s degree holder. It is a book to help kids understand the cyberbullying process and effects.
The fourth source used is Cyberbullying from the perspective of teenagers and their parents. The source has a reputable publication from Poland. The information offered is reliable as it is derived from direct interviews with people. The ideas here are logical and straightforward.
Works Сited
Deschamps, R. and McNutt, K. (2016). Cyberbullying: What's the problem?. Canadian Public Administration , 59(1), pp.45-71.
Guckin, C. and Corcoran, L. (2016). Bullying and Cyberbullying . Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Raatma, L. (2013). Cyberbullying . Danbury, Conn.: Children's Press.
Rzepa, T. and Przybylska-Duda, M. (2016). Cyberbullying from the Perspective of Teenagers and their Parents. Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska, sectio J, Paedagogia-Psychologia , 28(2), p.19.
