The surge in social media platforms is an aspect that has been acknowledged for its influence on developing communication and online interaction. This is because social media has brought the world together, as the sharing of communication has been greatly simplified. This is a feature that has been attributed to the evolution of technology. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat are some of the most widely used social media platforms. Despite their extensive use, their features keep on updating to match the rising demands and the shift in preferences and usage. However, their development has also a dark side that is impacting the majority of users around the world.
Cyberbullying is a vice that has significantly increased as the development of social media takes shape. Online bullying has been attributed to various aspects that are orchestrated by users who feel the need to attack fellow users in the form of abusive and demeaning content. The contents can range from images, written words, videos, and voice calls. It is, therefore, imperative to delve into the ways that social media have led to cyberbullying even as they experience development. There is also a need to explore ways that cyberbullying impacts society.
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Ways that Social Media Development Promote Cyber Bullying
Lack of Effective Actions
The development of social media platforms has significantly grown without active actions that are designed to stop online victimization. This is a problem that has been attributed to the development of social media sites that lack measures to confront cyber bullying. Online attackers can attack the victim throughout the day (Greenfield, 2015). This is a factor that has derailed prompt actions that would minimize bullying cases. Despite the continuous concerns from users, social media platforms have failed to implement steps that would ensure constant feedback when a complaint is raised. The action center cannot also respond on time, a factor that leads to stalled complaints raised over cases of cyber bullying. Another factor that has impacted the abilities to deal with cyberbullying as a result of social media development is the lack of a standardized definition of cyberbullying.
According to Greenfield (2015), the abuse may be spread by others continuously as there is no face to face contact. Considering that social media platforms are used by people from different cultures across the world, it is hard to set the absolute meaning of cyberbullying. This is because social perception varies from one country to the other. In return, it makes it challenging to address cyberbullying, resulting in extended gaps. This means that words that are considered in a particular country as abusive may be tolerated in another country because of varied cultures. Furthermore, the actions to deal with a complaint may take too long, leading to further damages. Thus, lacking effective and prompt responses from social media platforms have significantly bolstered online bullying.
Lack of Effective Privacy Measures
The development of social media platforms has created many gaps in terms of privacy measures. This is because attention has been focused on developing new and attractive features instead of privacy systems. In many instances, personal information of a user is readily available to other users that may need to view it (Russell, 2017). This is a factor that has continued to oppress the efforts of disclosing information to social media platforms without it being accessed by third parties. This is an implication that an individual's information can be obtained without their knowledge and later used to cyberstalk them. There have been many instances where individuals have reported cases of hacking. This is a vice that has led to many people losing their social media accounts to hackers as they intrude on their privacy. The obtained information is later misused to demean or abuse the legit owners of the data.
Lack of security measures that prevent hacking has been a significant influence in advancing cyberbullying. According to Russell (2017), social media platforms should employ effective mechanisms if they are serious in combatting online attacks. Lack of privacy measures has also led to much freedom that creates the gap for online bullying. People can comfortably make demeaning posts and comments because there is much freedom given by social media platforms. Lack of an ideal method to filter abusive content has significantly resulted in the increased cases of online attacking. Thus, the continuous development of social media platforms has failed to address privacy measures leading to increased rates of online bullying.
Unregulated Social Media Platforms
The rise in technology is an aspect that has promoted the development of many social media platforms. This is a factor that has contributed to the increase of unregulated social media platforms. Failing to control social media sites is an implication that many of them operate without following the required policies that protect users (Stanbrook, 2014). This means that the users are vulnerable to online attacks that can be directed to them by users who thrive in an unregulated environment. Unregulated social media sites have also provided the opportunity for users to open as many accounts as possible. In return, it has helped to promote anonymity among social media users. Thus, people can open many accounts that they hide behind and attack others based on their primary motive that they wish to pass across. The surge in social media platforms as a result of technology development has also influenced the lack of a standard policy to protect users. This means that every social media site can design its policy regardless of how it seeks to address online attacks.
According to Stanbrook (2014), the fight against online attacks calls for combined efforts from society. The uneven development of online policies and conditions is a gap that allows online attacks to advance. This is because online bullies will find the need to utilize ineffective policies to attack others. Online bullies maximize on the loose policies as they already know that there are no disciplinary actions that may be taken against them. Thus, the rise of online bullying can be attributed to the development of social media platforms with no regulations in place. As a result, people utilize the freedom to advance online attacks.
Impacts of Cyberbullying on Society
Development of Mental Issues
The continuous impacts of cyberbullying have adverse effects on society in terms of developing mental issues (Garett, Lord & Young, 2016). In most instances, people who have been exposed to social media bullying are vulnerable to anxiety. This is a feeling that often overwhelms the affected individuals as they cannot deal with emotions effectively. The continued exposure to anxiety means that the individual may quickly develop depression. This has been described as one of the most harmful impacts of online attacks. This is because depression often develops into more severe problems like mental problems. This is an implication that the individual may become stressed to the extent of developing mental health issues. This is a problem that has been attributed to most online attacks that target to embarrass the individual personality. They may range from body shaming to the use of other people's information for inappropriate purposes. According to Garett, Lord, and Young (2016), the affected individuals may fight anxiety and depression in secret leading to the development of mental problems. The society may, in turn, have many of its members affected by cyberbullying struggling with psychological concerns.
Development of Suicidal Thoughts and Acts
Online attacks significantly increase the risks of suicide among affected individuals. This is because individuals who fall victim to online attacks develop suicidal thoughts to avoid the imminent shame, stress, and embarrassment that they may be exposed to by cyberbullying. Peled (2019) says that “… students exposed to cyberbullying experience academic problems, interpersonal problems, family problems, depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation , and self-esteem problems.” Individuals who are always bullied by their peers on social media platforms often feel hopeless as the impacts cut across their self-esteem. This is a factor that promotes self-humiliation as they give up on fighting the psychological effects of cyberbullying. In many instances, victims of online attacks feel that the only way of overcoming the impacts of bullying is through suicide.
Youths have been the most affected population of society as they seek to find approval and satisfaction through social media sites. The teenagers have become susceptible to suicidal thoughts as they lack effective channels that may address their experiences with online attacks. Thus, they may contemplate ending their lives to escape the embarrassment, threats, and shame from their tormentors. Suicidal cases have negatively affected society as many of its population have been implicated in humiliation, suicidal thoughts, and acts. This is a factor that, in return, calls for practical measures that would see the cases of suicidal thoughts and deeds from cyberbullying are combatted.
Rise in School Dropout and Isolation
Cyberbullying is a vice that has a significant impact on the learning culture of students. This is because students who are victimized by online attacks often record high numbers of school absenteeism. This is a factor that has been attributed to the need to avoid those who bullied them. In most instances, bullying is orchestrated by those who are considered as friends in school. They may use the close relationship they enjoy to embarrass their fellow students. Students easily get embarrassed and humiliated as they cannot resist the anxiety and depression that comes from online attacks (Hoff & Mitchell, 2009). The student’s performance also suffers as a result of absenteeism and a lack of concentration from the affected individuals. The worst part of it is dropping out of school as it is always imminent if no cautions are taken. Cyberbullying also makes individuals feel excluded from ordinary activities. This is a factor that promotes the need to isolate themselves from society. In most instances, the affected persons find the need to cut communication from their close members. This is an impact that has significantly affected society in terms of education. This is due to the increasing number of students who lose hope as a result of avoiding embarrassment from their peers.
Conclusion
Conclusively, recent development in social media is an advancement that poses great risks leading to cyberbullying. This is an aspect that impacted millions of users worldwide who are defenseless. Much of the cyberbullying has been attributed to factors ranging from lack of sufficient and prompt actions in dealing with online attacks cases to lack of privacy measures. The rise in unregulated social media sites is also a concern as many people find the gaps to abuse others using the sites. These have been the primary reasons that have created the holes for cyberbullying to advance even as people seek to enjoy the advantages of evolving technology. In return, the loopholes that necessitate online attacks negatively impact society. This is evident in the way the victims’ personalities and standard conditions are affected. Cyberbullying leads to the development of mental issues among the affected individuals. Suicidal thoughts and cases have also been on the rise among individuals that have been exposed to online attacks. School dropouts have also been attributed to cyberbullying, as many students seek to avoid their peers in fear of embarrassment. Thus, they find refuge in isolation which is marred with stress, anxiety, and depression. The impacts of social media bullying call for practical measures that will aim to address cyberbullying to cushion millions of users around the world. This will ensure that they enjoy the advantages of evolving technology without being subjected to the effects of online attacks.
References
Garett, R., Lord, L. R., & Young, S. D. (2016). Associations between social media and cyberbullying: a review of the literature. mHealth , 2 , 46. doi:10.21037/mhealth.2016.12.01.
Greenfield, S. (2015). The internet has changed bullying- for the worse. Psychology Today . Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/mind-change/201512/the-internet-has-changed-bullying-the-worse .
Hoff, D. L., & Mitchell, S. N. (2009). Cyberbullying: Causes, effects, and remedies . Journal of Educational Administration, 47 (5), 652-665.
Peled, Y. (2019). Cyberbullying and its influence on the academic, social, and emotional development of undergraduate students. Heliyon, 5 (3), 1-22.
Russell, B. (2017). Cyberbullying and social media. Hastac . Retrieved from https://www.hastac.org/blogs/bahatiakili/2017/12/02/cyber-bullying-and-social-media .
Stanbrook, M. B. (2014). Stopping cyberbullying requires a combined societal effort. The Canadian Medical Association Journal, 186 (7), 483-483.
