BULLYING IN SOCIAL MEDIA

By Mitchell Shannon

Presentation Outline

This presentation is about bullying in social media and will cover the following topics;

What is it and why does it happen? How does bullying online affect the victim? Processes that major outlets take to prevent bullying

online Closing thoughts About me References

What is it and why does it happen?

Social Media is a critical part of society today, the ability to contact people instantly, share photos with friends and family, read trending articles that your friends have also read and the ability to connect with each other in a way that was unheard of as little as 10 years ago is truly incredible. But with all good, there is always something bad. To some social media can be a great tool and fun past time, but to others it can be a cruel way to be criticized, harassed and bullied in a way that everyone can see, often times going unreported with no one stepping in to stop the abuse. Although bullying online can happen to anyone, it is most commonly found with young people both male and female. With the introduction of commenting, liking and sharing photos on popular outlets like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, online bullies are able to harass and bully their victims at virtually any time of the day and any day of the month essentially leaving the victim with no “safe zone” or place to go where they won’t be faced with some form of bullying.

Although comments, likes and shares are fairly direct forms of bulling, there are also much scarier but less direct forms of bullying online. Victims have reported finding fake profiles that share all their personal information online, including school information, home address and contact information. Others have reported finding fake “groups” dedicated to bullying them, allowing multiple people to gang up on the victim. According to statistics 1 in 5 incidents get reported to law officials, regardless of the fact that bullying online is punishable by law.

How does bullying online affect the victim?

Bullying online can create a variety of different mental problems amount young people, some of which including depression, panic disorder, agoraphobia in females, and increased likeliness of suicide in males. Teen suicide rates have been on the rise since the invention of social media and bullying online, with statistics showing that 28% of people bullied online have considered suicide. With the ease of access and partial anonymity of being online every user of social media is at risk in one way or another of being bullied online.

Being bullied online often leaves the victim powerless, especially in a situation where multiple people have joined in to publically ridicule and harass them. Statistics show that only 1 in 10 young people report online bullying to parental authorities – often due to embarrassment and fear that the perpetrator will retaliate in a physical way. Being that 85% of people bullied online know their bully in real life, the chances of face to face confrontation increase dramatically compared to the 15% rate where the bully doesn’t know their victim (often seem on anonymous websites like public forums or YouTube).

Processes that Major outlets take to prevent bullying online

Using Facebook as an example, they have a variety of different approaches that individual users can take when they feel they are being bullied online. When someone presses the “Report” button on Facebook, someone or group of people at Facebook review the reported material and delete at their discretion. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and all other forms of social media have lengthy terms of use that their users must abide by. Along with measures put in place to report and delete online harassment, social media outlets have stepped up their policies to now allow temporary or permanent banning on their sites to prevent reoccurrences.

Fake profiles of themselves or public figures Harassing/threatening messages about them or others Hate speech, spam and pornography Embarrassing or suggestive photos Hurtful comments or posts

Typical topics that users are advised to report;

Closing Thoughts

Although major social media outlets take steps to prevent online bullying and harassment, online bullying continues to happen every single day. With so many people at risk of being bullied online and the risk of severe mental disorders including extreme isolation, panic disorders and tragically suicide all users of social media are encouraged to report malicious behavior as soon as it happens and work together to create a safer experience for other people online.

Who am I? And why is bullying online important to me?

My name is Mitchell Shannon, a 21 year old Ontario born and raised student studying Business – Operations at Durham College. When I was in grade 10 of high school I experienced bullying online. I was notified by a friend that some classmates made a group about me on Facebook that had some very hateful things posted in it – including pictures taken from my profile page. At the time I felt very hurt and powerless, after reporting it several times to Facebook the page was eventually deleted but I experienced firsthand what others report feeling after experiencing that kind of abuse – isolation, increased panic and fear, and depression. It wasn’t until just recently that I even told my parents that the events happened online because I was embarrassed by what had happened. At the time I felt very alone and I would say that the events that perspired have really changed who I am online. The reason that this is so important to me is because I feel that no person should have to experience unpleasantness online, things like Facebook and YouTube should be enjoyed instead of feared for what could happen. I also feel that until you understand something you can’t work to make it any better and also that everything you release to the digital world represents you forever, so I strive to only release things that actually represent who I am.

- Mitchell Shannon

The End

References

1. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.internetsafety101.org/cyberbullyingstatistics.htm2. Elizabeth , L. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/27/health/cyberbullying-online-bully-victims3. Schurgin-O, G., & Clarke-Pearson, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://www.pediatricsdigest.mobi/content/127/4/800.full4. Salmivalli, C. S. (n.d.). Retrieved from

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1098-2337(1996)22:1<1::AID-AB1>3.0.CO;2-T/abstract

5. Webster, R. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/cyber-bullying-statistics.html